The race for the next mayor of Madison has heated up since former mayor Paul Soglin announced he would run in December.
Soglin served as mayor from 1973 to 1979 and again from 1989 to 1997. The UW-Madison alumnus ran for mayor against incumbent Dave Cieslewicz in 2003 but lost by a narrow margin. Cieslewicz is running for re-election.
Soglin recently served as a member on the Overture Ad Hoc Committee, which evaluated the future business plan of the Overture Center.
Soglin said the way the city handled the Edgewater Hotel project and Overture Center have impacted his decision to run for mayor. According to Soglin, it became very difficult to resolve the Overture issues because of the way the city handled the project.
""The problem of process subsequently left to a debate on that process rather than on the substance, on the project itself,"" Soglin said.
Soglin said there needs to be a focus on the development of jobs for a wide variety of people and a tax base that allows maintenance of community services.
""Madison's a wonderful city, but it's got some very serious problems,"" Soglin said.
Former Alder Noel Radomski announced earlier this month he was dropping out of the mayoral race. Radomski said in a statement he is endorsing Soglin.
""There is no one better prepared to provide the new, strong leadership we need in Madison than Paul Soglin,"" Radomski said.
Jeremy Ryan also announced earlier this month medical reasons would prevent him for continuing the race for mayor.
Ryan said he will not support Cieslewicz or Soglin.
Other candidates include City of Madison Construction Management Supervisor John Blotz, Madison resident Dennis Amadeus de Nure and stand-up comedian Nick Hart.
