Justin Sprecher
David Handowski (left) is challenging Ald. Barbara Harrington-McKinney for her seat on the far southwest side.
David Handowski is running for Common Council in large part to keep 850 feet of concrete out of a neighborhood greenspace. He wants to stop the city from executing its 2005 plan to extend Jeffy Trail to the busy Raymond Road. That would mean paving over a popular bike and walking trail that runs through a wooded area.
The city’s engineering division wants to extend the street to connect the isolated neighborhood with streets to the south and provide better access to emergency responders.
Handowski, vice president and co-founder of the Madison West Neighborhood Association, says Ald. Barbara Harrington-McKinney was too slow to respond to residents’ pleas to stop the street extension. Now he’s running against her to represent the far southwest side District 1.
Proposed extension of Jeffy Trail to Raymond Road.
“Neighbors don’t want this area destroyed, and they wanted to preserve [the path],” Handowski says during a contentious debate at Isthmus on March 17. “I think the issue that residents have is that they attempted to communicate with [McKinney] several times and that she was not responsive.”
But Harrington-McKinney says she’s known about concerns over Jeffy Trail since she decided to run for the council in 2015. She says she’s met one-on-one with neighbors to hear concerns about the trail but also understands why the city wants to extend the street. As an alder, Harrington-McKinney says she helped delay the project in order to search for a compromise.
“We have to look at alternatives,” says Harrington-McKinney. “[Jeffy Trail] is absolutely something that is on my radar, on my list. So that we can work collaboratively in finding a good solution not only for the city in terms of connectivity, but also for the residents as well.”
Handowski is pleased that a decision about Jeffy Trail has been postponed until the High Point-Raymond Neighborhood development plan is updated, but says the delay has more to do with neighbors than with the alder.
Harrington-McKinney says she’s made expanding employment opportunities, especially for young people, a priority during her first term. She points to her sponsorship of a new neighborhood employment center at the former Griff’s Restaurant on McKenna Boulevard as one way she’s helping teens find jobs. She also says she’s strengthened the relationship between residents and law enforcement.
“Look at the doors we are opening, the leadership I’ve built,” she says. “If that’s something you’d like to continue seeing, vote for me on April 4.”
Justin Sprecher
Bradley Campbell (left) and Arvina Martin are competing for an open west side seat. The race is the only council election without an incumbent.
Two political novices — Arvina Martin and Bradley Campbell — are vying to represent a west-side council district. After Ald. Chris Schmidt resigned from the District 11 seat midterm in January 2016, former Ald. Tim Gruber was selected by the council to fill the post for the remainder of Schmidt’s term.
Martin, a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation, is a policy analyst and statewide tribal liaison for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. She says while knocking on doors, residents told her their biggest concerns stretch beyond city hall.
“People are saying that we have a pretty good thing going on in Madison. They are more concerned about state and national politics,” Martin says during a debate at Isthmus on March 1. “I’ll be [a council member] that is focused on fighting back against any grudges from legislators that try to take away funding or take control away from local governments.”
Campbell works at an energy efficiency evaluation firm, DNV GL. He’s also a member of the Sustainable Madison Committee. If elected, he’s vowed to be a leader on the council in advancing the goal of having all city operations run on net-zero carbon emissions and 100% renewable energy. But Campbell says sustainability involves more than utility bills.
“People are worried about policing and race relations in the city,” Campbell says during a debate at Isthmus on March 1. “If the police lose credibility with populations in the community, that’s a long-term sustainability problem.”
Despite opposition from Mayor Paul Soglin, construction of the $10.8 million Midtown Police Station is scheduled to start this summer. The council overruled the mayor’s budget proposal that would have delayed the project, which is in District 11. Campbell says he would have voted to keep the project on its current timeline. But he’s sympathetic to Soglin’s argument that the city has to set budget priorities.
“When [Soglin] says, ‘We can’t do everything,’ he’s right. We will have finite resources,” says Campbell. “And as we go forward, we do need to look at additional options for reducing the need to rely on the police to do everything for us.”
Martin also would have voted to keep the Midtown Police Station in the 2017 capital budget.
“Residents are worried about response times. This is about making sure our neighborhoods are safe,” says Martin. “[The police station] will be good for the west side and the city as a whole. This is not a controversial issue in the district.”
