Mayor Dave Cieslewicz spent Saturday afternoon with Rev. Jesse Jackson discussing Gov. Scott Walker's proposed state budget and budget repair bill before Jackson spoke to a large crowd of protesters at the City County Building.
Cieslewicz said he previously invited Jackson to tour the mayor's office and Jackson accepted the invite to visit Saturday afternoon.
Jackson and Cieslewicz met alone before joining a small group of union and community leaders, Cieslewicz said.
""Throughout Rev. Jackson was upbeat,"" Cieslewicz wrote on his blog. ""He told us that we were already winning this fight, that other states were watching us and deciding not to go down the same road as Governor Walker.""
Jackson then addressed Madison residents on the steps of the City County Building.
""While the battleground, ground zero, is Wisconsin, it's sending waves of hope around the whole nation,"" Jackson said.
Jackson came to the city and spoke at the Capitol Feb. 18 when the protests first began in Madison. Jackson also marched with Madison's East High School students and staff Feb. 22.
Cieslewicz also joined city officials at a brief meeting Friday to discuss Walker's proposed state budget and the possible financial impacts it could have on the city of Madison.
""While these are the governor's proposals, we aren't necessarily going to just accept them,"" Cieslewicz said.
City Comptroller Dean Brasser said right now it looks like the city is facing an 80 percent cut in the state shared revenue. Such a cut would result in a $6.2 million loss in revenue for the city of Madison.
""Highway aids down 10 percent,"" Brasser said, explaining the cuts. ""Recycling aid eliminated.""
—Maggie DeGroot
