×
It is only a matter of days before the polls open on Tuesday, Apr. 3 for this spring's round of municipal elections. Discussions, data and dirt are flying fast and furious as the day approaches; we'll try to keep up with some of it.
Here are some recent developments in the final days before the election:
- The Dane County Democrats have not endorsed anyone in local races where two Democrats are challenging each other, but that hasn't stopped Chair Wayne Bigelow from pushing his favorites. Bigelow recently sent a letter supporting Chris Schmidt, who is challenging Ald. Tim Gruber, in Dist. 11.
"Chris has been a very active member of the Democratic Party for years -- unlike his opponent who only joined the Democratic Party last December as part of a coordinated effort to take over the local party's endorsement process," wrote Bigelow. Gruber's campaign has accused Bigelow of misleading voters into thinking Schmidt is endorsed by the Dems. Neither candidate is. (Bigelow's letter is in the gallery at top right, with Gruber's response available in the related downloads.) - Oops? In his latest lit piece, Duane Steinhauer, who is running for alder in Dist. 13, promises to bring back services to "the west side of Madison." Problem is, much of Dist. 13 lies in the south side. But Steinhauer says where he lives, by St. Mary's, is on the west side. And he says his potential constituents don't consider themselves south side residents: "We think we're west siders."
- Steinhauer's campaign lit is suspiciously similar to a lit piece distributed by Thuy Pham-Remmele in Dist. 20 on the far west side. Both pieces include a graphic of a lightning bolt hitting a trolley, with the headline: "A Streetcar named Un-Desirable." They also use similar talking points against streetcars. Steinhauer says a longtime friend designed his lit piece and he had no idea it resembled Pham-Remmele's. "I don't know Thuy," he says, adding his own piece "says what I wanted it to say." (The trolley image is available in the gallery at top right.)
- Aside from the $1,100 he gave himself, Eli Judge (running against Lauren Woods to replace Ald. Austin King) hasn't received any money from individual contributors in Wisconsin, according to his last report. Not a single dollar. He did, however, get a $200 check from the Wisconsin People Conference. In total, Judge raised $3,300 -- most of it from contributors in Illinois.
- Keep track of local blogging about this spring's elections at Madison Miscellany