Election Matters: Mayor won't back Konkel foe

John Nichols  —  1/28/2009 9:39 am

PRIMARY ELECTION: Feb. 17

GENERAL ELECTION: April 7

AGAINST BRENDA, BUT NOT FOR SOMEONE ELSE: What will the mayor do?

Much has been made about the fact that Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz talked to several prominent residents of Madison's near east side 2nd Aldermanic District about challenging incumbent Brenda Konkel. Konkel has challenged the mayor on plenty of issues, especially budget matters, and the two just do not get along.

But don't look for the mayor's name to show up on the literature of one of Konkel's primary foes.

The potential contenders that the mayor spoke with decided against making the race. And the mayor intends to adopt a wait-and-see approach to the four candidates who have filed to run against Konkel: Dennis Denure, Sherman Hackbarth, Adam Walsh and Bridget Maniaci.

The mayor speaks highly of Maniaci, a former intern in his office who promises to run an aggressive grass-roots campaign, and Walsh, an attorney with Kelly, Habermehl & Bushaw, S.C., who was active in student government on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus and has some of the lefty credentials that count in the district. Walsh highlights the fact that he was active with the Student Labor Action Coalition (SLAC), a pro-worker group on campus. "My fondest memory as a member of SLAC is delivering a speech to local union members on the steps of the Capitol on the need to keep University employee wages high and tuition reasonable so that the children of workers can attend the institution their labor provides," he writes on his extensive campaign Web site.

Maniaci is also highlighting her progressive credentials, noting that, "She served as campaign manager to Progressive Dane County Board Supervisor Wyndham Manning ... " Konkel is, of course, the most prominent Progressive Dane stalwart on the council.

And, in case the mayor is wondering whether Maniaci wants his endorsement, he might want to note that his picture is featured at the top of her Web site.

What's the key to the endorsement? Run strong, perhaps ahead of Konkel, in the Feb. 17 primary.

Only if Konkel is held below 50 percent of the vote and if it is clear that a solid challenger has emerged will the mayor squander political capital on this race.

THE SCHOOL BOARD RACE: Silveira has an opponent

Last year, for the first time in recent memory, both Madison school board races were uncontested.

Not this year.

Madison School Board President Arlene Silviera has an opponent: west side business owner Donald Gors Jr., a father with children currently in high school.

Gors has never before sought office.

School Board Vice President Lucy Mathiak, an eastsider who defeated board veteran Juan Jose Lopez in an intense race three years ago, is unopposed this year.

Here's what Jim Zellmer has to say about the race at the always detailed School Information Systems Web site

WHERE THE REAL ACTION IS: In Fitchburg, where the fight is about ... libraries

There will be dozens of local races around Dane County in February and April, but nowhere will the campaigning be more intense than in Fitchburg.

The Feb. 17 primary will feature a four-way race for mayor, featuring Alds. Jay Allen and Roger Tesch, former Mayor Mark Vivian (1999-2003) and active citizen Mark Jones.

Mayor Tom Clauder, who was briefly boomed as a contender for Dane County Executive, is stepping down.

The action is not just at the mayor level.

While 13 of Madison's 20 aldermanic contests will go uncontested, all four aldermanic contests in Fitchburg have races, and two will see three-way primaries.

What gives? Fitchburg is a fast-growing community that is becoming increasingly urban but that is struggling to develop urban services. The fight over how to fund a library is a good example of this. Fitchburg voters backed a proposal to build the library, but the community has struggled to come up with a plan to fund operation of the facility.

Jay Allen, who seems to be running hardest for mayor at this point, has made the library issue a central focus of his run, arguing that:

I support the Fitchburg Library. I have given money to it, and I will again. I believe that this is an important piece of public infrastructure. I will work to have a library proposal which the Council will support.

I have been in those uncomfortable moments driving with a business owner looking at Fitchburg asking about various pieces of public infrastructure. Things like the City Hall, schools, libraries...libraries. Well we don't have any of those.

I know what a library 150 feet from my back door meant to me growing up in Creve Coeur, Missouri. It was a refuge for me. A place to explore my imagination in a different way. A place to learn about things all over the world.

The Council has a number of concerns about the current proposal. The location, the number of locations, the cost...all have provided a lot of discomfort for various council members.

I believe that it is possible to come up with a library proposal that the Council will support. The Library Committee, the Library Board, and the Friends of the Fitchburg Library have done a lot of work, provided a lot of research, and have developed a lot of information. We can use all that has been done to come up with an answer that respects the results of both referenda.

As Mayor, I will work closely with the Council to get a Fitchburg Library proposal approved.

Tesch, a member of the city Library Board, has also been outspoken on these issues. He called himself "a strong advocate and champion for the library."

In a November conversation with The Capital Times, Tesch said, "I view this as a pivotal point in Fitchburg's history. This is a chance to create something really fantastic that would benefit the people of the city as a whole. It would provide access not only to books, but also meeting space and opportunities to gather. To me, that is a basic part of being a city."

NOT-SO-LOCAL POLITICS: A global perspective

Your writer appeared Wednesday on WPR's program Here on Earth to discuss President-elect Barack Obama and world affairs. Here's the Here on Earth link. Just tap the icon for Wednesday's show to hear the program.

John Nichols  —  1/28/2009 9:39 am