The Alcohol License Review Committee, the city council group in charge of reviewing all applicants for liquor licenses for the city of Madison, recently added Ald. Judy Olson, District 6, to its list of members.
Madison Mayor Sue Bauman conscripted Olson to replace former Ald. Kent Palmer, District 15, who vacated his position on the ALRC after resigning from the city council in November.
\I suspect there was a desire to look for someone who had some familiarity with liquor licensing, and I certainly have that in view of the [near east side] neighborhood I represent,"" Olson said.
ALRC member Thomas Garver said he felt Olson was a good choice for the same reason, as she has part of the downtown area in her district.
""She's very well acquainted with some of the problems of the concentration of establishments downtown, and some of the problems that may come uniquely from the number of establishments [intertwined with] the university in that area,"" he said.
As a member of the ALRC, Olson's duties include reviewing new and at-risk liquor licenses and examining the current trends in Madison's liquor sales and consumption, as well as working with UW-Madison to reduce underage drinking and promoting safe habits. Olson said she is not yet supporting any drastic policy measures. Her main focus deals with the inclination of over-serving at local bars, which she attributes to drink specials.
The ALRC issued a report last April recommending that the city council enact a partial ban on drink specials downtown. The council decided to table the recommendation after several area bars voluntarily ended drink specials Fridays and Saturdays after 8 p.m.
""Any time you link profit with drinking there's a problem, and it would be a great idea to disengage those two,"" Olson said. ""I very much appreciate the voluntary effort undertaken by some of the bars downtown, and my approach at this point is to wait and see what kind of results they observe from that.""
Olson said she voted in the past to disband ""Operation: Sting,"" a controversial plan employed several years ago by the Madison Police Department to shut down house parties using undercover police officers posing as students. She said she would continue to oppose such measures as a member of the ALRC.
Olson also said she is not coming on to the commission with any kind of ""axe to grind"" or special agenda to hinder business on State Street, and she sees working with the review board as a service to the ALRC and the city council.
Olson has a competent knowledge of the downtown drinking scene, according to ALRC member Bill Cosh.
""She has a reputation of being a very dedicated and hardworking city council member, and I think she's a great addition to the committee,"" he said.
Olson's term on the board lasts until April, when a permanent replacement will be chosen.
