Many students rely on the Badger Herald for high-quality coverage of local politics. However, I was disappointed when the Editorial Board focused on age during their coverage of the mayoral election. For example, the Editorial Board labels the mayor of Madison, Paul Soglin, as an “old fogey” and attempts to prove this slur by linking to a fake, satirical Twitter account. The Badger Herald Editorial Board is entitled to their opinions on the race, but I hope that forthcoming coverage of the mayoral election is more substantive.
For example, is the proposal to build 1,000 affordable housing units for the homeless of Madison a good way to combat poverty? Maybe you don’t think so, but it’s a major step Soglin is backing to address the important issue of homelessness here in Madison. Furthermore, Soglin stands up for net neutrality and developed a summer youth employment program that has received national recognition. These are two issues that young people care about, and to discredit his work on them just because of Soglin’s age is not the kind of insight from the board that students have come to expect from the Herald.
I’m not saying that all of Soglin’s previous initiatives and proposals are infallible. However, I maintain that the Herald’s Editorial Board should focus on the candidates’ experiences and the effects of their proposals on the Madison community, rather than their age.
Ross Dahlke ([email protected]) is a freshman with an undecided major.