Second-year UW-Madison student Leland Pan announced his candidacy for a seat on the Dane County Board of Supervisors Tuesday.
Pan is running for the fifth district, an area where almost all residents are students. Incumbent Annalise Eicher has not yet announced whether she will run for re-election or step down from the seat.
According to Pan, the student seat on the county board has historically been held by an "unabashed, proactive and progressive leader," and said he hopes to be exactly that.
"I view this county board position as a facilitator and communication between active students and county politics," Pan said. "Really going above and beyond and voting the right way and pushing positive change are really important to me."
Pan, a Dane County native, said if elected, a large portion of his time will be fighting back against a "regressive state government run by Scott Walker," by finding ways to increase revenue to fund human services including the county's rape crisis center and tenant resource center, both of which he said students depend on.
Another priority Pan said he has is to protect the lakes in Dane County and to work with student activists already committed to achieving that goal.
"There is a strong movement on campus to protect our lakes and the state government has met our requests with deaf ears," Pan said. "Connecting with these activists and organizers on a county level is key to protecting our lakes while demonstrating how student activism can lead to positive change."
Pan said that while he hopes to affect student lives through his campaign, he also intends for students to become engaged and ultimately drive them to become more active civic participants.
On campus, Pan has been active in recent months with the Student Labor Action Coalition, Student Progressives of Dane and he is currently a representative for the College of Letters and Science on the ASM council.
In addition, Pan has worked with local campus unions in response to Gov. Scott Walker's bill that stripped most public sector workers of collective bargaining rights.
"As a student he has been an active participant and leader in his community while activating and empowering other students to join the fight," ASM chair and Pan's campaign treasurer Allie Gardner said.
