Madison’s Alcohol License Review Committee (ALRC) voted to keep a seat reserved for a University of Wisconsin-Madison student government representative at their meeting tonight Wednesday.
The proposal will now head to the city council on Oct. 28 who will vote to either eliminate two appointed seats on the committee that oversees alcohol license review — one filled by the Associated Students of Madison and one by a representative from the Tavern League. The ALRC currently includes 14 members, nine of whom are appointed by the mayor --- or send the ordinance back to the ALRC.
Colin Barushok, Dane County Supervisor and chair of the committee, released a statement opposing the proposal, while Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway told The Daily Cardinal in an email statement the proposal would make the ALRC “more efficient” by aligning the membership with other committees.
"Students are an essential part of Madison's downtown community, and they deserve a voice in local decision-making,” Barushok said. “It would be a big mistake to remove student input from decisions over alcohol policy and nightlife safety.”
The proposal is sponsored by Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and district alders, Yannette Figueroa Cole and Carmella Glenn, who are both ALRC members.
“This proposal is designed to make ALRC more efficient by removing staff appointments and non-voting members so the membership is in line with the vast majority of other city committees,” Rhodes-Conway said. “I enthusiastically support more young people and UW-Madison students holding meaningful roles in city government — including on the ALRC. I welcome those interested to apply for committee appointments on the city’s website.”
Barushok said the committee has not recommended a “substantive change” to ALRC ordinances in a while.
With this new proposal, the mayor could appoint an ASM representative to the committee, but she is not mandated to, and ASM will not have a dedicated seat.
Kayley Bell, a UW-Madison senior and ASM representative, is the only student on the committee.
Bell told the Cardinal she believes the push for this ordinance came from a previous lack of engagement from ASM and the Tavern League. Bell currently has an operator’s license and is very familiar with the alcohol license process.
“I've had the best attendance so far of, from what I know, any ASM representative in the past,” she said. “I feel it's just unfortunate that this proposed ordinance change would remove ASM’s seat when they finally have someone that's really engaged.”
Barushok approved the agenda on Wednesday, meaning the committee will have to vote on whether to recommend the Common Council approve the ordinance change. The Common Council’s agenda will show the results of the ALRC vote.
“If the committee recommends approval, then the Common Council will likely take the committee's recommendation, and they take our recommendations 99% of the time,” Barushok said. “I anticipate the committee will vote to not recommend passage of this, because I think the other members of the committee see it the way I do, including our student member, Kaylee Bell, that we shouldn't remove the student voice.”
Both Barushok and Bell encourage students to make their voices heard to their alders, the city and the board.
“It's not only about students being represented on the ALRC, it’s also about this broader concept of shared governance,” Bell said. “We’ve had a long history of very strong cooperation and partnership with the City of Madison, and this would be a back pedal of students losing their voice.”
All ALRC meetings are open to the public and consider public testimony, whether in person, over Zoom or letters written to alders who represent them.
The ordinance will now go to the Common Council on Oct. 28 for an official vote on whether to officially change.
Editor's note: This article was updated at 12:45 p.m. on October 16, 2025 to include updated details from the Alcohol License Review Committee's meeting on Oct. 15.
