Madison mayoral hopefuls will face off Tuesday in a primary election, with the two candidates receiving the most votes advancing to the April 17 general election.
The candidates include incumbent Mayor Paul Soglin, Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, former Ald. Bridget Maniaci, District 2, UW-Madison graduate Christopher Daly and former Dane County Supervisor Richard Brown.
“Together, we have made progress toward our very simple but eloquent vision—to make Madison a safe and healthy place for every individual and family to live, play, work and learn,” Soglin said at his re-election campaign kick off event last month.
At previous events, Soglin has re-affirmed his commitment and experience in leading Madison out of difficult economic times.
“We are cautiously optimistic,” Soglin for Mayor spokesperson Melissa Mulliken said, citing turnout for the primary tomorrow.
Resnick, in his kick-off announcement, emphasized a need for change and technological innovation, including an increased political participation from younger voters in order to ensure Madison’s future growth.
“Our next mayor must represent each and every person in Madison if we are truly going to make ours become [a] more prosperous and equitable city,” Resnick said.
Resnick for Mayor spokesperson Andrew Feldman expressed his optimism for voter turnout.
“We’re very confident.” Feldman said. “Scott has been making sure his vision for the city has been reaching as many voters as possible in the past few months.”
For all candidates, Madison’s homelessness issue continues to be a central focus.
“Folks who are homeless are struggling so much just to get their basic needs met, and the city needs to step up,” Maniaci said at a candidate forum.
Daly and Brown echoed Maniaci, with Daly citing the need to build a daytime shelter for the homeless as a top priority, as well as the need to improve city dialogues between the public and existing institutions aimed to help.
Brown found that the problem extended to Madison youth.
“This is something that’s really, really dear to my heart … we have 1,000 homeless kids in the Madison Metropolitan School District, and we have to do something about it,” Brown said.
Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Prospective voters can find their polling locations on Madison’s Office of the City Clerk website.
