P.O. Box 1222, Madison, WI 53701 | www.prodane.org | office@prodane.org | (608) 257-4985
James Hopson, publisher of the Wisconsin State Journal, recently wrote an editorial titled "Don't Let Progressive Dane Dominate City". The editorial, which did commend PD's organization and volunteer structure, seemed to suggest
that certain PD officials were not legitimately elected because of low voter turnout in local elections. Vicky Selkowe who is a PD steering committee member, responds to Hopson's off base charges in this editorial.
John Nichols of the Capital Times also wrote an excellent point by point analysis of Hopson's editorial and we suggest you read the entire editorial by clicking here. Nichols drives home his point with the following snip:
On the other hand, voters who are not fans of Bush and who think that Baldwin better represents their values might want to consider the PD-endorsed candidates that the State Journal is actively opposing. They are: District 1: Lisa Subeck; District 5: Robbie Webber; District 10: Chris Kratochwill; District 12: Brian Benford; District 13: Sarah King; and District 15: Lori Nitzel.
Progressive Dane must also set the record straight in response to the allegation that certain city council officials aren't legitmately elected. Click the link below to read an in-depth analysis.
-Council President and PD stalwart Brenda Konkel's winning vote total represented about 20 percent of the registered voters in District 2.
The Facts:
Konkel has the highest number of votes of anyone currently on the council. She received 2004 votes in 2003. She also had the highest number of votes of any elected city council official for the years 1999, 2001 and 2003. It should also be noted that the district overwhelmingly rejected the ugly campaign tactics of candidate Erik Minton, who was endorsed by the State Journal.
Hopson writes:
-PD alder Robbie Webber got 13 percent in District 5.
The Facts:
Webber got 60.37% of the vote in her district- far greater than most members of the council.
Hopson writes:
And landslide Austin King rolled into office by winning the support of 6.5 percent of the voters registered in District 8.
The Facts:
King got 65.38% of the vote in his district and he is currently endorsed by the State Journal!
Come out and vote on Tuesday April 5th and support candidates who support your values.
Posted by prodane at 09:09 PM
The State Journal recently announced a policy that gives businesses that spend $25,000 a seat on their advisory panel and a minimum of 6 meetings a year with key editors. Community groups in Madison including Progressive Dane, 4 Lakes Green Party, and Wisconsin Citizen Action held a press conference at Capitol Newspapers to highlight this 'pay for play' access.
The State Journal denies these charges but we encourage citizens to make up their own mind as to whether big money interests are getting special treatment on the State Journal editorial pages. This story was covered by the State Journal, Channel 3000, and the Capital Times. Highlights are below.
Channel 3000
"The idea that the Wisconsin State Journal is now selling rights to speak with their staff, to speak with their editorial board is just disgusting and something that quite frankly we and especially our clients cannot afford to do," said Lisa Subek, of the Benefits Advocacy Team of Dane County.The newspaper's publisher James Hopson said, "We do not sell access to the State Journal. We give it away freely."
The State Journal
"It really is charging an admission price at the door of the editorial offices," said Vicky Selkowe of the leftist political party Progressive Dane. She and others suggested business advertisers who meet regularly with editors could influence coverage of many issues."Unfortunately, sometimes the interests of the business community and the public interest can diverge," said Michelle McGrorty, political director of Wisconsin Citizen Action.
The Capital Times
"When big business has a ticket to the media, the people lose out," said Amy Mondloch of the Four Lakes Green Party. "What happens when one of these companies destroys a neighborhood? Will the State Journal cover it honestly and fairly?"An online poll that is being run by Channel 3000, the Web side of WISC-TV, asked whether people thought the advertising campaign hurt the State Journal's credibility. As of 8 a.m. today, 73 percent of the 226 respondents said yes.
Updated 4/3/05
At its 3/23 Press Conference, Progressive Dane and others asked the WSJ to create a Community Advisory Panel to at least attempt to ensure that community organizations had access to the paper's top executives comparable to the paper's business sponsors. The WSJ agreed to host such a Panel.
Posted by prodane at 09:51 PM
The Capital Times recently wrote an article about local elections and equated volunteer driven campaigns to 'Machine Politics'. Three eloquent letters to the editor were printed in response to this article from Stephen Burns, Nick Berigan and Lukas Diaz.
Nick Berigan
Tell me if this sounds like a political machine to you: A bunch of people who care about issues get together because they think that those issues are important. They argue about things like legislation, tactics, schedules and more. They come to agreement on about 80 percent of their debates. They learn skills that help them work on those issues successfully. They stay up late, go out in the cold to deliver literature to neighborhoods and forgo parts of their lives. They get organized and as a result, have some success in the electoral and issue realm. If this is a machine, so be it. But don't confuse dedication and effectiveness with machinations.
Lukas Diaz
The term "political machine" does not refer to successful campaigning. Instead, it refers to setting up a structure in which patronage is exchanged for votes - essentially, corruption. This is something that even the most hysterical critics of PD do not say.
The term "political machine" does not refer to a grass-roots party that is successful because it only answers to its local membership and the community at large. PD is not dependent on large donors or special interests; we are a community party. I have a feeling this is something that would make Robert M. La Follette smile.
Posted by prodane at 09:26 PM
Developer Gary Gorman recently praised Alder Konkel for her hard work on the city council. Gorman is working on a mixed use project on the 800 block of East Washington and was thankful that Brenda was an attentive, responsive, and effective Alder.
Read some snips below from the LTE he sent in to the capital times or
click here for the entire LTE.
If someone would have told me a year ago that I would be writing a column complimenting Madison City Council President Brenda Konkel, I would have told them that someone slipped something into their brownies.Brenda and I are definitely at different points on the political spectrum. I doubt that she and I have ever voted for the same candidate for any public office. I certainly do not support many of her positions on city issues. All of this aside, she is really good at her job...
I know that I will get truckloads of abuse from my friends in the business community for writing this. But at my advanced age, I do not really care. When people who have different political views can work together in a civil and courteous fashion to achieve a result that improves the city, it is worth noting.
Posted by prodane at 10:21 PM