Ald. Eli Judge won't seek re-election
Ald. Eli Judge announced Monday that he would not seek a second term as the campus-area representative to the City Council.
Judge, 21, is a University of Wisconsin-Madison senior expecting to graduate in May and go on to law school. While UW-Madison is at the top of his list of schools, Judge cited the demands of law school as his reason for not running again.
"I've always wanted to go to law school, and you basically can't be a first-year law student and an alder at the same time," he said.
Judge added that he had been considering re-election up until recent weeks, and that the decision not to run was not easy.
"Thanksgiving break was kind of my final moment to measure all the options," he said. "It was an extremely difficult decision to make. I love working not only with students, but with the city at large."
In his one term on the City Council, Judge said he was happy with the work he accomplished, particularly regarding safety and tenant rights. Among the legislation he wrote that was passed by the City Council were an ordinance regulating textbook resales that resulted in a nearly 100 percent drop in textbook thefts, an ordinance requiring landlords to photograph damages that were to be charged to tenants and a grant program to improve exterior lighting on private properties.
Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and downtown Ald. Mike Verveer praised Judge's work on the council in a press release sent out Monday afternoon.
"Eli is a wonderful student representative, remaining incredibly dedicated to improving Madison's safety," Verveer said. "He has shown a willingness to work with all sides of the Council to achieve concrete results and his style of leadership will be sorely missed. I wish him the best of luck with his future plans."
Judge said he would not be speaking with any potential District 8 candidates until after the filing deadline, Jan. 6, because he didn't want to any candidate to appear as a chosen successor. That being said, however, he added he was confident suitable replacement could be found in the district.
"Given how politically and socially diverse the 8th District is, I would be very shocked if we didn't have a vibrant collection of candidates," he said.
The 8th District encompasses most of the
campus area and is bordered by Henry Street on the east, Regent
Street on the south, Babcock Street on the west and Lake Mendota to
the north. Information on running for election can be found on the
City Clerk's Web page.
Judge
