Yesterday, Brenda Konkel's blog, Forward Lookout, had a letter to Mayor Cieslewicz that strongly took issue with the Mayor's statements that his administration had a handle on poverty and that there were no longer Madison neighborhoods in trouble.
Along with several hundred of my eastside neighbors, I attended last week’s People’s Forum for the Mayoral and Dane County Executive Candidates. As the President of the Worthington Park Neighborhood Association, imagine my surprise to hear you say that Madison no longer has any troubled neighborhoods. You are surely aware that the Darbo-Worthington neighborhood includes some of Madison’s lowest-income residents, rundown housing stock, high concentrations of children eligible for free and reduced lunch, and challenges related to crime. Though there certainly have been improvements in recent years – and the Neighborhood Association has been at the heart of the creative and collaborative efforts that have led to many of these improvements.
And while those of us who live in the neighborhood see everywhere the possibilities and the opportunities instead of just the challenges facing our small neighborhood, I remain dismayed that you feel that our neighborhood is no longer “troubled.” I would like to ask that, if you are re-elected on April 5th, that you commit yourself to better understanding the challenges facing Darbo-Worthington neighborhood and make addressing them a priority for your next year as Mayor. Would you be willing to make that commitment to us?
Thank you,
Dace A. Zeps
President, Worthington Park Neighborhood Association
Today Brenda posted a similar letter from the head of the Allied Dunn's Marsh Neighborhood Association:
We, as members of the Allied Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood Association and co-sponsors of the “People’s Candidate Forum” held March 22 at the Barrymore Theater, are gravely concerned with some of Mayor Dave’s statements from that night. We want to go on record as questioning your commitment as Mayor to this neighborhood and other similarly struggling neighborhoods in Madison.
Several questions we asked the candidates that night dealt with issues that concern communities of color and neighborhoods with a significant portion of the population living poverty like ours in Madison and Dane County. We were surprised by many of your responses and we were disappointed that you took personal credit for work in Allied that has been done collaboratively. We were particularly troubled that you readily dismissed the fact the vast majority of Allied residents continue to be burdened by the challenges of poverty and lack of opportunity. While we’ve made some strides to improve the quality of the housing stock and engaged more residents in moving forward, we know we are not finished. Just because the Mayor has declared victory over poverty in Allied, doesn’t make it so.
...We would also like to take this opportunity to set the record straight about what the “Allied Approach” has involved and give credit where credit is due.
Despite your claim that we no longer have troubled neighborhoods in Madison, we know from our personal experiences that we still do. Allied is definitely improving, that is true. But there remain many neighborhoods in Madison that require the attention and resources of the City—Darbo-Worthington, Wexford Ridge, Truax, Vera Court, and South Madison come to mind. We ask that you listen to communities of color and other communities plagued by poverty in this city to find out where they are and what they say they need to improve their neighborhoods.
...You referenced the Neighborhood Indicators Project that will allow us to find early indicators, early warning signs, of stress in neighborhoods. Presuming the City has these tools, we have not seen how the City will use this information to make policy and resource allocation decisions. Again, with the recent challenges of the decreased economy, loss of jobs, high unemployment in these neighborhoods, we think there is more the City can be doing and we wonder about the upcoming commitment after April 5. Additionally when you, Mayor Dave, talked about jobs for the City of Madison, they all seem to be geared toward high-tech and jobs that require a 4-year degree. What is being planned for job creation for residents in OUR communities?
... We are looking for Mayor Dave’s response and commitment to our neighborhood, along with many other similar groups that seem to be on the fringe of the City’s attention in these challenging times.
Selena Pettigrew
President, Allied Dunn's Marsh Neighborhood Association
(emphases added and edited for space)
Paul Soglin has made fighting poverty's impacts on Madison's citizens a centerpiece of his campaign, and was aghast at Cieslewicz' assertions that Madison no longer has troubled neighborhoods. Looks like leaders of those neighborhoods are aghast also.
- 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.
Thanks to you and Brenda for getting this information out to the public!
I remember looking at the Cities "Neighborhood Indicators" and it seemed to me it consisted of things you could measure without ever setting foot in the neighborhoods. This makes no sense to me!
Posted by: William Patterson | April 03, 2011 at 07:11 PM