The race for the fifth district of the Dane County Board of Supervisors is beginning to take shape as two Madison students officially announced their candidacy Tuesday night.
Michael Johnson of Madison Area Technical College and Analiese Eicher of UW-Madison will be running in this largely student-populated district currently represented by Wyndham Manning.
Eicher, a member of the College Democrats of Wisconsin, said that her platform would focus on serving the interests of UW students and giving them a voice in local government.
""I have seen firsthand how different campus groups engage various student interests,"" she said. ""They often focus on solutions from the state and national level, but I strongly believe that positive change can be best enacted at the local level.""
In addition to serving as the women's issues coordinator for the College Democrats, Eicher has interned with U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Associated Students of Madison and the ASM Diversity Committee. She has served twice on Baldwin's re-election committee, and volunteered for the UW campus branch of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign in 2008.
""I feel that the experiences that I have had and the passion that I bring make me a compelling candidate for this position,"" Eicher said.
Eicher said she is a ""UW student fighting for UW students."" She said she plans to advocate ""funding for comprehensive and effective health and human services, improving the quality of the air and the safety of the lakes and working to protect the local economy and the jobs it provides,"" according to her speech.
Candidate Michael Johnson said he would focus more on the social issues relevant to Dane County. He advocated a ""firm dedication to bold progressive action and leadership,"" according to his speech.
Having gained experience through involvement with Progressive Dane and the Madison Affirmative Action Committee, Johnson has also worked on Madison-area election campaigns for Katrina Flores and Brenda Konkel. He said he hopes to bring this experience to the County Board.
Johnson said he plans to ""address the racial disparities in the Dane County criminal justice system, maintain social services to residents in poverty and despair, create economic housing for low income families, improve public transportation and move into a more sustainable future.""
""These are the real issues of the 2010 election, and residents look to someone with the vision and principles to help solve these fundamental challenges in the community,"" he said.
