By Anita Weier
Northside News
Madison voters will choose between Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and challenger Gloria Reyes Tuesday, April 4. A second challenger, city traffic engineering technician Scott Kerr, was eliminated during the Feb. 21 primary election, proud of spending less than $100 on the race.
Rhodes-Conway received 60% of the vote, Reyes earned 28%, and Kerr claimed 12%. The mayor said she was proud of the outcome, but Reyes reminded Madison residents that former mayor Paul Soglin earned the most votes in the primary four years ago but lost in the general election.
Rhodes-Conway served on the Common Council before being elected mayor in 2019 and has been active in national organizations. Reyes served as a deputy mayor under the previous administration and was president of the Madison School Board. She also served as a police officer.
The mayor said she will continue her work on housing development, traffic problems and protecting the environment. She stressed that she has accomplished much despite the pandemic. Reyes supports affordable housing but said it must not be built on contaminated land. She also stressed the need for jobs that pay enough so people can afford housing. “We need a grocery store that is affordable on the Northside,” she added.
Rhodes-Conway said she will facilitate private-public partnerships and that some malls could be sites for redevelopment. “The City will apply for more brownfield cleanup funds,” she pledged. Reyes has criticized the city’s financial position, saying Madison will be much in debt after federal COVID funds end. She supports a sales tax option. Rhodes-Conway does not.
In the contest for Common Council District 12, which was vacated when Alder Syed Abbas decided to leave office, Julia Matthews and Amani Latimer Burris emerged from a crowded field of five candidates. Matthews received 34% of the vote while Latimer Burris earned 31%.
Latimer Burris has promised to alleviate concerns about the environment, public safety, housing and speeding. “I plan to address the PFAs contamination situation as well as mitigating noise from the F-35 military jets. None of these have quick fixes, but we must work for the future right now.”
Matthews said she would protect the environment and try to resolve the city’s housing crisis in regard to all types of housing — market rate and affordable apartments as well as home ownership. She supports the former alder’s proposal to create a Tax Incremental District to be used to reduce noise problems from the F-35 jets.
In the District 18 Common Council race, incumbent Alder Charles Myadze will face challenger Michelle Ellinger Linley.
Myadze supports body-worn cameras for police officers on the Northside and has pushed successfully for repair of the dangerous railroad bridge over Troy Drive and for reconstruction of Knutson Drive.
Ellinger Linley said she will work hard on improving public health and safety, increasing green space and land conservation, providing food access for families and helping the disabled.