Former Madison Common Council President Syed Abbas, who has represented the eastside and northside of Madison as alderperson since 2019, announced Monday that he will not seek re-election when his term expires in April.
“I love the work and the accomplishments we are achieving together. The people of the district are diverse and have unique perspectives on a variety of issues. I have learned so much from all of you,” Abbas said in his City of Madison alder’s blog. “The journey as council president during the pandemic was tough, no doubt. But, it was greatly rewarding, as have been all my years on the council.”
Abbas, who describes himself as “a first-generation immigrant from Pakistan,” relocated to Madison from New York in 2014 and was elected to the Common Council in 2019. He was reelected in 2021 and served as Common Council president for the last two years, ending in April of this year. Abbas recently campaigned to represent the newly-formed 37th District in the Wisconsin State Assembly.
Abbas said that he is making this early announcement because he wanted to “give time to the residents of the district to begin thinking about and/or planning to run for the seat.”
The deadline to collect signatures and file nomination papers is January 5th, 2023.
