Along with mayor-elect Dave Cieslewicz, the liberal political organization Progressive Dane emerged victorious in the April 1 election.
Progressive Dane endorsed six council candidates. Three of those ran as incumbents in uncontested elections. Three others, Austin King, Brenda Konkel and Brian Benford, won in contested elections. Including Ald. Matt Sloan, District 13, and alder-elect Robbie Webber, District 5, who were not endorsed by PD but otherwise are members of the organization, the PD representation on the 20-member council bumped from seven to eight.
PD co-chair Nick Berigan said the group's involvement with candidates did not end last Tuesday.
\We want to have [the PD candidates] do stuff in the progressive mode after the election,"" Berigan said.
He said they will now push a platform advocating mandatory inclusionary zoning, ""smart growth"" development and an alternative drug policy.
King campaigned in support of that platform, which also includes increasing the minimum wage. He said the group will now try to accomplish as much of its agenda as possible.
""We have an agenda to push ... There's a whole slew of things we want to get done,"" King said.
However, some council members do not see that kind of coalition voting as a positive thing. Ald. Judy Compton, District 16, said PD members are sometimes too loyal to their group's agenda. For example, when the council debated a smoking ban ordinance, Compton said it disturbed her to see PD members apologize publicly for voting out of agreement with the group.
""We on the city council are supposed to be non-partisan,"" she said. ""We're supposed to weigh the evidence, listen and vote not the way the party would want you to vote but the way your constituents [would want].""
Several council members and candidates speculated that the council will now get deadlocked into more 10-10 votes. King said this could happen because along with the eight PD members, two other alders identify as liberals and 10 identify as conservatives.
But Benford said he thought PD council members would work effectively with the rest of the council to bring the government back to the people.
""For me personally, I'll work with anybody,"" he said. ""It doesn't matter if they're Progressive Dane, it doesn't matter if they're conservative, it only matters what people want.\
