Mayoral candidate Paul Soglin sat down with no more than eight people at Hillel last night to tell students, in part, why their votes matter.
Soglin eased into the evening talk by commending students on the peace protest yesterday. He said the student voice is a powerful one that can not only sway a mayoral campaign but also a president bent on war.
\If this anti-war effort hasn't succeeded,"" Soglin said, ""we'd already be in a battle for Iraq.""
He also said students should be interested in local politics as well as international politics because a city resolution opposing the war would make a difference.
Despite the small turnout, which Hillel Program Associate Matt Canter attributed to the WiscMail outage, Canter said, ""It was great that [Soglin] came to Hillel. I hope students are inspired to taking a more active role in the campaign--and vote.""
Soglin cited other impacts the student voice has had in Madison, including the transformation of State Street into a pedestrian mall and the current transportation system.
""We are too far ahead of ourselves in terms of rail,"" he said regarding proposals to build a railroad system in Madison. Soglin proposed stopping 50 bus routes during times that run void of passengers and instead place a fleet of vans to run passengers to transfer points. He also said he would push for a fleet of hybrid buses that, he said, ""could run up and down State Street without burning gas.""
Soglin also said that voters side with him over his opponent in terms of three out of four major Madison issues.
""On questions of children and families ... jobs and economics ... and the crisis in the city government, voters lean towards me. In terms of it's time for a change, voters side with Dave.""
The candidate stated that, if elected, he would develop infrastructure on Allied Drive, an area he said was saturated with illegal immigrants. Soglin proposed health care and computer labs for the residents that he said double or triple up to a house. He said plans for a rail system would further urban sprawl and only deplete job sources for the city's poorer families.
Soglin dismissed claims that electing an old mayor would not lead to a new chapter in Madison, arguing that his first and second administrations were different; therefore, his third would be also.
