Victoria Davis
Ananda Mirilli (left) and Ali Muldrow bask in their election victories.
Diversity was a central theme in the three contested races for Madison school board and voters elected three more women to the board, two of whom are women of color. With the addition of Cris Carusi, Ananda Mirilli and Ali Muldrow, Madison’s school board will now be made up entirely of women.
Mirilli told nearly 100 supporters at Robinia Courtyard in her victory speech Tuesday night that the moment was still settling in. “There are some evenings that nobody prepares you for and this is one of them,” Mirilli said. “There are evenings that if you’re an immigrant, if you’re not (an) English native speaker, if you’re a single mom, if you’re undocumented, there are some evenings that you would never think is going to be possible, and this is one of them.”
According to unofficial results from the Dane County clerk, Mirilli beat Mertz — the only incumbent to run — in the Seat 5 race with 57.6 percent of the vote.
Madison voters elected Ali Muldrow with 69.3 percent of the vote over David Blaska in the Seat 4 race. In an email, Blaska quipped that the good news from Tuesday’s election is that he wouldn’t have to go to any more school board meetings.
“I did congratulate Ali Muldrow who finally quit saying [I] want black kids to fail. (They are already),” Blaska wrote. “Madison decided to double down on the status quo … without any bitterness, it will have to get worse before it gets better.”
Muldrow and Mirilli ran a parallel campaign that championed diversity and racial equity and vowed to better serve Madison’s students, regardless of race. Muldrow said the collaborative campaign she ran with Mirilli empowered those often left out of the conversation.
“This campaign is for the underdogs,” Muldrow told supporters. “For the kids who are still waiting for somebody to notice how smart and talented and helpful they are. This campaign is for every student who wants to learn and is afraid to try because they might get it wrong. We are not here today because we are people who haven’t made mistakes, we are here today to tell you that mistakes are a part of learning.”
Mertz congratulated Mirilli shortly before 9 p.m. when polls showed her winning. “I certainly wish Ananda the best,” he said. “I’m proud of the work I’ve done on the board for the last six years…. I only wish anyone the best going forward because our kids need the best.”
In the Seat 3 election, Cris Carusi, a strong opponent of voucher schools and independent charters, beat Kaleem Caire, who runs One City Schools, an independent charter school, with 51.9 percent of the vote.
Carusi wrote in an email: “I am ready to listen to all members of our community, represent you, and work together for our children, staff and public schools.”
She thanked Caire for his dedication to Madison’s youth and encouraged the community to get involved. “Kaleem’s leadership on early childhood education has made our community a better place for children and families,” she said.
Caire said he knew it would be a tight race, but said the 32,000 people who voted for him want change. “That 32,000 is a sign that there are folks that want to move in different directions. So we’re going to keep pushing,” he said. He said he is concerned that the “hardcore left” in Madison is not truly committed to change for kids of color. “You don’t see them fighting and calling people names and yelling and screaming and picketing when it’s black kids failing. And that bothers me, that bothers me. I feel like if they’re really with us, they should be with us all the time.”
Mirilli and Muldrow said they will address the issues they campaigned on.
“Now we get to work,” Muldrow said. “Now we try to make our schools into places where every single kid can be successful and … give it everything we’ve got.”
