Soglin squeaks by in primary

Satya Rhodes-Conway will face longtime mayor on April 2

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Madison Mayor Paul Soglin kept it low-key at his election night party at The Laurel Tavern. Although there was reason to celebrate, there was no revelry. A handful of supporters gathered at the west-side bar with Soglin, who showed neither delight nor distress while he watched returns come in on a television broadcasting a basketball game. What’s on his mind?

“Nothing about the election,” the mayor said shortly after the polls closed.

The results of the six-person primary were in by 8:45 p.m. Madison voters had given Soglin his 23rd electoral victory in a political career that stretches back 40 years. According to the unofficial results, the mayor held first place with 28.6 percent of the vote. Former Ald. Satya Rhodes-Conway finished second, 323 votes behind Soglin. The two will square off in the general election on April 2. Ald. Maurice Cheeks and nonprofit head Raj Shukla finished third and fourth capturing a combined total of 41 percent of the vote.

Soglin gave his victory speech at 9:02 p.m. in order to accommodate a live newscast. Right before he was set to speak, Sara Soglin, the mayor’s spouse, whispered something in her husband’s ear. He let out a big laugh — his first noticeable display of joy of the night.

“We have a very clear choice coming up in the general election. That’s obvious,” Soglin told his supporters. “It’s a clear choice in how this city develops and grows.”

The scene was very different at the Harmony Bar on the east side of town, where former Ald. Satya Rhodes-Conway was greeted with thunderous applause when she took the stage. She, too, had clarity about the general election.

“It is clear that the people of Madison are ready for change,” said Rhodes-Conway, unleashing another round of cheers. “We’re going to keep talking about the solutions that we all know are possible. These challenges are not unique and they are not unsolvable. Together we can do this.”

To have 70 percent of voters side with your opponents isn’t great news for any incumbent mayor, let alone Soglin, who has been elected to the office eight times. In the isthmus wards, the mayor consistently came in fourth place while Rhodes-Conway cleaned up. Soglin did slightly better downtown but performed dismally on campus, which was evenly split between the challengers. The near-west side was kind to Rhodes-Conway. She also dominated in her home base near Eken Park and the lower half of the north side.

Much of the west side was Soglin country. The mayor also did well on the far east side and much of the north side.

Cheeks won his home ward in Nakoma and some other precincts on the west and south sides. He and Shukla each raised an eye-popping $128,000, according to the latest campaign finance reports. Both candidates had a heavy presence on social media, sent out text messages to potential supporters, and bought TV ads. The pair also eagerly called out Soglin during the campaign.

“A couple of forums ago, the mayor ended the forum by saying that our city isn’t racist. I don’t think he gets the same emails that I sometimes get,” Shukla tweeted on Feb. 6. “We have to tackle these issues and stop ignoring them.”

Cheeks tweeted on Feb. 11, “The city of Madison has had the same leadership for the better part of two generations. We need new leadership in city hall to change the direction of our city.”

Ald. Rebecca Kemble, Rhodes-Conway’s treasurer, said her candidate had a different strategy.

“Satya put in the work. She was knocking on doors, hosting a ton of house parties actually talking to people instead of pushing out TV ads and social media ads,” said Kemble. “Mo and Raj — especially Mo — ran campaigns about voting against Soglin. When it came down to the actual issues, they didn’t have a lot of substantive things to say. They were just like, ‘We need a change.’ Satya was offering solutions and listening to people. She’s not worried about Soglin.”

The mayor's campaign didn’t host any Facebook live streams. His Instagram account has zero posts and still displays the logo from his failed run for governor in 2018. His longtime campaign manager, Melissa Mulliken, said they didn’t send out any texts and the mayor relied on his “strong record.”

“Elections aren’t won on Facebook,” said Mulliken. “They are won by candidates that deliver on their policies, show their skill in running a complex city, and connect with voters one-on-one.”

In July, Soglin signaled early support for Rhodes-Conway before changing his mind about running for reelection in October. Heading into the general election, Kemble said Rhodes-Conway would continue to “focus on the issues, not attacking the mayor.”

Soglin, however, did take a jab at Rhodes-Conway during his remarks at The Laurel. He criticized her support of tiny houses as a response to the lack of affordable housing. The mayor said the race is "a choice between tiny homes, that don’t provide housing for families, and the very aggressive [housing] policies that we’ve launched."

Kemble is unimpressed. “That all he’s got? That’s the only potshot I’ve ever heard him take on her and it’s dumb,” said Kemble. “It’s also not fair. [Rhodes-Conway] is talking about a variety of affordable rental and ownership options, tiny houses being one among many.”

At the Harmony, Rhodes-Conway reminded her supporters that she was “pretty dramatically outspent in this primary.”

“The fact that I’m standing here tonight is testament that people are more important than dollars,” she said. “It is you that’s going to get us through April 2.”

Candidate spending reports for the two weeks leading up to Feb. 19 primary won’t be released for another month. But as of Feb. 4, Rhodes-Conway had spent $81,988 since July 1. Soglin spent $47,269. Shukla spent the most: $89,277. The last report showed Rhodes-Conway with $10,149 in her campaign coffers. Soglin had $72,547.

Comedian Nick Hart finished in fifth place with 386 votes. He lives in the town of Madison and couldn’t vote in the city election. He’s surprised that Shukla and Cheeks didn’t fare better.

“Is it my last run for office? Yes, but I’m sure I could be convinced to participate in 2023,” said Hart via text. “But not as a contestant, I mean a candidate.”

Write-in candidate Toriana Pettaway, the city’s equity coordinator, received 267 votes.

Racial disparities and inequity were a central focus of the primary. But the three candidates of color in the race all lost. Wanda Smith, who ran for Fitchburg’s city council in 2017, said she’s disappointed that the “young and gifted” Cheeks won’t have a chance to lead Madison in a new direction.

“It’s [time] for Soglin to pass the mantle,” said Smith at Cheeks’ election party at Hawk’s on State Street. “I think [Cheeks] is a bridge builder.”

Rhodes-Conway, director of UW-Madison’s Mayors Innovation Project, told supporters improving equity would be a priority in her general election campaign.

“We are going to continue to talk about the issues,” said Rhodes-Conway. “We are going to continue to understand the challenges Madison faces: our affordable housing crisis, our transportation problems, the deep and shameful racial disparities that this city experiences, and the climate change that’s coming for us.”

During his speech, Soglin said many regarded Madison “as the worst city in the United States” for economic disparities before he took office in 2011. The mayor insists that in his last two terms he’s been closing those gaps.

“We know from the recent data, the data we’ve received since 2017, the evaluation of the Brookings Institution, that we are one of the few cities in the United States that has not only prospered economically but we’ve seen it across all racial and ethnic lines,” said Soglin. “Now, that doesn't mean we are satisfied…. But it does mean we are on the right track. That we undid the policies that were in effect prior to 2011 and we can not go backwards. We have to look forward.”

The mayor said another four years in office would provide him an opportunity to “address that dual demand: a fair and just economy, a great place for people to live, building and obtaining housing which is really something that was at a standstill up until 2011.”

Immediately after his remarks, Soglin got ready to leave. One local TV reporter protested, baffled that the mayor wouldn’t be taking any questions from the media.

“What? It’s election night. I have questions and I’m sure other people in this room do, too,” said the reporter. “It’ll take two minutes.”

“We’ll do something tomorrow,” responded Soglin, zipping up his jacket and heading for the door.

Howard Hardee and Victoria Davis contributed reporting for this article.

Editor's note: This article was updated to clarify Mayor Paul Soglin's comments about tiny houses.