Mayor Dave Cieslewicz spoke candidly with students Wednesday night at Grainger Hall over cookies and milk, fielding questions ranging from his beginnings in politics to the importance of UW-Madison and its students to the city to the attempt to recall him from office, which officially began earlier that day.
The Milwaukee-based anti-tax group fighting to oust Cieslewicz from the mayoral office, Citizens for Responsible Government, filed paperwork Wednesday that began the process of recalling Cieslewicz from office.
The group has voiced a set of disagreements with the mayor over such issues as the smoking ban, minimum wage and recent dealings with the Overture Center.
CRG is against the smoking ban, even though, as the mayor asserted, citing a poll, seven out of ten Madisonians think it's a good idea. 'It's certainly met the mark in helping public health. I believe in it,' Cieslewicz said.
When asked about worries over his position, Cieslewicz said, 'The recall is really designed for misconduct in office; I haven't done any of that as far as I'm aware.'
Citizens must, in 30 days, collect 34,520 signatures in order to expel the Mayor from his position.
In regards to minimum wage, the mayor declared Madison brought about a statewide increase in minimum wage, one that has not been seen in seven-plus years. According to Cieslewicz, the increase spread across the state, making it a non-issue in Madison at present.
For his and the city's involvement with the newly constructed and reopened Overture Center, Cieslewicz said CRG was concerned with the fact that the mayor thought the city should buy it.
'It's a $205 million building and we could buy it for $1 and I thought that was a bargain,' Cieslewicz said.
Another issue presented to the mayor for discussion included the recent Halloween events and future plans for the holiday, to which Cieslewicz said, 'You can look over the past four years and see steady improvement.'
The mayor spoke about two of the biggest problems of the holiday, those being the consumption of alcohol by underagers and the small percent of partiers that insist on making trouble.
Knowing he takes a firm stance on the drinking problem and having been told to 'back off a little,' Cieslewicz said, 'When you see that much over-consumption of alcohol and so many sick kids, I can't just shrug my shoulders.'
In defense of his policy decisions and actions, Cieslewicz said, 'I sure don't apologize or change my position on any one of them.'
