Paul Soglin: Waxing America

Barbara Lawton and Peg Lautenschlager Endorse Paul Soglin for Madison Mayor

Former Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton and former Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager have endorsed Paul Soglin for Madison Mayor.

“There is no one better to lead Madison in these difficult political times than Paul Soglin,” Lautenschlager said. “His respect for working families,  his lifelong commitment to civil rights and social justice and his passion for making Madison a better place for everyone makes him far and away the best candidate in this race.”

“The unprecedented challenges of our times call for smart, strategic, resourceful leadership. History teaches us that Paul Soglin is the man we need right now -- for his unimpeachable integrity, gutsy vision and commitment to dignity in politics and in our lives,” Lawton said.

Lautenschlager and Lawton join Madison Teachers, The Capital Times, The Daily Cardinal, IATSE Local 251, State Representative Terese Berceau, Dane County Supervisors Dianne Hesselbein, Melissa Sargent, Barb Vedder, John Hendrick, Melanie Hampton, Al Matano and Paul Rusk; Madison School Board Member Arlene Silveira; Alders Brian Solomon and Paul Skidmore; and hundreds of other community leaders in endorsing Paul Soglin for Mayor.

 

 Editor's Note: Campaign contributions can be made out to Soglin for Mayor and mailed to PO Box 1228, Madison WI 53701. Please include contact information and whether we can use your name as a supporter.  Let us know if you can volunteer or sponsor a fundraiser. State law requires you to supply employer information (name and address) if your contribution is over $100 in a calendar year. The campaign website at http://www.soglinformayor.com is able to take online contributions, but please feel free to go old school via the US Postal Service.

The Daily Cardinal endorses Paul Soglin and other nice stuff

Bring Soglin back to office

Most Madisonians consider Mayor Dave Cieslewicz a nice guy, and we won't disagree. But the city faces a new challenge every day, and we don't want it to lose its unique character. That's why we're endorsing former mayor, local legend and current challenger Paul Soglin on April 5.

Soglin says he's ready to lead Madison again

..."He'll meet with you. He'll listen to you. He'll try to make the thing happen," said attorney Ron Trachtenberg, a former council member who often represents developers...

"My desire for public office is the job itself," he said.

 

Editor's Note: Campaign contributions can be made out to Soglin for Mayor and mailed to PO Box 1228, Madison WI 53701. Please include contact information and whether we can use your name as a supporter.  Let us know if you can volunteer or sponsor a fundraiser. State law requires you to supply employer information (name and address) if your contribution is over $100 in a calendar year. The campaign website at http://www.soglinformayor.com is able to take online contributions, but please feel free to go old school via the US Postal Service.

 

Madison, Jobs and the Economy: A Mayor Can Make a Difference

When I served as mayor from 1989-97, we began the period with one of the toughest recessions and it was accompanied by record reductions in state shared revenues, reductions unmatched to this day. Yet that entire period Madison's unemployment rate was either the lowest or second lowest in the nation. In a bad month we occasionally slipped to third. Usually it was Madison and Lincoln, Nebraska competing for top honors.

During that same period we stabalized the poverty rate  at 27% which it held for a dozen years.

Early in the campaign Dave Cieslewicz told Isthmus,   

I'm proud of what I've accomplished as mayor and I'm asking Madison voters for another four years because I see the enormous potential for where we can go in the future. Madison has always been a leader in all we do, and the next step is to be a worldwide leader in the new economy.

Then,from Mike Ivey we learn in The Capital Times two weeks ago,  Madison area among weakest in U.S. for job creation over past year:

The Madison MSA, which includes Iowa and Columbia counties, reported no change in the 337,000 number of non-farm jobs over the period. The total also includes government positions.That performance puts Madison 267th worst out of 372 metro areas based on job growth percentage over the past year. Yuma, Ariz. ranked No. 372 with a -3.16 percent decline in the number of jobs.

The report raises again the question of why Madison hasn't done better at creating new jobs despite its natural advantages.

Add to that the incredible increase in the poverty rate from 32% to 51% in less than four years accompanied by our dropping to 14th on the unemployment charts, and you can see why a Madison mother told me last week:

The festivals and the admiration for our city are great. I want just one thing. My son to successfully complete his education and be able to find a job and an affordable home in Madison.

This can be fixed. We did it before by focusing on education and job training,  healthcare, transportation, housing, and quality childcare.

WE CAN DO IT AGAIN.

 

Editor's Note: Campaign contributions can be made out to Soglin for Mayor and mailed to PO Box 1228, Madison WI 53701. Please include contact information and whether we can use your name as a supporter.  Let us know if you can volunteer or sponsor a fundraiser. State law requires you to supply employer information (name and address) if your contribution is over $100 in a calendar year. The campaign website at http://www.soglinformayor.com is able to take online contributions, but please feel free to go old school via the US Postal Service.

 

David Mollenhoff: Why I Have A Soglin Sign In My Front Yard

David Mollenhoff, the preeminent historian of Madison development, owns property on Mansion Hill and has been a vocal critic of the Edgewater process.  Yesterday, he published an opinion piece in The Daily Page that outlined a list of problems with the process and then used the Edgewater as a lens to focus his choice for mayor next week.

The Edgewater demonstrates that Madison is really open for business. Mayor Dave boasts that Madison can be pro-business and progressive at the same time. Now we know how: by lowering our standards and then bragging about the results. Gov. Walker will be thrilled to discover that Madison's leaders are marching in lockstep with his administration's top goal.

So what should one do at the polls on April 5? That Mayor Cieslewicz supports the Edgewater without reservations is a given. Challenger Paul Soglin says he won’t block it because "the project has already received key city approvals."

However, if Cieslewicz is elected, we can expect four more years of neighborhood-dismissing, preservation-destroying, law-scorning, take-no-prisoners, big-project crusades. If Soglin is elected, we can expect thoughtful neighborhood involvement, a priority on historic preservation, respect for ordinances, plans and policies, and time-tested skill in implementing big projects. That's why I have a Soglin sign in my front yard. (emphasis added)

- Barry Orton

Editor's Note: Campaign contributions can be made out to Soglin for Mayor and mailed to PO Box 1228, Madison WI 53701. Please include contact information and whether we can use your name as a supporter.  Let us know if you can volunteer or sponsor a fundraiser. State law requires you to supply employer information (name and address) if your contribution is over $100 in a calendar year. The campaign website at http://www.soglinformayor.com is able to take online contributions, but please feel free to go old school via the US Postal Service.

Capital Times Endorses Soglin: The Essential Man For The Moment"

Last week we welcomed the Capital Times' endorsement of Paul Soglin for mayor of Madison:

While both candidates have much to offer, Soglin offers precisely the mix of organizing and managerial skills that Madison needs at this point. We’ve seen those skills on display over the past few weeks.

Soglin has been “on.” He joined the first protest marches; he slept in the Capitol; he kept the peace at tense moments; and he educated and encouraged not just a new generation of activists but veteran labor and political campaigners, who have relied on and respected his advice. Soglin’s knowledge of the city and its budget, always encyclopedic, has served him especially well in this demanding moment. He speaks with authority about what can and cannot be done, and is as focused on strategy and tactics as he is on particular policies.

While we retain a high regard for Dave Cieslewicz, we are convinced that Paul Soglin offers the city more in the way of experience, ideas and energy. To our view, Soglin is the essential man for the moment. He runs toward April 5 with our endorsement and our faith that he is ready not just to rumble with Walker but to preserve the values and the character of Madison in a time of turmoil -- and also of possibility.

The Capital Times' John Nichols went on Sly's  radio program to explain the endorsement; you can listen to it here.   Nichols cited Soglin's "passion for the minutia of governing," and when a city snowplow driver called in to praise Soglin, Nichols remarked that as mayor, Soglin "knew the exact types of plows and the routes each took." 

(FYI, Sunday's Wisconsin State Journal endorsed Cieslewicz, which may not help him a great deal with Madison's politically sophisticated voters. We well remember that the State Journal also endorsed Scott Walker for Governor last October, arguing that "Walker is no extremist.")

 - Barry Orton

 

Editor's Note: Campaign contributions can be made out to Soglin for Mayor and mailed to PO Box 1228, Madison WI 53701. Please include contact information and whether we can use your name as a supporter.  Let us know if you can volunteer or sponsor a fundraiser. State law requires you to supply employer information (name and address) if your contribution is over $100 in a calendar year. The campaign website at http://www.soglinformayor.com is able to take online contributions, but please feel free to go old school via the US Postal Service.

Rachael To Appear Monday in "The United States of Tara"

Rachael will make a guest appearance as a waitress in "The United States of Tara" starring Toni Collette Monday night at 9:30 PM, central time, on Showtime. Doug Moe writes in today's Wisconsin State Journal

Soglin Hits Her Stride in LA

The bug bit her early, in any case. In 1996, the State Journal reported on Soglin “stealing the end-of-the-year talent show at Randall Elementary School” with a rendition of “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend.”

Soon she was acting, too — embracing it all from the start. “I loved everything about it,” she said. “The singing, the dancing, the costumes.”

Nancy Thurow at CTM helped her with technique, and in February 2001, Soglin was cast as one of two leads in CTM’s production of “The Good Times Are Killing Me,” Lynda Barry’s intense tale of race relations in the 1960s. The reviews were ecstatic. “That was a really big show for me,” Soglin said.

Not every child who gets the opportunity to perform in school plays and community theater will go on to a professional career. but as West High teacher Rebecca Jallings said when she wrote Rachael's college recommendations, school drama programs provide every child with an appreciation of the arts. They may not always become professionals, but they will purchase tickets and support the arts.

The arts, all of them, help us mature and appreciate ourselves and our community. We learn to express ourselves and we find the arts stimulating, exciting, and awakening.

Governor Walker, tear down that wall and let our children reach their dreams.

Madison Teachers' Union Endorses Soglin For Mayor

Madison Teachers Endorse Paul Soglin for Mayor of Madison

Madison Teachers, Inc. (MTI)  has endorsed Paul Soglin for Mayor, citing his long and dynamic record of thoughtful and progressive action on behalf of Madison residents.

“Paul Soglin has a deep and longstanding commitment to Madison public schools, the children who learn in those schools and the teachers who teach those children ,” said Mike Lipp, athletic director and science teacher at Madison West High School, and president of Madison Teachers Inc. “Paul’s understanding of the challenges our schools face and his fluency with how best to bring the City and the schools together  distinguishes him on these issues.  His involvement with the Madison Schools began in the mid 1970’s, and has continued since that time.”

“It is an honor to earn the endorsement of Madison Teachers,” Soglin said. “I believe strongly that quality public schools are the single greatest asset a City can have. People and businesses want to locate in a City with strong public schools. Over half of the kids in our schools live in homes below the poverty level. We have to focus on fixing that.”

MTI represents about 4700 employees of the Madison Metropolitan School District,  including teachers, social workers, psychologists, educational assistants, librarians, school nurses, clerical staff and other caring, hardworking professionals.

 

Editor's Note: Campaign contributions can be made out to Soglin for Mayor and mailed to PO Box 1228, Madison WI 53701. Please include contact information and whether we can use your name as a supporter.  Let us know if you can volunteer or sponsor a fundraiser. State law requires you to supply employer information (name and address) if your contribution is over $100 in a calendar year. The campaign website at http://www.soglinformayor.com is able to take online contributions, but please feel free to go old school via the US Postal Service.

Some Of The Things I Did As Mayor and Other Stuff

One of my daughters said, "You did all these things; even I do not know all that you have done." So I put together a list and one the campaign staffers wrote this up. If you can think of things to add, please comment. 

• It was Senator Gaylord Nelson who asked Paul Soglin to speak alongside him at the first Earth Day rally in Madison April 22, 1970.
• Introduced and signed Wisconsin’s first law ensuring that sexual orientation and sexual preference were protected classes under the equal opportunity ordinance (1976).
• Paul led the successful fight to stop the nuclear power plant at Lake Koshkonong, using the resources of city government.
• He led the fight to stop the application of herbicides to Madison lakes including 2-4 D and aquathol.
• Led the fight to establish Madison’s bus system that established national ridership records.
• Acquired land for many of Madison’s parks.
• Developed Madison's bicycle path system with the first major route - the loop around Lake Monona. "It cost $50,000, has no moving parts and brings joy to thousands of people every week."
• Created a modern diverse integrated city workforce; set the standard for the private sector.
• Pushed for comparable pay for comparable work for women at a time conservative male union leaders said "No."
• Led the city of Madison remediation to clean up old landfills and town dumps by excavating, sealing them and putting in natural gas extraction systems.
• Initiated and launched the city’s comprehensive recycling program taking glass, metals, and plastics as well as paper, building materials and hazardous substances out of the landfills. It set records in the 1990’s for household participation which is sustained today.
• Built the pedestrian-transit State Street Mall from Lake Street to the Capitol and the full pedestrian mall by the Memorial Library.
• Built the Capitol Concourse, home to the Farmers’ Market and the Art Fair on the Square and fewer automobiles.
• Built the Monona Terrace Visitor and Convention Center.
• Acquired the land and buildings, let the bids  for the Madison Civic Center, which is now the Overture Center for the Arts.
• Created the city’s Community Services program which now funds over $4 million annually to groups ranging from the Rape Crisis Center to Porchlight.
• Raised participation of women on city committees to over 48% and minorities to over 12% when previously they only had token representation.
• Recruited the first women for the Madison Fire Department; responsible for the hiring of the first woman fire chief.
• When he last left office, the city of Madison had six women department heads including the Fire Chief, City Attorney, and Human Resources Director.
• Developed and built Olbrich Botanical Gardens Conservatory, later expanded to become the Bolz Conservatory.
• Sponsored legislation and supported the devlopement of the Nine Springs E-Way.
• Hired the first affirmative action officer and began the contract compliance program which required city contractors to file good faith plans to hire women and minorities.
• Built thousands of units of affordable housing for seniors and working families.
• Active in the Civil Rights movement.
• Launched the South Madison Community Health Center (Harambee) which provides health care service to tens of thousands of people annually. This Park Street facility is recognized as contributing to the lowering of black infant mortality – Madison and Dane County had the lowest rate in the nation.
• Created the Neighborhood Resource Teams (NRTs) of police officers and nurses, firefighters and social workers, housing and employment specialists, which led to reducing neighborhood violence and increased economically sustainable households.
• Built the nation’s first housing designed for individuals with physical disabilities.
• Established Madison’s purchasing program to encourage the use of women and minority owned businesses for city purchases.
• During his tenure, Madison’s unemployment was often the lowest in the U.S.; often 1/3rd the national average. Now we are lower than the national average, but nowhere near the lowest.
• Adopted land use policies focusing on density, and created office and manufacturing space for tens of thousand of workers including the UW Research Park and the southeast side business park.
• Actively opposed the war in Vietnam beginning in 1963.

 

Wisconsin State Journal "Sets It Straight' On Boycott

Sunday, the Wisconsin State Journal printed a retraction or correction, whichever you prefer, on what I said regarding boycotts. This appears on page two of section C2. I could not find it online:

Soglin did not call for boycott

A story on page 1 of the front section March 10 about public reaction to the Legislature’s rush to pass collective bargaining bill mischaracterized remarks by former Mayor Paul Soglin. Soglin urged protestors to express their displeasure to Gov. Walker’s supporters, including business executives who gave to the governor’s campaign, but he did not call for a boycott of those businesses.

Thank you. And to once again make sure everyone has it straight:

We need to ask all of Walker's moderate supporters, business leaders or not,  to contact him and say "Not in my name -do not destroy collective bargaining." 

 

Soglin On Judge Sumi's Order Halting Walker's Budget "Repair" Bill

Statement by Paul Soglin on Judge Sumi’s Decision Granting a Temporary Restraining Order to Stop Implementation of the Walker Budget Repair Bill:

Dane County District Attorney Ish Ozanne did terrific legal work on behalf of all Wisconsin residents in winning a temporary restraining order that will block publication or other actions to implement the Budget Repair Bill. There is, of course, the possibility that the legislature will convene again, this time lawfully, and pass this bill. We must continue to do all we can to fix this legislation. As it stands, it would have terrible, negative consequences for Madison and the State of Wisconsin.