As a longtime Madison resident, taxpayer and business owner, I am concerned about the future of our city. I got involved in this race because I grew up here, went to school here and see this job as a civic duty. Despite negative attacks, I refuse to stoop to the level of my opponent and am willing to stay as dedicated to this race as ever. By getting involved, I have drawn attention to real problems we are all facing here in downtown Madison. Under the current alder:
Madison's rape rate rose by 58 percent last year.
More sex offenders live here than ever.
Rent keeps going up even though the vacancy rate is at an all-time high.
Drinking tickets have gone up exponentially.
The alder voted to ban smoking in bars and clubs in Madison but is against a statewide restaurant smoking ordinance.
State Street is starting to resemble an outdoor mall for big chains.
I want to fix these issues with solutions that make sense. I will lower rent by allowing us more options. I want people to feel safe to walk home at night. I believe that if you are able to vote or go to war for our country then you should also be allowed to have a drink. I care about our traditions like Halloween, Mifflin Street Block Party and Badger football and want to work together on logical ways to keep them alive and fun. As your alder, I will work for you to make sure student voices are represented truthfully and respectfully.
Never in my six years on campus has a student newspaper been this radically out of touch with its readership.
The dramatic leap into irrelevance that you took with yesterday's endorsement of my conservative forty-year-old opponent culminates a long, odd year in which the quality of your paper's journalism has eroded as dramatically as your editorials have shifted to the right.
I would advise you that these problems won't arise in the future if you do the basic things that responsible newspaper editorial boards do. Two years ago, you invited me and my opponent in for an interview. This year, you didn't even so much as consult your own paper's stories before deciding, let alone ask me to clarify where I stand on the issues.
Yesterday's editorial bizarrely criticized me for achieving the first minimum wage increase in seven years, saying that \in pursuing a citywide increase,"" I somehow betrayed my campaign promise of two years ago.
The record shows how absurd this is. In endorsing me two years ago, you wrote that I ""hit all the right notes... including a city-wide minimum wage tied to inflation rates."" How pathetic that your paper has totally reversed itself in such a short amount of time.
Tonight's election results will demonstrate what most of us already know: The Daily Cardinal is no longer a legitimate voice of the student body. Hopefully next year will be better.
