Question
Please describe your specific priorities if you are (re)elected to represent the Northside as District 18 Alder.
Answers:
Michelle Ellinger Linley
My broad priorities as an alder are:
• Safe, healthy communities
• Support for good jobs and small businesses
• Accessible, affordable housing for both homeowners and renters
• Preserving our parks and lakes
How do we go about doing these things specifically?
• Safe, healthy communities — investing in mental health resources, more youth programming at our consistently used community centers, and equitable opportunities in employment and education on the Northside.
• Support for good jobs and small businesses — supporting working people, the labor movement, and investing in local small businesses with community ties. That means bringing neighbors, community interests, and businesses together to improve rather than undermine residents on development projects like Raemisch Farm.
• Accessible, affordable housing for homeowners and renters means supporting necessary citywide reforms that help families keep and find their homes, whether as renters or homeowners. That means supporting the transit housing district reforms (which the current alder voted against) that help improve and connect housing and transit systems.
• Preserving our parks and lakes — protecting our parks and green spaces and investing in sustainability measures that help build community health, such as community gardens and urban farming, including continuing to preserve Cherokee Marsh.
Answer
Charles Myadze
It is an honor to represent Northside residents on the Madison Common Council. As the current Alder, it is gratifying to look back on my first term and see all the progress we have made: the body-worn Camera Pilot Program approved after much delay; the first steps taken to bring much-needed housing to the Raemisch Farms site; and environmental and safety improvements made to Knutson Drive and the Troy Drive railroad bridge.
I am running for re-election because we cannot go back. There is more work to do! In my second term, my focus will continue to be on the priorities of the people I represent: public safety, increasing the amount of safe, affordable housing, equity in public transportation, and strengthening our families and improving opportunity with important initiatives such as youth employment, and protecting our environment and Cherokee Marsh.
One very specific priority I want to see to fruition is the Raemisch Farm project. Unfortunately, my opponent was vocally against building much-needed housing on this site. Fortunately, I was able to help lead the efforts to successfully take the first step by rezoning the parcel to allow housing. But there is much more to do to make it a reality, and opponents of the housing may continue to work to thwart it. This project includes a donation of 3.5 acres of land to Lakeview elementary for outdoor activities and learning, dedicates about 10 acres for urban agriculture, and sound mitigation to reduce potential noise effects. There will be single family homes, townhouses, and multi-family housing. We cannot let this project get bogged down or stopped. I look forward to continuing to lead efforts to make this important project a reality.
