District 8 candidate Austin King had reason to revel in the jubilant celebration that took place at Luther's Blues, 1401 University Ave., Tuesday night after he bested the campaign of opponent Jeff Erlanger with 763 votes to Erlanger's 394.
King, a UW-Madison senior, said he felt the success of his campaign was the result of hard work and collective effort in spreading his progressive message. King said Erlanger ran a respectable campaign, but the disparity between campaign tactics was evident.
\I think Jeff's a nice person. The difference between our two campaigns is instructive in terms of what District 8 residents and general students look for in a campaign,"" he said.
King said imperative to the breadth of the campaign was the disparity between the amount of spending on both campaigns. Erlanger raised over $10,000, while King raised over $3,000.
""Being outspent three to one is never easy, and I'm not going to pretend it was fun, but I think this really goes to show that not even [Erlanger's money] can beat a few good ideas and a bunch of excited volunteers,"" King said.
King was optimistic about his future with the city council, but warned District 8 residents not to expect earth-shattering changes in the immediate future.
""There are a lot of issues that will be debated by the city council that I'll be participating in actively that effect students. I do hope that everyone who supported my campaign have patience, because the council is a slow-moving body. Usually that's a good thing because it means we're deliberate, but anyone who is expecting a brand-new minimum wage tomorrow is probably going to be disappointed,"" he said.
While King celebrated, Erlanger was surrounded by family and friends at State Street Brats, 603 State St., when the news broke of his defeat. Group hugs and a rousing version of ""For He's a Jolly Good Fellow"" followed. However, his volunteers expressed disappointment with the results and frustration with what they said was negative campaigning by the King camp.
Erlanger said King attempted to ""vilify"" his campaign contributors, who he said were mainly close family and friends. He also went on to deny a report that said he had paid volunteers on his staff, saying that the claim ""was an absolute mistake.""
""I had hoped that honesty would have prevailed, but that's the nature of politics these days and it sucks,"" said Sarah Baker-Sir, a recent graduate of UW-Madison who came back from Boston to help with Erlanger's campaign.
According to Erlanger, he would respect King's victory and attempt to remain out of the public light, but warned King should not assume the hardest part was over.
""Just because the election has gone away doesn't mean that Madison's problems have gone away,"" he said.
