Sconz Exclusive: Noel Radomski very likely to run for mayor

August 10, 2010

4:58 PM

In an email to The Sconz, former Ald. Noel Radomski said he is seriously considering challenging Mayor Dave Cieslewicz in the mayoral election next year. Radomski, who is currently the director of the

In addition, he cited the fiscal constraints which face local and state government as evidence that public institutions need to engage the private sector for funding on a variety of economic initiatives, such as workforce training. Organizations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the MillerCoors Foundation could provide critical financial support for programs during a time of budget deficits.

According to Radomski, the mayor has "completely dropped the ball" on job creation.

Madison has so many assets, but the city has ignored business creation and job growth, I believe, because we relied on state government and education institutions as a base of our employment, as well as our traditional FIRE clusters (financial, insurance, and real estate).

Radomski, who has spent over a decade in various academic positions studying economic development and education's relation to job creation, says the city needs to open a dialogue with employers in the area, so that it can match people in training programs with jobs. The mayor, he says, has ignored or neglected the tools necessary to do that.

"The mayor doesn't even know the Workforce Development Board of South Central Wisconsin exists, let a lone what it does," he said.

On rumors that former Ald. Ken Golden will also be a candidate, Radomski lauds the man he calls a "wonderful person" and a former mentor, and says he has encouraged Golden to run, if for no better reason than to bring important ideas and perspective to the debate. However, Radomski suggest Golden may be too interested in compromise to make the radical changes necessary.

"We've had enough compromise," he says.

Politically, Radomski says he would look for a coalition of support from all ideological families, including Democrats, Republicans and progressives. The only group he does not intend to win over is libertarians, who he says are fundamentally opposed to his vision of co-operation between the government and business. He emphasized that he is not married to any specific political group in the city, and said he rejected the "clique" nature of groups like Progressive Dane.