Progressive Dane applauds Common Council victories, public engagement on governance questions

Progressive Dane, an independent third party that focuses on local issues, is proud to announce that seven of our endorsed Madison Common Council candidates won their races in today’s election.

Four ProDane-endorsed incumbents won another Council term: Patrick Heck (District 2), Mike Verveer (District 4), Tag Evers (District 13), Grant Foster (District 15). Three ProDane-endorsed candidates will be joining the Council: Juliana Bennett (District 8), Nikki Conklin (District 9), and Yannette Figueroa Cole (District 10).

“We are committed to working with our endorsed Alders, our membership, and grassroots groups to move the progressive goals that motivate our candidates into local policy,” said Heidi Wegleitner, co-chair of ProDane’s Elections Committee and Dane County Board Supervisor. “We also thank retiring Alder Marsha Rummel and outgoing Alder Rebecca Kemble for their progressive leadership on the Council and many contributions to our party.”

ProDane’s endorsement process is led by the party’s Elections Committee, with involvement open to members. ProDane supported our endorsed candidates with campaign donations, volunteers, advice, training, and increased visibility throughout their campaigns.

ProDane applauds the hard work and bold vision of our candidates who didn’t prevail. We look forward to continuing our work with them as party members. Their commitment to local democracy led them to run for office during a global pandemic, when door knocking—a progressive candidate’s best friend—was not an option.

ProDane also applauds Madison voters’ engagement on the four-part advisory referendum on potential changes to the structure of city government. The questions were based on the work of the Task Force on Government Structure and a related implementation work group, both of which ProDane Alders contributed significantly to.

ProDane decided not to take a position on the referendum questions, other than to oppose a decrease in the size of the Common Council. The party will continue to support public debate and action to make city government more equitable, open and responsive, as described in our platform.

ProDane is concerned that corporate donors and undisclosed funds played a role in this Spring’s elections, with billboards and mailers targeting our incumbents and candidates. We rely on people power, voter education, and campaign finance disclosure to keep our local democracy healthy.