Senators, congressmen and local representatives throughout Wisconsin and the nation call UW-Madison their alma mater. But while the campus is popularly known for the public servants who started here, today’s students also represent themselves in government.
The UW campus dominates two local districts in city and county government, regularly sending current or recent students to public office.
“I think unofficially it’s always been a student’s seat,” recent UW alumnus and Dane County Supervisor for District 5 Leland Pan said about his current position.
District 5 covers the UW-Madison campus, including most housing areas and about half of Lake Mendota.
Since graduating last year, Zach Wood, City of Madison District 8 Alder, said he recognizes students’ integral role in local government.
Both Pan and Wood said they owe their current positions to their time at UW. Pan, a sophomore when first elected to office in 2012, became known as a fighter for lost causes.
“One major reason folks asked me to run is that I put in hard work for others,” Pan said, citing past campaign work like his role advocating for a Green Party member running for State Assembly. “I supported candidates who were really left wing with no chance of winning.”
Wood had been active in the Democratic Party, eventually becoming vice chair of College Democrats of Wisconsin.
He ran for office on a platform of improving public safety and combating sexual assault.
Both approaches to office, one of firebrand progressivism and the other of activist party leadership, are not only hallmarks of the university, but of age as well.
Representatives of the campus district, traditionally serving one or two terms, work with other officials who have been serving one or two decades.
“You’re not expected to be in office forever, to bury yourself in bureaucracy and technical issues,” Pan said. “In some ways it’s liberating, you get to say what you believe.”
Pan said, however, that “there is a level of, maybe, condescension” from some others on the county board.
But respect among colleagues and for the campus district itself, previously represented by figures such as Tammy Baldwin and Paul Soglin, keeps students’ voices valued in deliberation.
“District 8’s been a productive seat,” Wood said. “I don’t think I’ve experienced prejudice.”
Angelito Tenorio, a UW-Madison sophomore and District 5 County Supervisor candidate, emphasized the importance of keeping young, new faces in office.
“You can bring a new perspective, as opposed to sitting on the board for long periods of time,” Tenorio said. “Turnover is unique to District 5. People usually hold office for two to four years.”
The campus district also has expectations for representatives’ ideals.
“How activist-driven UW is really drives the reason why there even is this seat,” said Hayley Young, a recent UW graduate and candidate for District 5 supervisor.
Young stated the UW experience affected her entire worldview.
“You want to say ‘I’m an upperclassman or recent alumni’ and once you can no longer call yourself that you pass it on to someone in their early 20s,” Young said. “It’s not a rule, but more of a tradition.”
