Lapidus plans to pursue other projects after defeat
UW-Madison junior Ashok Kumar will sit on the Dane County Board starting April 18 after defeating UW-Madison freshman David Lapidus 465 to 196 in a bid for the Board's vacant District 5 seat.
Following a strong campaign with support from city leaders such as Ald. Austin King, District 8, and County Board Chair Scott McDonnel, Kumar won a decisive victory in February's primary with 55 percent of the vote. On Tuesday, Kumar took 69 percent of the vote.
Everything went great,\ Kumar said. ""I had amazing people working for me and I want to thank my entire campaign team for their hard work.""
King also expressed his satisfaction with Kumar's campaign.
""He is one of the most qualified, passionate individuals I've ever met, and I'm really happy that his campaign came out on top,"" he said.
As the newest and youngest member of the County Board, Kumar has pledged to push his progressive agenda as the student district supervisor.
""I'd like begin by addressing issues with affordable housing,"" Kumar said. ""I think it's a huge problem right now and I want to look at relocating money to projects in that arena.""
Despite a defeat at the polls, an optimistic David Lapidus said he was happy to be free from the campaign trail to pursue new opportunities.
""It was a tough race and Ashok had a lot of recognition going in, but we ran a great campaign,' Lapidus said. ""It was a great opportunity to talk to students. I'm happy with the results.""
Lapidus said he plans to use his increased free time to pursue new avenues such as a tenant rating system—a plan he hopes to spearhead.
""I will have time to pursue new projects, and I hope that Kumar does a great job as county supervisor,"" Lapidus said.
The UW-Madison student body's showing at polls in recent years has placed younger candidates such as King and Kumar into local positions typically filled by older administrators. Kumar and Lapidus, both college students, faced no election challenges from any senior members of the community.
""Our country is experiencing problems and the numbers show where the student body of Madison is,"" King said. ""A generation has been turned onto politics. I believe that we are the hope for saving our country. and I think tonight showed that not only are we going through that, we're doing it.""
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