P.O. Box 1222, Madison, WI 53701 | www.prodane.org | office@prodane.org | (608) 257-4985
Here is the PD response to the recent editorializing against PD in the State Journal. Keep your eyes on this blog as we will be correcting any misstatements written about PD in the press.
Read the full editorial. Highlights are below:
The Wisconsin State Journal recently used its editorial page space to contort the Progressive Dane city platform into a rant that would frighten just about anyone in Madison. We encourage readers to read the actual platform for yourselves at www.prodane.org rather than buy into the partisan, inflammatory and flat out wrong "interpretation" of the progressive values we share with residents throughout Madison.Reading the actual platform you'll find a positive, forward looking vision for a greater Madison; one that benefits workers, community-minded business, those in need of social services, homeowners, renters, and all who want to live in a community built on accessible, clean government and strong neighborhoods, and one that not only recognizes but values the diversity of our great city.
The current and past platforms adopted by the Progressive Dane membership have helped Madison enact numerous policies and practices that have improved our fair city. Among them:-Living wages for workers who work for agencies that contract with the city.
-A minimum wage increase for all workers.
-More affordable housing through inclusionary zoning and the affordable housing trust fund.
-Lobbying registration that allows the press and the public to track the hired guns that work to influence our elected officials and the administration.
-Increased access to campaign finance reports though electronic filing and the Internet.
-Changes to City Council meeting registration requirements that allow busy residents better opportunities to have their views heard.
-An indoor smoking ban to give Madison workers and all who seek to enjoy Madison's many treasures the ability to do so while breathing cleaner air.
-Increased ability for neighborhoods to have an effective voice in developments by helping to develop a best practices guide for neighborhoods and developers.
Posted by prodane at 11:29 PM
The Madison Times visited PD's general membership meeting on December 15th 2004 and wrote an article describing the fun, serious business, and strategizing at the meeting. Read the full article here, highlights are below:
For more than a dozen years, Progressive Dane (PD) has been a powerful force for political change in Madison. Its consistent wins against Democrat and Republican challengers alike and its organized efforts in many areas of public life make PD Madison's own third-party success story. The Madison Times recently attended a general membership meeting to learn more about the operations of this unique political force in our city.The meeting began casually. All participants were invited to introduce themselves and to answer the question "What gift would you like Santa to bring which politician?" Given the crowd, the answers inevitably skewed toward gifts of an unpleasant nature to many of the big names currently in power...
The meeting quickly proceeded to the main event: discussion and endorsements of candidates in the upcoming spring elections. Progressive Dane prides itself as a positive alternative that "brings together people committed to making government responsive to our communities' urgent needs."
Posted by prodane at 11:41 PM
The Dane County Democrats Executive Board unanimously adopted a policy that would prohibit any of its endorsed candidates from being endorsed by or belonging to another party. The full party will vote on it on at their membership meeting.
If you are unhappy with this proposal, please volunteer for one of the many PD endorsed candidates in the spring elections.
Highlights from the Cap Times article are below. Click here for the full article. The Cap Times wrote an editorial on 12/27 titled 'Misguided Democrats'. County Board supervisor Al Matano wrote an LTE reiterating that we can all work together.
The Capital Times covered the meeting where the resolution passed.
The executive board of the Democratic Party has unanimously adopted a policy that would prohibit any of its endorsed candidates from being endorsed by or belonging to another party, confirmed Wayne Bigelow, chair of the Democratic Party of Dane County...Bigelow acknowledged that the resolution, which will be voted on by the full party at its general meeting Jan. 12, is broadly written but in practice is directed at Progressive Dane, a 12-year-old independent, progressive grass-roots party that endorses candidates in city and Dane County races.
"We're not really interested in working with Progressive Dane anymore," Bigelow said Monday.
...Michael Jacob, chair of the elections committee of Progressive Dane, said the Democratic Party proposal sends a bad signal that political parties on the left can't have any disagreements without abandoning all cooperative efforts.
"There is plenty of area for all three parties on the left to work together," said Jacob, who notes he's also a card-carrying Democrat.
...The bottom line, said Jacob, is that such infighting hurts the issues that everyone on the left should care about.
"This is the unsavory side of politics that is the exact wrong direction to head after November, that's for sure," he said. "We all have better things to do."
Posted by prodane at 04:27 AM
The Capital Times wrote an editorial setting the record straight on many distortions that were written about PD in the State Journal editorial pages.
PD is in the process of drafting an extensive response to the State Journal editorial. In the mean time, read highlights from the Cap Times editorial below and check back here for the PD response to the State Journal and audio highlights from PD members on the MIC 92.1 Air America radio.
...The State Journal has never liked Progressive Dane, a political grouping that supports social and economic justice goals that are at odds with the agenda of the newspaper's allies in the corporate sector...But the State Journal's attack on Progressive Dane was not a joke, at least not an intentional one. The editorial condemning Progressive Dane suggests that the election of the party's candidates to local offices would create a nightmare world in which crimes are not punished, rents are not paid to landlords, businesses are run out of town and even pavement is taxed. To foster this fantasy, the State Journal's editors interpret Progressive Dane's platform with a casual disregard for truth not seen since the newspaper was making the "case" that Saddam Hussein's Iraq was in possession of great stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction.
The broadside against Progressive Dane was remarkable in that it came so early in the local political season - before the deadline for City Council and School Board candidates to file their nominating petitions. It is obvious that the State Journal has identified its goal for 2005 - to do everything in its power to discredit Progressive Dane and its candidates...
It might be daunting for some Progressive Dane activists to think that their party, which relies on volunteers and grass-roots campaign work rather than pricey media campaigns to do politics, has been targeted for defeat by a newspaper that is willing to stretch the truth to the breaking point in order to defeat it...
The likelihood is that, when the ballots are counted in next April's local elections, Madison voters will again have proven themselves capable of seeing through the media smoke screen and voting for candidates who best reflect their values and their hopes for the community. If that is the case, Progressive Dane and its candidates have little to fear from the latest attack.
Posted by prodane at 04:34 AM
Mark Hazelbarker wrote a LTE to the State Journal describing PD as a 'political machine' and comparing us to the religious right. He also made some inaccurate statements about district 2 and the candidate agreement. Here are some excerpts:
Witness this spring's purge of Judy Wilcox from the Dane County Board. Progressive Dane made the same demand on her that they make of all PD candidates: In exchange for PD's support, the candidate must promise to support all other PD candidates and to vote in favor of all PD positions on their signature issues......Moderate Republicans have to live down the religious right, which is capable of uttering some intolerant proposals. But the left has its lunatic fringe as well. How curious, though, that the far left has seen fit to adopt the "obey or die" ethos. At least the religious right prays for the redemption of its opponents.
The truth about the candidate agreement and District 2
Wilcox never sought PD’s endorsement and was never a PD candidate, so she was not "purged." She was defeated by a very capable candidate Beth Gross who put high priority on connecting with her constituents. Despite the charges of a 'lunatic fringe,' voter turnout was higher in this race than in previous races in the district.
Progressive Dane does its best to find and help candidates who are committed to open, democratic political processes and works to keep in touch once they are elected. We do hold elected officials accountable as political parties should and if you want to know the truth about our candidate agreement, you can read it online.
We are far from a 'political machine.' Our membership meetings are open to the public; anyone can observe; anyone can join; anyone can have input in the PD agenda.
Posted by prodane at 04:45 AM
Scott Favour recently wrote an editorial in the State Journal that claimed that PD was at odds with city policing. A snip of his editorial is below:
I'd like to challenge Progressive Dane leaders to tell us their vision for law enforcement in Madison. What is it they would propose? Should we just ignore the marijuana laws? Should we only target dealers of "hard" drugs? What about the buyers of "hard" drugs? Is the Police Department just a nuisance in our progressive city?
PD Drug Policy Committee Responds:
Progressive Dane Drug Policy Task Force's request for a review of a
recent police action, where it was reported that police conducted a search without consent based on the smell of unburnt marijuana, hardly constitutes a 'flareup' between us and law enforcement. It was a respectful letter expressing our concerns about the potential erosion of due process at the local level and asking for a clarification of city policy.
Our main concern in this case is that police, according to the Capital Times' initial report, conducted a search without consent based first on smelling unburnt marijuana, then further searching based on amounts that would normally warrant a ticket. Local law enforcement officials and Dane County's DA have made public statements that possession of small amounts of marijuana is routinely treated as an ordinance violation.
Our tax dollars pay our police force to enforce laws that our elected officials enact. In 1977 the entire city (through a citizen initiative) enacted an ordinance that makes personal possession of marijuana (up to 112 grams) on public property subject to a fine of up to $100 with no further action, with no action whatsoever to be taken regarding the same amount of marijuana on private property. The more conservative county ordinance allows possession of up to 25 grams of marijuana to be treated a simple ordinance violation, and the state statutes explicity provide for this.
According to Wisconsin Taxpayers' Alliance, our bloated prison system has a stranglehold on Wisconsin's budget and Wisconsin is leading the nation in arrests despite being 45th in violent crime.
Dane County is also a leader in the racial disparity in the criminal justice system, and the war on drugs is the driving force behind this. Data consistently show that illicit drug use is fairly evenly spread throughout all segments of the population, with Caucasians slightly ahead. Yet African-Americans are incarcerated at a much higher rate. With these kinds of trends, it is no wonder that people are suspicious about being targeted because of their race.
As citizens of a democratic society it is our responsibility to be informed about government policies and to question them when appropriate. This is not based on any anti-police sentiment, it is based on a desire for transparency and trust in our law-enforcement system.
Posted by prodane at 04:56 AM
"The task force argued that 'questionable searches' damage the community's trust in the Police Department's commitment to civil liberties."
Read the Cap Times Article
Read the State Journal Article
Posted by prodane at 05:07 AM
Yogesh Chawla chats for 30 minutes with Lee Rayburn about Progressive Dane. The audio files are available for download as mp3s.
Part 1 of 3
Part 2 of 3
Part 3 of 3
Posted by prodane at 05:09 AM