We’ve seen grounded leadership from Gov. Tony Evers (left to right), Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and Gloria Reyes, school board president.
This was a year of big leadership changes at the state and local level.
Let’s start at the top. When considering Tony Evers’ performance it’s important to first give thanks for who he’s not. He’s not Scott Walker, who Evers dispatched in the 2018 election by about the same slim margin with which Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton two years earlier.
To the extent that Evers can do things on his own, he’s acted to bring state government out of the dark ages. For example, the words “climate change” may now be spoken again in state government. That’s refreshing, but Walker’s administration set a pretty low bar for progress.
I think Evers stumbled a couple of times. He made a mistake by appointing a utility lawyer to the Public Service Commission, a view reinforced when she joined the two remaining Walker appointees in approving a massive, unneeded power line through the beautiful Driftless region.
I also think the governor should have vetoed the state budget in its entirety and held out for a nonpartisan redistricting process and for taking the federal Medicaid expansion money. Both issues had 70 percent public approval ratings and fair redistricting is a national cause that would have attracted resources to carry the fight to the airwaves.
It would have been a long and ugly battle, but it was especially worth fighting for redistricting reform. Since the budget is the only bill that must pass each session, it was the only way to get fair maps. Now, we’re almost certain to get another masterpiece of gerrymandering, ultimately approved by the conservative state Supreme Court, that will lock in Republican majorities for another decade.
Evers got elected precisely because of his low key, reasonable demeanor. He’s likeable and I like him. But in this one crucial instance we needed a street fighter.
There are any number of ways to explain Satya Rhodes-Conway’s landslide victory in April. It could have been identity politics, fatigue with longtime Mayor Paul Soglin or just a desire for change — Madison has never elected a mayor to three consecutive four-year terms.
No matter the reason for her victory, the new mayor has presented herself as thoughtful and willing to listen. She doesn’t pick unnecessary fights or jump to quick conclusions. And not only is she not at war with the council, but she persuaded it to accept her $40 wheel tax. Like that tax or not, it saved her from cutting basic services and it creates a funding stream for bus rapid transit, the logical next step in Madison’s transportation future.
And if there ever was a year when a mayor could propose a budget with no new cops, this was it. With an interim chief in place after Mike Koval’s flash retirement, the pushback was minimal, though the council did add three new cops in the end after rejecting an early proposal to add six more police officers. The salary savings will pay dividends for her in future budgets.
She’s got a long way to go, but you would have to say this is a good start.
When I learned that Jen Cheatham was leaving her post as Madison schools superintendent I wasn’t surprised, but I was disappointed. Cheatham had earned a solid reputation in the toughest job in the city. But the more we learned about her tenure, especially in her later years, the more I came to the conclusion that it was time for new leadership.
Teachers and staff feel unsupported by the administration and much of the school board seems focused on empowering students at the expense of good order and discipline. But board president Gloria Reyes, a former police officer, is providing grounded leadership. There is reason to be hopeful that the next superintendent, to be selected by the board in the coming weeks, will be allowed to balance justified concerns over the racial achievement gap with the need to provide a safe and orderly learning environment for everyone.
Look, none of these jobs is easy. And especially in Madison, the home of 230,000 experts in state finance, urban management and public education, even the best performances are going to come in for nitpicking.
So, let’s end the year by emphasizing the positive. Tony Evers is a good man who is a vast improvement over Scott Walker. Satya Rhodes-Conway has a tough act to follow in Madison’s longest-serving and most iconic mayor, but she has gotten off to a strong start. And the troubles in the Madison public schools probably couldn’t be adequately addressed by the former superintendent. It was time for new leadership.
Nobody is perfect, but this past year gives us reason to be optimistic about what to expect from three key state and local leaders in 2020.
Dave Cieslewicz is the former mayor of Madison. He blogs as Citizen Dave at isthmus.com.
