P.O. Box 1222, Madison, WI 53701 | www.prodane.org | office@prodane.org | (608) 257-4985
Arlene Silviera - School Board
Arlene Silviera's campaign for the Madison Metro School Board was unanimously endorsed by Progressive Dane. Arlene is the parent of an 8th grader in the Madison Public Schools. She in the president of the Cherokee Middle School PTO and the past president of the Leopold Elementary School PTO. She is an active member of the Cherokee committee working with the Madison Foundation for Public Schools and currently serves on the MMSD West/Memorial Demographics Task Force. She is also a steering team member of Madison CARES, the community-based pro-referenda support group.
She believes, that amongst other things, the School Board must address differences in proficiency levels and graduation rates between racial and ethnic groups. In addition to continuing efforts such as Schools of Hope, small class sizes and cultural competence training opportunities for teaching and support staff, she believes the Board must develop partnerships with community groups and provide a variety of venues for parents to come together to help the district find ways to allow all children to succeed.
As a trained scientist who works for the Promega Corporation she will use her scientific analysis skills to analyze the current budget and trends to evaluate possible options and efficiencies in spending.
She has an established campaign team.
Ashok Kumar - District 5
Progressive Dane has endorsed Ashok Kumar for election in County District 5, which encompasses most of the UW Madison Campus, stretching along Lake Mendota from State and Gorham to Eagle Heights. This is the seat currently occupied by Sup. Echnaton Vedder, who has announced his intention to step down. Ashok is running as a first time candidate and is opposed by Sean Cornelius, Adam Korn, and David Lapidus.
Ashok, an activist on campus, is a member of SLAC, and has been working on labor issues, combating sexual assault, ending military recruitment on campus, making UW sweat free, fighting tuition hikes, and getting a living wage for all campus workers. If elected, he hopes to work with the PD policy committee to promote progressive policies such as alternatives to incarceration, accountability for the sheriff's department, Section eight housing equity, combating sprawl, air and water quality, and refunding the Women's Transit Authority.
Volunteer Coordinator: Ilana Feingold - (608) 774-1917
Contributions
Progressive Dane approved a motion at the January 6th general membership meeting to set aside up to $500 from the elections fund after all fundraising expenses are covered to distribute to the campaigns. The proceeds will be split 50/50 between the Silveira and Kumar campaigns. Additional funds could be allocated with another vote at the Feb GMM.
Posted by prodane at February 4, 2006 01:38 AM
We, the members of Progressive Dane, join together to form an independent political party in Dane County with a major focus on local issues. We pledge to work to improve the quality of life in Dane County for all people, particularly those marginalized by economic and social discrimination. We will work to improve our local government by making it open, easier to understand, and accessible for all citizens of Dane County. We are working to achieve positive policy change by electing accountable progressive officials and mobilizing citizen action.
Progressive Dane's "In The News" blog keeps you up to date on the latest news from (and about) PD. Check here for information on PD's policy initiatives and to read about what our endorsed elected officials are up to.
