While the majority of the six candidates vying for the Madison mayoral seat have taken similar liberal stances on many issues, Dave Cieslewicz and Bert Zipperer have been deemed more left-wing by many, due in part to their membership in the Progressive Dane organization.
Both candidates are members of Progressive Dane, yet the group endorsed Zipperer. Progressive Dane Co-Chair Stephanie Rearick said both Cieslewicz and Zipperer were good candidates, yet Zipperer has a stronger background in city government and he is more willing to work with diverse groups within the community.
\[Zipperer] is the strongest candidate in terms of community building and working for economic and social justice for all types of communities in the city,"" she said.
According to Zipperer, Progressive Dane chose to endorse him out of the six candidates due to his stronger local background and history with progressive ideals.
""[Dave] is a good guy but I think he has experience at the county and the state level, extensively,"" he said. ""But by representing an area of the city council and dealing with city issues, you get really good at city issues.""
Cieslewicz said he hopes Progressive Dane will support him in the last leg election if he makes it through the primaries without Zipperer.
Cieslewicz has served as a member of the Dane County Board and worked as an aide to state Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison. He also founded the environmental group 1000 Friends of Wisconsin and worked as the government relations director for the Nature Conservancy.
Zipperer has worked in the Madison School District as an elementary school teacher and guidance counselor. He served three terms on the City Council and served as a member and chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission.
Progressive Dane is just one example of how the two candidates are tied to similar organizations and issues, such as support for inclusionary zoning and alternative mass transit. While voters may have trouble distinguishing between the two, the candidates said they have run their campaigns differently.
""I'm more electable than Bert, I've really tried to reach out in all directions,' Cieslewicz said.
Zipperer, on the other hand, said his campaign is more community-based than the other candidates'. He said the rest of the candidates, including Cieslewicz, are working for ""big money,"" while his campaign is doing the exact opposite.
""We're definitely the bottom-up grassroots thing where there is a group of people who want Madison to live up to its reputation and want Madison to be the city we purport it to be in reality, not just an image,"" he said.
While Zipperer said he appeals more to the people of Madison, Cieslewicz said he can better navigate the bureaucracy of policy-making.
""I've had a record of being able to take my principles and making them into ordinances and laws,"" he said. ""Its not enough just to have principles, you have to be able to turn principles into reality.\
