Tuesday afternoon, arguably the most diverse City Council in Madison’s history was sworn into office.
Seven new alders were sworn in; two of them are Madison’s first African-American women to be elected to the council. Additionally, nine out of 20 members are women, a two person increase since last term.
Ald. Sheri Carter, Disctrict 14, is one of the first two African-American women to serve on Madison’s City Council. Carter has been involved in various forms of community activism for many years, and wanted to talk her contribution to the next level by serving on the council, she said.
Carter served as the president of Arbor Hills Neighborhood Association, the board president for Porchlight and the chair of South Metropolitan Planning Council, she said.
Her ties to District 14 are well planted in her grassroots work with different neighborhoods through her community leadership, she said.
Carter did not view her decision to run as a historic event — in fact, she did not even know that she became one of the first African-American women to serve on City Council until after she was elected.
“I just assumed, like everybody else, that there had been one or two before me,” Carter said. “There comes a responsibility, being one of the first. It’s so humbling, and such an honor.”
Not only did Carter make history as one of the first two African-American women to be elected, but she is also helping to improve the council’s ratio of men to women.
Electing women into office isn’t as much of a problem as getting them to run, Ald. Shiva Bidar-Sielaff, District 5, said. Despite this challenge, attaining female representation on the council may be becoming an easier feat.
“I looked at the women I saw on the council in years past, and I admired them,” Carter said. “I didn’t really think about whether or not this would be hard to do.”
A City Council that is an accurate representation of Madison’s demographic allows elected officials to work together in a way that encourages progress from all angles, Bidar-Sielaff said.
In terms of representation, the City Council is already fairly unique compared to other legislative bodies, she said.
“An experience as a woman in the city is different than the experience of a man,” Bidar-Sielaff said. “The priorities, challenges and opportunities that we see as women are through a different lens than men, and we can bring that force to the council.”
As race and gender become more accurately represented on the council, so has the large population of young people. Madison’s median age in 2013 was 31 years, according to the City of Madison’s Economic Development website. In the new term, there are four alders who are either at or below the median age of Madison.
One of these millennial alders, Ald. Zach Wood, District 8, oversees a district that is almost completely comprised of University of Wisconsin property and student housing.
UW enrolled over 40,000 students in fall 2014. The student voice in downtown Madison, and especially in District 8, is not one that should be overlooked, Wood said.
“Young people on the council are important, especially because of how directly some of the things the council deals with impacts young people,” Wood said. “Having a council that represents the composition of the community in every sense is important.”
