In the last four years, we’ve gotten Madison moving again. We did that by rejecting the old politics of cynical attacks and division. Instead, we’ve worked hard to bring the community together around a common vision.
Students are a big part of that vision. With 40,000 students on campus, students bring energy, excitement and creativity to Madison. I saw this energy in action this past fall, when I joined a vast number of students in opposition to the statewide constitutional ban on civil unions and gay marriage. And while we may have failed to prevent the ban from passing, I remain committed to defending Madison’s domestic partner benefits and registry. And I am convinced that your generation of Americans will overturn these amendments in the future.
Students are vital to making Madison a vibrant, robust community, too. They represent a huge work force and a major part of our economy. They volunteer tens of thousands of hours to all kinds of projects that improve our community. So, addressing the concerns of students is a major part of what I want to do as your mayor.
Madison is a very safe city. Our crime rate is well below not only bigger cities but also most other cities of our size. Still, because of recent incidents around campus, I know that students are justifiably concerned about public safety. So, in the last four years we’ve added more than two dozen new police officers, enacted an ordinance requiring landlords to install outside door locks, and this year I created a new $100,000 program for downtown public safety. Police Chief Noble Wray has been working with students, downtown residents and others to put together a plan that best meets the needs of the community. That plan should be ready to go very soon.
It’s hard to talk about issues that impact students without at least mentioning Halloween. I have felt for a long time that the event was in some trouble if we couldn’t find a way to turn it around. We know that most of the problems of the past weren’t caused by UW students but by visitors to our city. So, we tried something new this year by gating, and the result was that people had a good time and the event ended safely for everyone. We worked closely with UW students on plans for the event, and we’ll continue that in future years.
One thing I’ve tried to emphasize to everyone in Madison is that students are full members of our community with just as much interest in the range of issues as anyone else. Like me, many students want to stay here after graduation or come back after some time away. In fact, I came here to go to school, left briefly and then found a way to get back and stay. That’s a typical story, because many of us fall in love with this place and want to build our lives here.
So, I have students and the future in mind when I work on issues of growth. We add about 2,000 residents per year, about 800 new households and eleven miles of streets. If we don’t act wisely, we will choke on the 100,000 more cars that will be added to our streets in Dane County in the next two decades. We need to aggressively pursue policies that provide affordable housing, good schools and transportation alternatives. We need to anticipate problems before they get out of hand and address them now.
Students played a major role in my election four years ago. We had a strong campus organization and we won every campus ward. That didn’t happen by accident. We worked hard to address student issues by listening to students themselves.
This time around, I’m running after four years of experience as Madison’s mayor. I’ve learned a few things and hope we’ve improved each year in office, but I’ll run the same kind of grassroots campaign. That means we need volunteers to help out. If you’d like to help in the campaign, come to our campus kickoff Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. (TITU) or contact our campus coordinator, Matt Berg, at [email protected]. For more information, you can also check out our website at www.daveformadison.com.
Dave Cieslewicz is the mayor of Madison and running for re-election in the spring.