Today is Election Day. This board should not have to implore students to vote at their local precincts. But as we’ve lamented before, turnout for local elections is notoriously low.
Three high-profile City Council elections are being held, along with even higher-profile races. Among these City Council races, this board has endorsed Bridget Maniaci for District 2, Hamilton Arendsen for District 5 and Bryon Eagon for District 8. We have also endorsed Kathleen Falk for
Each contested district has its own needs. District 2, with its plethora of locally owned small businesses, has been particularly affected by this economic recession. The incumbent alder, Brenda Konkel, has not shown economic leadership. Her governance has consisted mostly of petty, incoherent spats with Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and attempts to push through inappropriate legislation at even more inappropriate times. Maniaci, in contrast, offers a more diplomatic approach with grassroots plans for revitalizing her district’s small businesses. Maniaci has also been a vigorous opponent of the Alcohol License Density Plan, which puts limits on liquor licenses in the downtown area, effectively shuttling underage drinkers into dangerous house parties. And she has shown interest in extending outgoing District 8 Ald. Eli Judge’s Downtown Lighting Initiative into District 2, improving student safety.
Two worthy candidates are running for District 5: Shiva Bidar-Sielaff and Arendsen. Both would make fine alders, but Arendsen has outlined a more specific and economically shrewd plan for his district: Arendsen recognizes the nuances of business development in
And then there’s District 8, the coveted “student district” currently represented by Judge. Here the choice is crystal-clear. Mark Woulf’s candidacy has been severely under-informed. Woulf means well but has an imprecise understanding of what his responsibilities as a council member would be — evidenced by his insistence that alders have the power to stop bar raids on campus and shut down the Charter Street coal plant. These objections notwithstanding, we have seen too much tragedy and trauma on this campus to support any candidate without a clearly delineated and mature plan for campus safety; Woulf has been too reticent about this all-important issue. In contrast, Eagon might be the most thoughtful candidate running in any
The voters’ choice for
The full text of our candidate endorsements, as well as additional Editorial Board opinion and news coverage of every race, can be found at www.badgerherald.com. To identify your district and locate your polling place, reference either today’s News section
or the http://www.cityofmadison.com/. Local elections are often forgotten amidst the sexier issue fronts of state and national politics. We hope UW students will not sit today’s election out.