The final mayoral debate grew heated as former mayor Paul Soglin and incumbent Dave Cieslewicz discussed the issue of union contracts Friday night.
The point of contention surrounded concerns over Gov. Scott Walker's budget repair bill and how it would affect Madison city employees.
Cieslewicz said collective bargaining works, as seen with his approval of the new contacts for city workers signed on Feb. 17.
""You sit across from the table, you disagree with each other sometimes, you argue sometimes, but at the end of the day, collective bargaining works for both the employees and the taxpayers,"" Cieslewicz said.
However, Soglin said the city employees should have had contracts long before Feb. 17.
""The contracts weren't done right because of the rush and because we haven't had a contract with most of these unions going back through the year 2010,"" Soglin said.
Soglin and Cieslewicz also differed on the issue of poverty in the city and how to deal with the issue.
With 51 percent of Madison public school students living at or below the poverty line, Soglin said poverty is the number one issue the city needs to address.
Cieslewicz argued he has made efforts to address poverty in Madison.
""When I came to office, Allied Drive was the most challenged neighborhood in our community,"" Cieslewicz said. ""We invested millions of dollars in Allied Drive.""
As both Soglin and Cieslewicz have served as the mayor of Madison, they discussed their respective mistakes in office.
Cieslewicz said he allowed a friend to influence his decision to not push for a referendum on the Regional Transit Authority. Cieslewicz said he now feels the referendum could have passed.
Soglin said he could have worked more with surrounding communities to create opportunities to partner for services that would have benefited the Madison area.
Cieslewicz is seeking a third, four-year term. Soglin was mayor from 1973 to 1979 and again from 1989 to 1997. Cieslewicz beat Soglin in the 2003 mayoral election.
