Hi, my name is Ashok Kumar. Perhaps you?ve heard of me.
Madison?s anemic and asinine right wing has been smearing me for years, like a little bit of peanut butter over so much white bread. The Badger Herald and friends from the Wisconsin State Journal and WIBA right-wing morning radio have historically given me the cold shoulder. But now the Herald ? presumably with the express permission of sugar daddy Pat Robertson ? has finally given me one shot, one opportunity to introduce myself.
So a proper wassup:
I?m your County Board supervisor, and for two years, I?ve been fighting like Vick?s dogs for you. For student safety. For workers? rights. To make Madison a little less openly hostile to people of color. In short, for our mutual liberation. And it?s been a real pleasure.
Now, I don?t know why, but the Herald has decided to ignore all of this ? and not only these pressing issues, but almost every county issue in the year 2007. That may explain why, according to the Badger Herald Editorial Board, ?few students have heard of Kumar.? But because this mouthpiece of do-nothing politics is not our only source of news, you and I have been able to get a lot done. I am proud of our work in getting a boatload of progressive legislation catapulted to success through organized struggle ? from full housing protections for ex-felons, tenants receiving Section 8 federal vouchers and undocumented immigrants, to laws ending exploitive jail profiteering and union-busting employers countywide.
As a student and an activist and a human being, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the privilege and honor of representing the great 5th District of Dane County. My experience on the Board of Supervisors has been very fulfilling for me; I hope and believe that the same is true for many of you.
Far from the Badger Herald Editorial Board?s Candyland delusions of my ?disconnectedness? from students, my reason for not seeking re-election is about my fundamental distrust of entrenched power anywhere. I have always believed in bottom-up democracy and this conviction has only been steel-reinforced by my one and only term on the board. I came to this realization through my involvement in struggles that I am proud to have been a part of, often taking the lead at the County Board level and university levels.
As to the Herald?s refusal to cover all of this, I suspect it has less to do with ideological malice than fo? real ignorance.
The County Board is non-partisan, painted neither red nor blue. For lockstep thinkers ? always a plurality but never a majority of this paper?s editorial staff ? shades of gray confuse and bewilder. So the Herald?s silence on the tremendously important issues the board has weighed in on during the last couple of years seems to be a practical application of Abraham Lincoln?s advice: ?Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.?
My score thus settled with the Herald, I?m lookin? ahead, to the future of the County Board and the people?s struggle in Dane County. I?m particularly excited to see two student candidates running for the 5th district seat.
My first piece of advice to the candidates is this: Don?t think down only one or two roads.
Force yourself to see all parts of the whole. Student issues aren?t exclusively campus issues ? they are inevitably intertwined with broader systemic concerns that affect the community we all share. Students are undoubtedly affected by county environmental, housing and criminal justice policy. We have a half a million residents in Dane County, and ?campus safety?
translates to livable jobs, affordable housing and basic civil rights for residents on the other side of the tracks, maybe slightly beyond the campus comfort zone. Contrary to privileged opinion, the world does not end at Emerald Street.
Unfortunately, counties lack what is known as ?home rule authority?
in Wisconsin ? a kind of power limited to municipal governments such as the city of Madison. Although there are more than 60 cities, towns and villages in Dane County, the Board of Supervisors? home rule authority is limited exclusively to unincorporated areas, or ?towns.? Unless counties are granted authority from the state of Wisconsin, laws passed by their boards are limited to the unincorporated areas.
While the board?s power is limited in this way, I have nevertheless seen this as an avenue for major social change ? to benefit people and not profit. Towns are the outlying areas where most of the farms are located. Preservation of farmland is a crucial battle for the environment and social justice. This means we have the legal authority to pass ordinances such as banning genetically modified food production or promoting pro-family farm measures, which benefit everyone in Dane County in a sustainable manner.
Happily, there are some exceptions to this ?no home rule?
straightjacket. For example, the County Board has full fair housing authority over the county, which means we can mandate anti-discriminatory policies countywide. We also have public health authority, which could result in a countywide paid sick days mandate on all employers or a countywide ban on smoking in bars or restaurants. I believe sick days and the smoking ban will be crucial issues for debate in spring and summer 2008.
The Dane County Board also has full authority over lakes and watershed, which absolutely affect students and our environment. In the last two years, we have passed bans on the sale of fertilizer with phosphorus and coal tar sealant because of their detrimental effect on the lakes. These regulations should be expanded to include mercury runoff from the coal power plants and pesticides from farms and lawns.
The board also controls a $500 million budget, half of which goes to human services. The human services budget is allocated to support shelters for the homeless, assistance for the developmentally disabled and other crucial social services. The other half of the budget goes to services including the Sheriff?s Department, the District Attorney?s Office, public works projects and the jail. The budget can be effectively used to leverage progressive policies from these institutions.
For Wyndham Manning and Conor O?Hagan, both of whom are vying for the District 5 seat, I would suggest tackling a few issues comprehensively. Affordable housing is crucial and affects every student on campus. I am proud to have created the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Subcommittee, which is searching for ways to fund its program. I look forward to hearing creative ideas from the candidates to fund this program without dipping into an already starved human services budget or by resorting to a regressive property or sales tax policy.
Another crucial issue is the lake. We all agree that Dane County lakes are pretty nasty. We not only need to clean it up but also need to make sure that we address the root causes of pollutants, such as agricultural and industrial runoff.
Thanks to the Herald for letting me ?run off? my mouth (finally) and best of luck to whichever candidate proves himself or herself better able to fight entrenched power and privilege.
Students ? one part of the incredibly complex and beautiful whole we call Dane County ? are counting on you.
Ashok Kumar ([email protected]) is the Dane County 5th District supervisor.