After losing the Democratic gubernatorial primary in August, Mayor Paul Soglin announced in a video that he'd run for mayor again.
Madison Mayor Paul Soglin is testing potential attack lines by opponents — and the strength of two rivals — as he prepares to run in 2019 for another four-year term. During the week of Dec. 3, the Soglin campaign conducted a lengthy phone poll that asked respondents a variety of questions: Has the mayor helped to improve and strengthen the economy? Does he have a vision for the future? Is he committed to reducing homelessness? Has he “been around too long”?
A Madison resident recorded the phone conversation with the pollster and provided it to Isthmus. The resident asked to remain anonymous.
Soglin announced in July he would not be seeking another term as mayor — a post he’s held for 22 years in three separate stints beginning in the 1970s. His current tenure began in 2011. When he announced he would not seek another term as mayor, he was running for the Democratic nomination for governor. But after losing that race to Tony Evers in August, Soglin changed his mind and announced on Oct. 19 that he would run for a ninth term.
The mayor’s poll posed a possible attack line to see how much it resonated with respondents: “Paul Soglin has spent most of the past year focused on his failed campaign for governor and said he would not run for mayor again, which shows he lacks the commitment and energy necessary to lead.”
The poll is also trying to determine if residents think Soglin has been mayor for too long — a criticism levied by several of Soglin’s opponents. “In your opinion, does this statement raise serious doubts, some doubts or no real doubts about Paul Soglin?” asked the pollster. “As homelessness, crime and unequal access to health care and education have worsened in recent years, it’s clear that we don’t need four more years of Soglin. It’s time for a new mayor with vision and fresh ideas to move Madison forward.”
So far, eight candidates have filed paperwork to run for mayor. Challenging Soglin are environmental advocate Raj Shukla, comedian Nick Hart, Madison racial equity coordinator Toriana Pettaway, software developer Eric Koth, former Alds. Brenda Konkel and Satya Rhodes-Conway, and Ald. Maurice Cheeks. Former Madison school board member Michael Flores filed to run for mayor but tells Isthmus he’s withdrawing.
“Maybe I’ll pull a Soglin and jump back in,” Flores jokes.
The top two finishers in the Feb. 19 primary will move on to the April 2 general election. Only two rivals were singled out in Soglin’s poll: Rhodes-Conway and Cheeks.
After a detailed description of each candidate, the poll asked if the election were today, would the respondent vote for Soglin or Rhodes-Conway in a head-to-head match-up; the same with Cheeks.
Melissa Mulliken, Soglin’s campaign manager, declined to answer specific questions about the survey, but says polling is “standard.”
“I am not going to get into the details,” Mulliken writes Isthmus in an email. “What I can say is that the poll shows that the people of Madison continue to support Paul Soglin’s leadership and his vision for the city’s future.”
Ald. Mike Verveer hasn’t endorsed any candidate for mayor. But the veteran alder says Soglin’s unsuccessful run for governor and desire for new leadership are both issues he’s heard raised.
“That’s probably why [Soglin] is testing them,” Verveer says. “I would think the number one charge against Paul is that it’s time for a change. Time for a new generation, a new leader, a new vision, etc. etc.”
Soglin won his first term as mayor on that same message in 1973 at the age of 27. But Verveer notes that the “time for a change” rhetoric from opponents failed to work in the 2015 election, when former Ald. Scott Resnick, who is four decades younger than the 73-year-old mayor, lost by 40 points.
The poll also tested one other common criticism of Soglin, asking if “it is a problem that Mayor Soglin does not try hard enough to get along with the city council.”
Verveer says the council’s relationship with the mayor has significantly improved since Ald. Marsha Rummel became council president in 2017 and Samba Baldeh followed in 2018. Madison will elect the entire 20-member city council in April 2019 as well as mayor. Nearly half of incumbent alders have decided not to run for another term.
“There’s definitely less friction between the mayor and the council. I think that’s partially why Paul decided to run again. I also know that he’s genuinely excited to work with a new governor to explore a lot things we’ve really been stuck in neutral or have gone backwards on, in the past eight years,” Verveer says. “But I’ve heard people argue that since half of the council will be brand new, should there also be a newly minted mayor?”
