Eli Judge deserves to be the next alder from District 8. Judge will bring a rational voice to the Madison City Council and will be responsive to needs of UW-Madison students who make up the majority of the district.
Judge, a co-founder and chair of the organization that became Students for a Fair Wisconsin, has the experience and organizational skills to adequately advocate the pressing issues facing the residents of District 8.
There is no issue more pressing in the downtown campus area than crime. Judge has put together a solid plan to prevent crime in the short-term while working down the road to address the long-term causes of crime.
Judge's ideas for addressing crime include expanding the neighborhood watch-like program that has been successful on Langdon Street to other regions of the campus, particularly the Spring Street area. Putting more eyes on the street could be an effective way to initially report and eventually deter crime.
His idea especially deserves merit if the city budget is tight and windfalls of cash may not be available for hiring all the officers that the campus area needs.
Judge wisely opposes Mayor Dave Cieslewicz's Alcohol Density Plan and thinks that cops in the downtown area should spend more time on the streets preventing violent crime and less time in bars busting underage students.
Judge has also promised to make tenant's rights an issue and has suggested a ""Rate my Landlord"" rating system to protect students and hold landlords accountable.
Wary of the mayor's trolley plan, Judge has a good working knowledge of the regional Transport 20/20 plan that is studying possible light rail and commuter trains, which could prove to be the best solution to Madison's transportation needs.
Although Lauren Woods, also a qualified candidate, and has targeted many of these same issues in her campaign and has ample experience to advocate for students, we are concerned she has spent too much time endorsing a high-minded social agenda without considering the constraints of the city budget.
While they may be talking about the same issues, Judge simply has better solutions to the problems facing Madison's Eighth District.
