District 13 is the near south side, Bay Creek, Vilas and Brams Addition.
MICAH BERKEN
No response. Also did not attend League of Women Voters Taping.
SUE ELLINGSON
QUESTION ONE: What are the top three issues in the city that need to be resolved and what specifically would you propose to resolve them.
1. Poverty and discrimination: If we could reduce poverty and discrimination, our schools would be more successful, the need for community services would decline, even the need for basic services such as police would decline. Of course, the problem extends beyond the city—fundamentally the poor need more money, and the minimum wage should be increased. In Madison, I would propose better coordination of community services and more investment in them.
2. Improving the lakes: A lesson I learned as an environmental advocate was that once an ecosystem is destroyed, it’s destroyed forever and cannot be brought back. Avoiding that tipping point is vital. I will propose a “Year of Water” to focus on ways to improve the lakes and to celebrate our spectacular landscape.
3. Improving city committees: I believe too much work is done by the council itself. City committees should take on the details of issues within their purview. The council should primarily set policy. I will work toward better management and organization of these committees.
QUESTION TWO: What are the top three issues in your district that need to be resolved and what specifically would you propose to resolve them.
1. Regular attention to quality of life issues, such as noise, speeding, and parking: Of all the things I’ve heard from voters, quality of life issues such as noise from Willow Island and Vilas Park, speeding, parking, badly located bus stops, etc., are at the top of the list. I will work to solve these problems and to develop a system for logging the complaints and keeping track of progress on them.
2. Redevelopment: There are places in District 13 where the built environment needs to be improved. Two examples are the Greenbush/Vilas student area and the Park St corridor. However, there are numerous neighborhood and commercial plans. I will review the plans regularly and share them with neighbors, not necessarily for major revisions, but to remind us how we’re doing. I will work to realize neighborhood-friendly developments throughout the district and the city.
3. Monroe St reconstruction: Success of the Monroe St business district is an important factor in the quality of life for nearby residents. I will work to help these local businesses succeed during the proposed street reconstruction.
MIKE LESTER
No response.
TJ MERTZ
QUESTION ONE: What are the top three issues in the city that need to be resolved and what specifically would you propose to resolve them.
Madison and District 13 face many difficult issues that require an alder who is independent, responsive and effective . Poverty, development and faith in government are the three big areas that I think should be given the most attention.
Improving the lives of our community’s most vulnerable members by providing real opportunities and efficient, compassionate services is at the top of my list. The slow economy and the new state government mean that budgets will be difficult. I am experienced in analyzing, organizing and advocating on state, county, city and school district budgets. I’ll use everything I’ve learned to make addressing poverty a priority and continue working with service providers to find better ways to help people achieve economic security.
Development is a huge category. Growing our local economy, helping business impacted by the economic downturn and keeping our neighborhoods vital would all benefit from more inclusive, comprehensive approaches to city planning and proactive implementation of plans. The initial stages of the examination of the development process seem promising, but there is a constant need to make sure that residents, neighborhood associations and owners of all size businesses are fully included at all stages. It also seems that increasingly the city’s development agenda is being driven by private entities. From the Edgewater, to the Overture and most recently the John Nolen Drive plan, the city finds itself in a reactive mode, with the agenda set by others. Public – Private partnerships are important, but the city, representing the public, needs to be more active in developing and realizing a collective vision of Madison’s future. Union Corners and the purchase of the Don Miller properties may be important steps in this direction. I’ll work to make sure that the city has the capacity to make these and other public initiatives – large and small – successful.
I am committed to restoring faith in government and reinvigorating public engagement will. I believe that everything the city does – from sidewalk repairs to major initiatives – benefits from a commitment to community-wide participation. The political machinations surrounding the Edgewater project have led many to perceive that government primarily serves powerful insiders. Changing this requires providing meaningful opportunities for individuals and groups to shape city policies and actions, keeping the public informed,in a timely manner and protecting the roles of citizens in our committee system. I bring to these tasks extensive experience as an organizer and an advocate who is committed to open and inclusive government.
QUESTION TWO: What are the top three issues in your district that need to be resolved and what specifically would you propose to resolve them.
The big issues facing District 13 are much like the big issues facing the city, as a whole; Poverty, development and faith and government. This is a district where many people struggle with poverty and economic uncertainty. It is a District where there is great potential for development and much interest in shaping this development. It is a district that needs an alder who will listen to the concerns of the residents, represent their interests make them part of the process to restore faith that government can work for all.
According to the most recent census data, District 13 includes areas among Madison’s lowest in (non student) median household incomes, and in this part of the District income has declined by 16% since 2000. You don’t have to look at the data, walking around our neighborhoods and talking to people the economic hardship is obvious. Addressing inequality by providing services, resources and opportunities for those in poverty has been at the center of all I have done as a public education advocate. Through this work, I’ve teamed with many others around the city who are devoted to helping people improve their lives and assuring that our community maintains a commitment to this work. One of the things I look most forward to when I think about serving as an Alder is the opportunity build on these efforts.
Park Street has to be at the center of any discussion of development in District 13 – especially the Wingra Creek Build plan and the Bancroft Dairy site –, but the recent Greenbush-Vilas neighborhood plan, support for business districts on Regent, Monroe and Lakeside and the John Nolen proposal are also deserve attention. In many of these cases, there have been open processes resulting in viable plans. Yet these plans too often languish. After neighborhoods and businesses have collaborated and arrived at a shared vision, the city should assume an active role in bringing these plans to fruition. It may mean small cap tax incremental financing, it may mean more using land banking and active marketing properties, it may mean support for neighborhood and business groups. I expect that zoning code rewrite process will play a role and it will certainly require a reorientation of development work in a way that will allow city staff the necessary time and resources, time and resources which have recently been devoted instead to large, privately initiated developments.
The development issues in District 13 provide examples of how the city can work to restore faith in government. It begins with involving people. An Alder’s most important role is to serve as a conduit between their constituents and the city, someone who will listen to all points of views and assist in negotiating through thorny red tape. I will be accessible by phone, email, and social media, and at events around the district, keeping District 13 residents informed by providing regular updates to newsletters and the city website and through email alerts. As detailed above, It goes beyond that to creating opportunities for individuals and organizations to have meaningful participation in municipal governance. Recently, I was talking to a resident of the district and he said that “the commons” was what was most important to him. The immediate context was the health of the lakes, but the larger sense of the commons as a shared space that bring people together developed as we talked. City government works best when it brings people together. I’ll bring government closer to the people and bring people into the government processes. This is the key to making Madison work for all.
To move forward on these and other other issues – such as reliable and affordable public transportation, clean water, healthy lakes, better school-community relations – our district needs someone who will be independent, responsive and effective; an experienced community advocate who gets things done. I am that person.
