Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway broke a tie vote against a resolution directly opposing the new planes.
Former Ald. Brian Benford and his 7-year-old son call the F-16 Fighting Falcon jets that blast over their east-side home “warbirds.” He says he and his neighbors are “strongly against” the Air Force stationing F-35s, the next generation of fighter jets, at Truax Field in Madison.
“We’ve rested our head on the notion that we are such a progressive community for years. This issue has brought to the forefront that we’re really not,” says Benford. “I’m deeply disappointed in our progressive leaders like [U.S.] Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Congressman Mark Pocan and sadly, our own mayor.”
Benford says it isn’t just that the F-35s are expected to be louder than F-16s and that noise will disproportionately affect people of color, low-income residents and children.
“What gets lost is that these jets are multi-million dollar machines that kill and maim. When you hone your chops as being a progressive and then don’t take a strong stance against something this obvious, it’s extremely frustrating,” says Benford. “Long after the Air Force decides, I’m not going to forget about the leaders who were silent. A lot of people in my community feel that way.”
In August, a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was released detailing the potential consequences of replacing the 115th Fighter Wing’s aging F-16 jets with a squadron of 18 F-35s. The new aircraft would help preserve the 1,200 jobs at the base (and the specialized services it brings to the region) for decades.
Despite the potential economic benefits, Ald. Rebecca Kemble says the stance of her north-side residents is clear.
“My constituents are coming out of the woodwork to tell me they oppose the F-35s,” Kemble tells Isthmus.“The public is looking for its local officials to stand with them.”
At the Sept. 17 Common Council meeting, Alds. Kemble, Syed Abbas, Grant Foster, Patrick Heck, Marsha Rummel and Tag Evers — many representing neighborhoods surrounding the airport — tried to do just that. They sponsored a resolution that stated the Common Council “does not support” basing F-35s at Truax Field. The symbolic measure sparked division among alders and an alternate resolution with what Kemble describes as “weaker language.”
After hours of public testimony and heated debate, Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway broke a 10-10 vote, replacing the original resolution with one that asked the Air Force to “reconsider” selecting Truax Field as a preferred location to base the F-35s “until and unless” the findings of the EIS were shown to be misrepresented. It passed 16 to 3.
Kemble was disheartened “to see the resolution watered down.”
“Many of the changes were straight out of talking points from the Chamber of Commerce. We know where this pushback is coming from. This was all about political maneuvering and saving face,” says Kemble. “I feel really sad for those on the council who had to tie themselves into knots over this. Because they basically got manipulated.”
Former Ald. Brenda Konkel agrees.
“The council listened to the Chamber of Commerce,” says Konkel. “It was a big opportunity for the new mayor. But it feels like we just got [Mayor Paul] Soglin, part two.”
Rhodes-Conway, who lives in Eken Park next to the airport, says she knows the disruption caused by military jets and is concerned about the consequences of the F-35s.
“I live under the flight path. I know exactly how loud the jets are,” says Rhodes-Conway. “Honestly, I wish [Sens. John McCain and Russ Feingold] had killed the F-35 program 20 years ago so none of us would be facing this. But this isn’t [the city’s] decision to make. I’m trying to focus on how we can influence the process.”
Rhodes-Conway says her office will submit a formal comment to the Air Force outlining the community’s concerns.
Ald. Keith Furman, who helped write the alternative resolution regarding the F-35s, says he doesn’t see the issue as “a binary choice of you are either against the F-35s or you don’t care about the community.”
“I agreed with the majority of the [original] resolution, but disagreed with the hard conclusion of ‘the Madison Common Council does not support Truax Field as a preferred location,’” writes Furman in an email. “There are too many unknowns on this divisive issue to come to that conclusion.”
So why was an alternate resolution necessary?
“Voting no on the original [resolution] implied I was okay with the negative impacts outlined in the draft EIS report,” writes Furman. “If those impacts are indeed what we can expect, I don’t want to see the F-35s at Truax Field.”
The Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce praised the council’s action.
“We are pleased that the council sent a message of support to the 115th Fighter Wing by voting to oppose this resolution,” wrote Zach Brandon, Chamber president, in a Sept. 18 statement. “The long-term health of the 115th is vital to our economy and our community, and basing the F-35A at Truax Field will protect the livelihoods of the 1,200 Airmen.”
Brandon declined to comment further to Isthmus.
State Rep. Chris Taylor, who represents Madison’s east side, says the council firmly opposing the F-35s “would make a big difference” in the Air Force’s decision.
“Everywhere I go somebody stops me about the F-35s. Everywhere I go. At the grocery store. On the street. This is very personal to people,” Taylor says. “We take such pride in our neighborhoods. My constituents are already telling me they are saturated with air traffic noise and I think a strong response from the community would still be impactful.”
At a Sept. 23 news conference at the East Side Community Center, Taylor called for the Air Force to extend the deadline on public comment on the draft EIS by 60 days. Pocan called for a 30-day extension of the public comment period after the Air Force responds to “his unanswered inquiries.” The current deadline is Friday, Sept. 27.
Taylor wants more information on the decibel levels produced by the F-35s during takeoffs and landings and the potentially negative economic impact on the community.
“The corporate business interests in this community are pushing this through to the great detriment of our people,” Taylor said at the news conference. “I think there’s more than enough alarming information in the EIS. The people deserve a chance to have their voices heard.”
While she agrees the draft EIS leaves a lot of questions unanswered, Taylor says the report is “not the worst case scenario, it’s the absolute best case scenario.”
“This is the Air Force. This is their science. They’re the ones that matter,” Taylor tells Isthmus. “What the Chamber of Commerce says, what these other people say, they don’t know.”
Brandi Grayson, who lives near Truax Field, called out local officials at the news conference.
“How do we have a mayor who signs a resolution that leaves room for this thing to happen and then goes to climate strike in support of our children speaking up against environmental injustice?” asked Grayson. “I’m going to assume that Zach Brandon with the Chamber of Commerce isn’t evil. I’m going to assume that our mayor … isn’t evil. I’m going to assume they are just having a hard time seeing the humanity in people that look like me.”
The Air Force is expected to submit a final EIS in January 2020. A month later, Madison will know if Truax Field will be selected to base F-35s.
Benford says he’ll be haunted by the sound of fighter jets in Madison whether they are F-16s or F-35s.
“These jets are a reminder of our complacency against wars that kill brown and black people,” says Benford. “It pulls the bandage off the scab when these planes fly by.”
