In front of a group of friends and their children in a warehouse on the East Side, Noel Radomski announced his candidacy for Madison mayor this afternoon.
I missed the first few minutes of his speech, but Radomski, he studies education policy for UW, described the setting of his announcement -- the warehouse Sector 67, a recently-founded prototyping firm -- as emblematic of the types of jobs he wants to bring to the city. (I believe the children in the background were supposed to symbolize his commitment to education.)
After saying he respected the mayor and would not seek to make the race negative, Radomski criticized Cieslewicz or the general direction of the city on a number of fronts, including the decision to remodel a "boutique hotel" and what Radomski deemed unacceptably high property taxes.
Despite stressing the need to find more efficient ways to deliver basic services, he said that public investment would go a long way in establishing a high-quality of life that would attract businesses to Madison.
"It begins but does not end with high-quality parks, our lakes and our watershed and a 21st century transportation system," he said.
Radomski also emphasized the need to integrate various political and economic entities. On education he said the Madison school district, MATC, UW and Edgewater College need to stop operating "in isolation." Similarly, he said the city could reduce the cost of social services by engaging non-profit organizations in the process.
So there was the first youtube video I have ever posted. Appropriately, it is quite underwhelming, especially since the batteries of the flip-cam ran out about 90 seconds into the filming. But it symbolizes the beginning of a new multimedia adventure right here at The Sconz that will only get bigger and better!
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