P.O. Box 1222, Madison, WI 53701 | www.prodane.org | office@prodane.org | (608) 257-4985

October 19, 2005

Educating the State Journal

The State Journal continues to obsessively editorialize about Progressive Dane. Co-chairs Mary Anglim and John McNamara along with Economic Issues Task Force Co-Chair Vicky Selkowe set the facts straight.

From Vicky Selkowe
There's a little bit of Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz going on with your anti-PD editorials. Your editorial board seems to be clicking its heels three times and repeating over and over, 'PD is anti-business,' in hopes that it becomes the truth. Thankfully, we think Madison's residents and your readers are smarter than that. We're willing to bet they will look behind the WSJ curtains and the unsubstantiated mantra and instead look at the facts.

Fact: PD recently worked with small business owners and other stakeholders to develop and release a set of proposals to support small, locally-owned businesses in Madison and Dane County. This list includes city and county purchasing plans that favor local businesses, creating a transportation pool for smaller employers, helping businesses deal with problems caused by road construction, and encouraging the creation of small business incubator space.

Fact: In June, PD unveiled a similarly thoughtful and well-received package of reforms to the City's Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) program to promote public accountability and oversight, increase the use of TIF dollars for small businesses, and ensure that developers receiving these taxpayer subsidies provide meaningful benefits back to the community.

Also a fact: PD's platform reveals quite clearly that we certainly prioritize issues facing our community's most vulnerable and lowest-income residents more highly than issues benefiting the deepest pocket developers and big business interests. PD supported raising the minimum wage, advocated for more affordable housing, and is now proud to stand with the coalition of twenty-six other organizations (including the Dane County Democrats) that supports the Healthy Families, Healthy City campaign for paid sick leave. We believe these proposals help the entire community, including businesses, by strengthening our economy and making Madison a better place to live and work. We're not in Kansas anymore. We're in Madison, where we can promote both a healthy economy and healthy workers and where we're going to keep putting forth thoughtful proposals that respond to real people's needs.

From Mary Anglim and John McNamara
As the Irish poet Brendan Behan said, "There is no such thing as bad publicity except your own obituary." Progressive Dane therefore welcomes the Wisconsin State Journal's Oct. 11 editorial, in which PD looks to be still going strong.

You covered our opposition to watering down the law that required lobbyists to disclose their activities, our support of a proposal to provide Madison workers with paid sick leave, and our objections to an executive budget proposal that values an arbitrary percentage increase more than principles. Thanks! Probably inadvertently, your editorial included a few mistakes:

-We never advocate kicking or punching. In fact, PD's recently-released small business initiatives are intended to help local employers become stronger and more stable in the face of big business competition. Hear more at our forum at 6 p.m., Nov. 10, at the Villager Mall.

-Mayor Dave Cieslewicz was never "our own" mayor. We are happy to have him as a member. But he did not seek our endorsement in 2003, and we did not give it. (Neither, for that matter, did the WSJ.) Future endorsements are never guaranteed. In 2007, like the State Journal, we'll evaluate the candidates. Maybe we'll endorse one, but only if he or she wants our support, the candidate's vision matches ours, and our members vote to commit their energies to the campaign.

-Your editorial suggests PD is losing power. Only time will tell, but we've been around since 1992 and we don't think grass-roots democracy is going out of style any time soon. Besides, what other local citizen group is thinking as hard as we are and putting forth as many thoughtful, pragmatic, detailed proposals about city services, revenues, social justice issues and access to government?

The above LTE was printed was printed in the State Journal. Vicky Selkowe's LTE has not been printed (we will update our web site if they print it).

Posted by prodane at October 19, 2005 05:40 PM