Business matters

Leadership is the largest issue facing Mayor Joseph Sensenbrenner in his bid for a third term, Eric Parker observes in his cover story on the race. Madison Common Council members complain that the incumbent often waits to get involved in an issue until consensus has been established. His foes also decry the cozier relationships the city has built with business leaders and the university during Sensenbrenner's administration. "That partnership is essential," counters Sensenbrenner, taking credit for increasing the involvement of business in the city's public life, "and it runs the full scale of size: from facilitating the development of Old Sauk Trails and the Charmany-Rieder [research parks] to also making sure that the two- or three- or four-person outfit can make it, especially in those parts of town that need special attention." Madison voters agree, reelecting Sensenbrenner over challenger Mary Kay Baum by a margin of 36,341 to 17,510. Unseated two years later by former Mayor Paul Soglin, Sensenbrenner is now a quality-improvement consultant. He is still active in civic affairs and is a prominent booster of building a new park on the east rail corridor.