Mayor Dave Cieslewicz announced Thursday, Nov. 30, that he will seek re-election this coming April. We support Cieslewicz's decision to run for re-election. He has big dreams for the city and has always cared about UW-Madison students.
His dedication to the student population is reflected in his plans for 2007. Cieslewicz plans to add $100,000 to the budget for downtown safety, and he implemented a plan for Halloween that made the event a success for the first time in five years.
Republican candidate Ray Allen has said that Cieslewicz does not have a successful plan in mind for downtown Madison and is wasting time supporting the streetcar issue.
We believe failure to seek alternative methods for mass transportation reflects lack of forward thinking. Cieslewicz is an environmentalist, which is what Madison needs looking into the future.
It is also shortsighted to say that Cieslewicz does not care about area business because he is not opposed to the citywide smoking ban. He had nothing to do with the implementation of the ban—it was the city council that both proposed and passed the bill.
While we commend Cieslewicz for his work to improve the safety of downtown residents, we want to encourage him to remain focused on other troubled areas around the city—such as the Allied Drive area.
While we feel Mayor Cieslewicz is a better fit for a progressive city such as Madison, it is too early to write off Allen in the spring election. We encourage students to give Allen a fair shake and hear his plans for the city.
We are interested to hear Allen's specific ideas for downtown businesses and safety.
Cieslewicz has plans for Madison, which extend far into the future. We feel he deserves more time as mayor to implement all the development and insightful ideas he has for our city.
