The idea that affordable housing is “not an issue for most students and arguably could make the downtown housing scene more costly,” as yesterday’s Herald editorial suggested, is both misguided and disappointing. The very fact that students must choose between limited under-maintained apartment options and are willing to live with many other roommates to make ends meet is one of the reasons Madison rents are so high. Yes, Tom Powell is unabashedly a supporter of affordable housing, as I am and many other students are.
In addition, as county supervisor and city alder, Tom has consistently advocated for students. Kathleen Falk said it best when she “credited County Board Supervisors Echnaton Vedder and Tom Powell for their efforts” in maintaining a budget that benefits students, as reported in the Feb 5, 2000, Capital Times: “I can’t say enough about how hard Echnaton and Tom fought to add money to the budget in response to the concerns of students.” Tom’s unfettered support of student and campus interests should draw students to the polls today to support his continued work as alder for District 5.
Sarah Davis
UW graduate student
I am writing to voice my agreement with your staff’s endorsement of Echnaton Vedder for County Board District 5, and also to voice my concern about your failure to recognize Tom Powell as the better candidate for City Council’s 5th District. I am currently living in the University Apartments while my partner finishes his degree. Being new to Madison and relatively unfamiliar with politics, I went to the candidate forum held for both of these races at the UA Community Center March 22. At this forum, all four of these men seemed like genuinely kind and well-meaning people.
However, Echnaton Vedder and Tom Powell clearly knew and cared more about the issues than their opponents did. Vedder mentioned the concern many share about our gardens being taken away from us before we got to the question-and-answer section, where this was a question. When Skillrud was asked about it, he replied that he had no idea about the current situation, but that “if something’s yours, someone shouldn’t take it away.” Tom Powell mentioned his work in fighting for affordable housing and a cleaner environment and that he began work on keeping the gardens years ago. I was dismayed when Rosner answered the question “What experience do you have with other cultures?” by saying that language is all that separates people. Both Vedder and Powell have shown up at my home to speak with me, while I never met Skillrud or Rosner at any point outside of that forum. I hope your readers will consider voting for both Echnaton Vedder and Tom Powell today.
Judith Freeman
Madison resident
The race for county supervisor is on. While some candidates, namely Ech Vedder, District 5, and Tom Powell, District 8, recently have been criticized in the news for their campaign techniques of going door-to-door in the dorms, it is one of the great ways of getting their message to otherwise often clueless students. This tactic can be a very informative experience for many first- and second-year students who may not otherwise search out the information on the candidates. As a dorm-dweller, I for one do not mind at all candidates coming to my door to let me know where they stand on the issues and when and where I can vote. It also gives me a chance to inform them about issues that concern me as a student, where my voice otherwise may not be as easily heard. This can only lead to a more informed voting public and hopefully a higher voter turnout on the day of the election. While I personally was not graced with Skillrud’s presence at my door, Vedder did stop by and said hello, chatted for a while, and reminded me to vote Tuesday at the Union. I support candidates like Vedder and Powell who take the time to come meet me and hear my concerns so that they can more effectively represent me.
Kristin Halverson
UW sophomore
Ech Vedder is running for County Board and Tom Powell is running for City Council in today’s election. Both of these candidates have admitted to knowingly violating campaign rules. The reasoning behind these violations: they think the rules are stupid. This is frightening. We have two candidates who believe that if the rules don’t help them, they can just ignore them, because Madison residents do not care enough to elect responsible candidates who play by the rules and will represent students. In addition, it is in poor taste to elect candidates who resort to shouting obscenities at people who catch them in the act of cheating.
Ion Skillrud and Ron Rosner are Vedder’s and Powell’s respective opponents. Both of these candidates are dedicated to playing by the rules, supporting the preservation of drink specials and the redesign of State Street. Skillrud and Rosner are pro-student, and as students, we need to go out and vote today and show that rules mean something.
Candidates must respect the rules for better or worse, or the system fails. Please go out today and vote for Ron Rosner for City Council and Ion Skillrud for County Board — not only will they represent student interests, but they will respect us as voters too.
Matt Modell
UW junior
