Mayor Paul Soglin’s long incumbency, familiarity with the public and consistent decision making is what likely drew voters to polls and propelled him to a clear-cut victory Tuesday, political observers agree.
Soglin was overwhelmingly reelected to an eight term Tuesday night, defeating outgoing Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8.
The voter turnout was relatively low, with only 29.2 percent of registered voters casting a ballot, although that was an increase to the 13 percent turnout at the polls for the February primary elections.
Soglin got 71.9 percent of the vote, while Resnick got 27.1 percent, according to preliminary results from the Dane County clerk.
A key to Soglin’s success in this election lies in his familiarity, according to Barry Burden, a University of Wisconsin political science professor. The general public feels that the city of Madison is not in major trouble and doesn’t require a massive change in leadership, Burden said.
One of the issues Resnick faced was how to present himself as a serious and viable alternative to Soglin, Howard Schweber, a UW political science professor, said. The public views Soglin as a consistent leader with a long history as an elected official, whereas Resnick was less well-known, he said.
“One of the reasons Soglin was elected was that people expect him not do things that are radical or drastic,” Schweber said.
Soglin said the focus of his 10-month long campaign was ensuring the stability of city finances and creating a fair and equal Madison.
“The greatest challenge of the campaign was getting out my message on dealing with the challenges of poverty and equity in terms of what we’ve already accomplished, and what we plan to accomplish in the next four years,” Soglin said.
Resnick, meanwhile, thanked his supporters for helping with his campaign, saying he’s “truly grateful for the experience of running.” Resnick, the vice president of Hardin Design and Development, said he plans to continue his involvement in the community.
At his election night event Tuesday, he said he knew the campaign would be tough.
“Paul had a very strong turnout. … We knew we had an uphill battle,” Resnick said. “Paul’s name recognition was as close to 100 percent as you can get in the election, and he did show he was favored by the voters.”
Though the mayoral election will bring familiar leadership, Madison voters made history Tuesday in electing the city’s first two African-American women as alders. Barbara McKinney was elected to serve District 1 and Sheri Carter was elected to serve District 14.
Nine female alders are now elected to office, Council President Ald. Chris Schmidt, District 11, said. The movement toward a more accurate representation of the demographic diversity in Madison is crucial during a time when racial inequalities are a central topic, Burden said.
“Our new alders bring a perspective we haven’t had on the council before,” Schmidt said. “I am looking forward to working with all of them.”
