As Madisonians prepare to elect their next mayor, candidates Satya Rhodes-Conway and incumbent Paul Soglin participated in a mayoral forum held in Central Library Monday night.
The candidates addressed issues such as affordable housing, transportation and institutional racism while also highlighting the differences in their leadership styles. Both candidates reassured voters of their commitment to improving the lives for residents of city, however, Soglin rejects the label that Madison is a “racist” city.
”I do not believe we live in a city that is racist,” he said.
Soglin acknowledged the city, like the broader society, has racial inequities but refused to say Madison is racist. When emcee and Isthmus staff writer Dylan Brogan redirected the question to Rhodes-Conway, she simply said this is not a question for two white people to answer.
Both candidates stated that the city of Madison does a lot of things well, but agree that the city could be better. Soglin runs on a platform of “there’s more work to be done,” a line he uses in almost every opening remark or public forum. Throughout her campaign, Rhodes-Conway said she would like to build a more equitable Madison.
“I moved here almost twenty years ago and Madison has given me tremendous opportunities but I am keenly aware that not everyone has those same opportunities,” she said.
Rhodes-Conway also said she often hears from African American professionals that the city does not have the services or entertainment to keep them here. She focused on the quality of life in the city throughout the debate, which included affordable housing, rapid transit, racial disparities and climate change.
“We have incredible quality of life in the city and in our neighborhoods and we need to continue to build on that,” Rhodes-Conway said.
She said neighborhoods such as Willy Street often have a great reputation but would like to develop sustainable communities in other neighborhoods as well. When asked about affordable housing for those making below $50,000 annually, Soglin said he would include housing development for residents within that income bracket among the working class. He also said housing development decreased for all income levels until he returned as mayor in 2011.
“One of the things we need to look at is that we’re sending mixed signals of what we want in the development process,” Rhodes-Conway said.
She said the city needs to broaden the scope of affordable housing, look at alternative options. Alongside affordable housing, Rhodes-Conway would also like to make improvements to the regional transit system since she also uses the bus as her mode of transportation, however, Soglin said the city is on track.
“We will get the state to get the financing authorization that we need to build a regional transit system,” he said.
Unlike other forums, the candidates addressed a question about police oversight which communities, particularly those of color, have held discussions about across the nation. Both candidates acknowledged an issue of trust towards the police and law enforcement in Madison.
“I spoke to someone today and she says that her college-aged white daughter is afraid of the police and that means we have a lot of work to do if someone that privileged is afraid of the police,” Rhodes-Conway said.
She said there needs to be more oversight and accountability for the police but also said that a task force has already began looking into inequities within law enforcement’s interactions within the community. Neither candidate stated if additional plans or decisions have been made beside the task force.
Monday night’s candidate forum was sponsored by Isthmus, WORT 89.9 FM, and The Progressive magazine, Downtown Madison Inc., Capitol Neighborhoods Inc., and the Central Library. Hinckley Productions live-streamed the debate which is available on Facebook.
