Democratic socialist student government representative Robert “Bobby” Gronert announced his campaign for Common Council District 8 Tuesday at the Crossing Campus Ministry during a watch party for the New York city mayoral election, emphasizing affordable housing, public safety and combating fascism in his campaign.
The watch party was co-sponsored by the UW-Madison Young Democratic Socialists of America, who also endorsed Gronert for alder. Following Zohran Mamdani’s victory for New York City mayor, Gronert took the stage to announce his candidacy to YDSA members and the public.
Gronert, a University of Wisconsin-Madison sophomore, emphasized the importance of his campaign being student-led and its goal of advancing student interests.
“We've got about a dozen people working on this campaign, and every single one of them is a student here at Madison,” Gronert told The Daily Cardinal. “I think that our identity as students really is unique in how we experience the city, and so there needs to be some sort of reflection of that identity in the city council.”
Gronert is running for the seat held by Alder MGR Govindarajan, a spring 2024 UW-Madison graduate who has served since April 2023. Govindarajan told the Cardinal “it's a bit early to be thinking about reelection” and is instead focusing on the upcoming city budget.
District 8 includes most on-campus housing and nearby heavily student-populated neighborhoods.
Gronert currently serves as secretary of the Associated Students of Madison Student Services Finance Committee, where he said he has defended free expression on campus and opposed budget cuts reducing funding for student organizations.
He previously served as a student representative on the Shorewood School District Board of Education from 2021 to 2022, advocating for fair teacher compensation. Gronert also interned for democratic socialist Rep. Darrin Madison, D-Milwaukee, where he gained experience navigating government and observing socialist-style government at the state level.
“On the Shorewood School Board, I didn't have a vote, but even still, I was able to get the board to change their decisions on a number of issues,” Gronert told the Cardinal. “I've learned how to be a fighter and how to win where I don't have numbers theoretically.”
His campaign prioritizes affordable housing solutions, proposing increased funding for the Community Development Authority so the city can directly build publicly-owned housing rather than relying solely on private developers. He suggests using the vacant Madison Area Technical College campus lot near the State Capitol for affordable housing.
“I think the city has taken some good first steps in places, but we definitely need to do more,” Gronert told the Cardinal. “I would support using the city government in order to buy land and build affordable public housing for students, young workers, people trying to get back on their feet — everyone in the city.”
Additionally, Gronert advocates for eliminating Madison’s building height restrictions to encourage upward development, rehouse the residents of Dairy Drive — a homeless encampment the Madison Common Council voted to shut down in September — and work toward ending homelessness in Madison.
Gronert also proposes creating a Tenant Defense Council staffed by city attorneys to fight wrongful evictions, protect renters from exploitation and challenge excessive rent increases.
“I believe that housing is a human right,” Gronert told the Cardinal. “We can come into the housing crisis from a lot of different angles — from the supply angle and from just defending tenants as well — and really try and alleviate a lot of the issues with housing in Madison.”
Gronert’s platform calls for ending bar raids and mass citations, which he argues increases the risk of unsafe drinking and sexual assault. Instead, he supports guiding the Madison Police Department (MPD) toward harm reduction approaches rather than “student punishment.”
However, MPD and Govindarajan already indicated in October that they would move away from large-scale bar raids and toward “bar checks” focusing on safety and compliance.
To address mental health and homelessness, Gronert plans to create a Mental Health Task Force composed of social workers to respond to non-violent crises without police involvement. The task force would focus on de-escalation, rehabilitating the city’s homeless population, addressing the root causes of crime and expanding access to mental health and drug rehabilitation resources.
He also supports relocating portions of MPD funding to be used in expanding mental health resources.
Gronert aims to establish a three-step strategy to help defend immigrant communities from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
His plan includes advocating for stronger community defense alliances, implementing “ICE Free Zones” to prevent MPD collaborating with ICE and ensuring accountability against MPD officers who don’t comply with identification requests. In addition, he plans to support abortion funds across the region, providing financial, legal and logistical assistance to help make the decision easier for those seeking care.
“I really want to run for Common Council not just to provide for the people of Madison, for my neighbors, my classmates — but to help defend them from the Trump Administration,” Gronert told the Cardinal.
Additionally, he proposes green initiatives for Madison, including turning Madison Gas & Electric into a public utility to promote green energy solutions, expanding electrified transportation and developing a commuter rail system. He also plans to extend late-night bus routes and add lighting on the Lakeshore Path to enhance student safety.
The general election for common council is scheduled for April 7, 2026.
Zoey Elwood is copy chief for The Daily Cardinal. She also covers state news.
