Paul Soglin: Waxing America

Letter to President Trump Regarding the Swamp

The Wisconsin State Journal asked me to write a letter to the President.  Here it is, with a few modifications:

 

Dear President Trump,

When you drain the swamp, rid our nation of a monstrous falsehood that undermines our success and stops us at every level of government from building a great economy.

The lie is prevalent in the states of Wisconsin and Kansas, in the counties of Florida and Wyoming and in our nation’s capital.    

Cutting income taxes for corporations and wealthy individuals does not lead to private investment and the creation of jobs. Cutting those taxes makes the one percent wealthier and screws the rest of us.

Quality jobs with a living wage are created by public investment in bridges and roads, high-speed internet and public education, for only then does the private sector invest in new businesses. The history of this great nation since the civil war has been periods of construction of dams, railroads, highways, airports, communication systems, education for veterans and more.  Each of these periods of public spending was followed by significant entrepreneurship and a more robust economy.      

The past four decades Washington D.C. has been infested with lobbyists and politicians who took care of themselves, and left the nation to rot. You have a spectacular opportunity to rid the swamp of polluters, leeches, and snakes that poisoned the water, the air, and the earth.

Now is your opportunity to create a new climate, a climate of investment and compassion that looks over all of the earth and its creatures, nurtures and grows the economy taking care of future generations.

Paul R. Soglin

Mayor                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Getting My Priorities Right For the City of Madison

A reader wrote into the Wisconsin State Journal on Tuesday, Todd Van Fossen: Soglin should focus on crime, not signs: 

As a nearly lifelong Madison resident, I was baffled and appalled by Mayor Paul Soglin’s interview with Shawn Doherty. It was either a case of bad mayoral priorities, bad reporting and interviewing, or both. I have tremendous respect for Soglin, but the city has real problems that require real leadership....

...Crime is rampant. It’s a problem. It happens under the shadow of the West Side Police Station on McKenna.Mr. Mayor, with all due respect, the problem is not with signs at Johnson and Mills that impede your bicycling. The problem is crime and the declining home values and quality of life it causes in neighborhoods that are a primary tax base of our city...

 

Frankly, I cannot blame Mr. Van Fossen. Clearly it is time for me to return to blogging to make sure that Madisonians know that I hear from them, what is important to me, and what I recommend we do.

The first and most important challenge is to tackle City of Madison budget issues. We took several blows from the state in lost shared revenues, transportation aids, and recycling funds. In addition we have our own problems created by a series of decisions that lead to too much borrowing, borrowing for operating expenses, and relying on grants that required the city to step in with significant expenditures to maintain required service levels.

After we stabilize the budget we will be able to get into a position where we can tackle the problems of many Madison neighborhoods. We are well aware of the challenges -- rising poverty, increased crime, particularly violent crime, and needed employment opportunities. We are not waiting. Certain areas of the city are getting heightened police coverage, attention for violence related to substance abuse and mental illness, and issues related to neglected property.

At the same time there are still the 'broken window matters'. Some are aesthetic, such as illegal signage. Others are more serious such as carelessly parked bicycles and scooters on sidewalks that make the way impassable for anyone using a walker or a wheelchair.

I love the challenge of solving these problems.  Some commentators prefer to gossip about my attitude in addressing these very sobering and serious problems. I am serious about them. But I also get great joy when we solve these matters and I see an open government engage residents and public officials in a process that improves our quality of life.

No Madison Neighborhoods Troubled By Poverty, Mayor Cieslewicz? Two Neighborhood Leaders Strongly Disagree

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.

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.

 

Madison Then and Now: 1960's and the Walker Protests

No, I never saw in the 1960's what is occuring today in this effort to stop Governor Walker's union busting.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:   

Soglin: "I've never seen anything like this"

Soglin said he has participated in the protests against Walker’s budget repair bill for a week, starting with a march Saturday from Memorial Union on the UW-Madison campus. The crowds have built every day, and on Thursday and Friday exceeded 20,000, he estimated.

He compared the mood of the crowds to those he saw during the civil rights movement in the 1960s. There’s anger, he said, but there was also “elements of joy and enthusiasm, and that’s what’s going on here as well.”

The anti-war movement, he said, was “all energized and angry - because it was focused on stopping a war. It could not have the almost spiritual nature of what’s going on in Madison today.”

Spiritual? Joy? Soglin said the teachers and other public employees from across the state are finding a bond with each other.

“There are a lot of people who are scared about the economic consequences of what’s going to happen” with Walker’s bill, he said. “But they’re also getting strength from all of the people they are meeting.”

Jeff Erlanger Award Honors Rachel Krinsky

Sometimes the Mayor and Council get one exactly right, and this is one of those decisions. Last night, the fourth annual Jeffrey Clay Erlanger Civility in Public Discourse Award was given to Rachel Krinsky, the Executive Director of The Road Home Dane County, a tremendous organization that develops housing programs for homeless families with children.

The award was created by the Mayor and Common Council to honor Jeff Erlanger, who died in 2007. Waxing America's 2007 tribute to Jeff is here. Rachel Krinsky is the perfect choice to honor Jeff, who she knew growing up in Madison, and whose "can-do" spirit she mirrors.

A donation to The Road Home Dane County would honor both Jeff Erlanger and Rachel Krinsky and assist a family towards housing, dignity and self-sufficiency.

- Barry Orton

 

Happy happy, joy joy, Yankees close out season in defeat to modest Texas Rangers

It is no secret how I feel about the New York Yankees.

It was not enjoyable watching the Yankees head towards the American League playoffs as the season closed out, though I did take comfort in their poor September performance. After the Bronx entry in the American League of Professional Baseball Clubs crushed the Minnesota Twins, the prospects of another Yankee appearance in the World Series loomed large.

My hope for Yankee elimination dimmed when the Rangers blew a 5-1 lead in the first game of the American League championship Series.

Thankfully the Rangers got it together and not only defeated the Yankees, but humiliated them in the process.

The Rangers opening day payroll was 27th at $55,250,545, the SF Giants were 10th at $97,828,833.

The Yankees were tops of course at $206,333,389, almost 50% more than  the payroll of the 3rd ranked Chicago Cubs, who cannot win no matter what they try.

There is justice.

Dollars spent per regular season win:

Yankees $2,172,000

Rangers:  $614,000

Cubs: $1,958,000 (sorry Zweifel)

Saving The American Economy - End Poisonous "Free Trade"

As I look at the abandoned homes and abandoned factories it seems that we will never fill those once healthy spaces unless there are healthy jobs.

Many of those healthy jobs are gone forever - or al east gone until we correct the source of their loss. American manufacturers have gone overseas in search of lower costs. Or at least lower wages.

Forcing U.S. workers to compete against workers exploited in Asia and South America is unfair, cruel and not in anyone's best interest.

It is time to revisit the trade agreements, the treaties and the trade regulations.

There is no free trade when the workers of one nation are forced to compete with the exploited workers of another nation. There is no free trade when the manufacturer in one nation is forced to compete with the manufacturer in another nation that substitutes poisonous materials that are cheaper.

It is time to reinstate tariffs and end the exportation of our jobs and our wealth.

Highland Park High School - Not Quite as Rich, White, and now Fighting for Justice.

I was raised in Hyde Park and the summer of my fifteenth year we moved to Highland Park, Illinois. How we ended up there was most curious.

I loved Hyde Park. We moved to the Woodlawn-Hyde Park neighborhoods when I was four in 1949. We had everything a kid could want. Parks to play baseball and tennis. The Museum of Science of Industry and the awesome University of Chicago (UC). The hotels that housed the White Sox and the visiting American League teams. My friends and I went to the beaches in the summer, hung out at The Point, and peered into the coffee houses on 57th Street looking at real beatniks.

At Hyde Park High School about 85% of my classmates were black.

In 1960 my mother was pregnant and it was time to buy a house. My parents decided on Evanston. It was on Lake Michigan, and while Northwestern University was not the UC, it did provide an intellectual atmosphere and it was the most integrated of the suburbs.  

In June an offer was accepted on a small house three or four blocks from Lake Michigan. Two weeks later the sellers found a reason not to sell to us, though the realtor explained that it was because we were Jewish.

My parents were desperate. Debbie and I had to be in a school, the baby (Ari) was due in less than three months.

On the Fourth of July Dad opened up the paper and found a listing in Highland Park two blocks from the beach and three blocks from the downtown. That was important since my mother did not drive.

He and I hopped into the car, made the 25 mile trip, inspected the house, returned to Hyde Park to pick up my mother and Debbie, toured the house again and had an accepted offer in a matter of days.

I knew a little about Highland Park and what differentiated it from the other North Shore suburbs. In terms of religion, it was more diverse than the others. (In celebration of the 1960 Olympics we had our own Jewish-Italian Olympics - golf, swimming, poker, and bowling,) It was more liberal, though you could not tell from the faces of my high school classmates - there was one black student in Highland Park High School (HPHS).

Our companion suburb, Deerfield was somewhat notorious for halting a subdivision where the developer intended to sell to both blacks and whites. But Not Next Door

In 1965 the North Shore changed forever. From Rich Samuels, who produced  Civil Rights on the Northshore: Bringing the Movement Home:

Along the way, North Shore residents answered Dr. King's call, demonstrating and volunteering in the South and then bringing the struggle to their own neighborhoods where they sought open housing in previously all-white communities.

What motivated residents of one of the nation's most affluent communities to reach out to the disadvantaged? Why, after roughly four decades, has their drive for racial diversity on the North Shore achieved such limited results?

Those are the questions I raise in the documentary. But I don't answer them -- because I want to renew the debate sparked years ago by the North Shore activists.

A lot has changed over the years. While still not reflective of the demographics of this nation, these suburbs are more  economically, racially and culturally integrated.

Now Highland Park High School decided that its outstanding girls basketball team should not travel to Arizona. The point being, that it would not be responsible to take these teenagers to a state where some could be detained and unable to return home.

Go Giants.

 

Refighting the Civil War - It Was Treasonous, Not Romantic

When Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell declared April 'Confederate History Month' and overlooked slavery in his proclamation, a well deserved firestorm ensued. As an elementary school student I was taught that the Civil War was fought over slavery. By time I reached college, I learned about more complicated issues involving regional economics, foreign trade policy, and industrialization.

When it was all said and done, the Civil War was over slavery. No slavery, no war.

In his proclamation, McDonnell wrote that Virginians should "understand the sacrifices of the Confederate leaders, soldiers and citizens during the period of the Civil War."

Writing in the Nation, Melissa Harris-Lacewell eloquently expressed the feelings of the millions of descendants of slaves:

As I child I lived in the shadow of Monticello. As a teen I lived on Jefferson Davis Highway, and there I discovered the other Virginia history. This is the Virginia history that is etched in the stony faces of confederate traitors who line Monument Avenue in Richmond. This narrative of Virginia laments the end of slavery, romanticizes traitorous action against the state and memorializes sedition. This history is built on a false and romantic notion of an imagined Confederate past that refuses to acknowledged the ways that slavery degraded not only black labor, but white labor; how it destroyed the land; and how it starved the region of innovation.

Going back to my own youth, I found that the romantic portrayal of the ante-bellum south to be a gross distortion of the truth. As Harris-Lacewell notes, little has changed for many Americans in the past fifty years.