Dane County Board Supervisor candidate Chris Hoffman and incumbent Leland Pan addressed student issues at a forum Wednesday hosted by the Young Progressives student organization.
The two candidates answered questions from the Young Progressives Executive Board and the public regarding issues affecting District 5, which is the county area that includes a majority of campus. The District 5 seat represents the student voice on the County Board and is typically held by a University of Wisconsin-Madison student.
Sean Hoey, the president of Young Progressives, attended the forum on behalf of the student group.
“We wanted to open it up to the public and get some input from our members of the public so they can see the candidates for themselves and be as transparent as possible,” Hoey said.
When asked about the two most important issues facing the campus area, Hoffman and Pan expressed different concerns surrounding District 5.
Hoffman focused on increasing student involvement on the county board and improving campus safety.
“I think we’ve all become more aware of safety issues around campus,” Hoffman said. “I recently realized that we’ve had some troubles with our county’s 911 dispatch center. There’s currently a three-minute response time with our dispatch center, the national average is one minute. I think that is something that directly impacts students here.”
Pan expressed concerns about improving the homeless community in Madison in addition to cleaning up the environment within the city.
“Ensuring that we protect the natural resources of our community is a must,” Pan said.
However, Pan and Hoffman shared similar views in revoking Gov. Scott Walker’s policy on reducing state funding for municipal and city level programs.
“It’s problematic in the sense that if you have a new idea that you want to flaunt, it will often have to come off the backs of a different program that you have to cut,” Pan said.
The two candidates also briefly discussed gathering support for unions, diminishing racial profiling and legalizing marijuana.
Pan and Hoffman continue to gather support throughout the campaign until voting opens for Dane County Board Supervisor April 1.
