P.O. Box 1222, Madison, WI 53701 | www.prodane.org | office@prodane.org | (608) 257-4985
Have you ever wondered how to have the best impact when contacting local elected officials? What you should say at a public hearing? How to register to speak at a meeting and understand the agenda?
“City Budget 101”, the next installment in Progressive Dane’s learning series, will take place Thursday, August 3 at 7 p.m. in the main conference room at the Social Justice Center, 1202 Williamson Street. At “City Budget 101”, Alders Brenda Konkel and Austin King will explain how the city budget process works, how the public can give input on this process, and what budget cuts Madison can expect for this fall. The budget session will take place a few weeks before Mayor Dave Cieslewicz’s August 22 public hearing for his proposed 2007 City Budget.
The Progressive Dane Learning Series is open to the general public. The Social Justice Center is wheelchair accessible. Questions should be directed to the Progressive Dane office at 608-257-4985 or office@prodane.org, Alder Brenda Konkel, brendakonkel@yahoo.com; 345-8720, or Alder Austin King, austinking@gmail.com; 213-0104.
Posted by prodane at 05:59 PM
From Brenda Konkel:
As I noted last night, there are so many people to thank for helping to create and ordinance that three-quarters of the Common Council could vote for and will help ensure that the 500 units that have been approved will finally be sold. And that the 200 - 300 units per year that we expect will get into the hands of people who need this housing. Here is just the beginning of the list of people to be thanked:
* Tom Hirsch and the Housing Committee members, and particularly the Affordability Subcommittee
* Nan Fey and the Plan Commission members
* Jed Sanborn and those who participated in the Mayors workgroup
* City Staff, most notably Hickory Hurie and Barb Constans in the CDBG office and Brad Murphy in the Planning Unit
* Veridian Homes, David Simon and Brian Munson (Vandewalle & Assoc) this time around and Jeff Rosenberg from the last round
* The downtown Neighborhood Associations
* Affordable Housing Advocates, particularly Lisa Subeck and Marsha Rummel
* The mayor, and the faceless key staff on this issue.
* Countless other individuals who contributed through constructive dialog.
The media is reporting this morning that the ordinance left "no one totally satisfied" but I, for one, think all of the above people should be proud of their good work.
Posted by prodane at 05:35 AM
Beat the summer heat at Progressive Dane’s 6th Annual Summer Fundraiser. Join PD’s members and friends for an early evening of drinks, hors d’oeuvres, and desserts and live piano music on Friday, August 11 from 5:30 to 7:30 at the home of Carol Weidel (1237 East Dayton Street).
Help PD meet our annual fundraising goals for 2006 by sponsoring the Garden Party for $25 or $50 (sponsors names will be printed in our Garden Party invitation). Sponsors help us meet our budget goals, support our progressive policy work, and maintain our office and website. Your sponsorship is important to us – it supports PD’s work throughout the year and allow us to continue to work towards local successes that keep PD in the national spotlight.
Click here to sponsor the Garden Party Online.
Contact the PD office at office@prodane.org or at 257-4985 to pledge your sponsorship now! If you would like to contribute by bringing food or volunteering at the event please contact the office.
Posted by prodane at 05:51 PM
There is less than one week before the City Council votes to potentially repeal an affordable housing program for the City of Madison.
Not everyone knows all the ins and outs of inclusionary zoning, but for those of you who want to read more, you can start here: http://izmadison.blogspot.com/. More updates to come throughout the week, but please mark your calendar for the upcoming city council meeting Tuesday, July 11 at 6:30. We will need you.
Updated
A Letter from PD member Lisa Subeck printed in the Capital Times:
Dear Editor: On Tuesday night, Madison's City Council will hold a special meeting on inclusionary zoning. The council will consider a package of amendments to improve the ordinance and a proposal to repeal the ordinance altogether.
Special interest lobbying groups have come out against inclusionary zoning. One such group has even run radio ads urging Madisonians to contact their representatives in favor of repeal. The group calls itself "Wisconsin Homeowners Alliance" but doesn't represent homeowners at all. Wisconsin Homeowners Alliance is actually a front group for the Wisconsin Realtors Association, a lobbying group representing the real estate industry. The board of this supposed homeowners' alliance consists entirely of Realtors despite the group's claims of advocacy on behalf of homeowners.
Madison's residents and council members should ignore the outlandish claims of such special interest groups and instead focus on the affordable housing crisis plaguing our city. Inclusionary zoning has successfully increased the availability of affordable housing in Madison and throughout the country.
Madison's inclusionary zoning ordinance has proved effective and simply needs some improvements. These improvements have been proposed for consideration Tuesday night. The council should demonstrate its commitment to solving Madison's affordable housing crisis by improving rather than repealing inclusionary zoning.
Lisa Subeck
Posted by prodane at 03:45 AM
If you knew that there was a simple way to help Progressive Dane cut back on expenses and volunteer time, would you do it?
PD currently spends a great deal of volunteer time and money sending renewal notices to those whose memberships have lapsed. Each renewal notice is comprised of two envelopes, a membership card, a letter, and a postage stamp, and costs PD about $1.00 to put together. These costs add up over the year, depleting the money that can be spent on issues we all believe in.
You can help! PD is asking you to become a sustainer and pay your membership dues automatically with either a monthly, quarterly, or yearly withdrawal from your checking or savings account. The minimum contributions for the three different sustainer options are as follows: monthly - $5/month, quarterly - $9 every three months, and yearly - $12/year.
Originally PD only had a monthly sustainer option, but we have added a quarterly and yearly option to make sustainership convenient and affordable for members at any income level. Each member can contribute either the minimum level or more for their selected option.
Why are our sustainers so important to Progressive Dane? First, they provide a secure source of funding for Progressive Dane. This allows PD to budget earlier in the year, making it possible to plan larger events such as the recent bike tour. Second, by paying your dues electronically, it eliminates the need for future renewal letters and calls. This allows us to conserve valuable staff and volunteer time, as well as cutting back on printing costs and paper waste.
And finally, it’s easier for you! You won’t receive any calls or letters from us and you don’t need to remember to pay your dues each year. Your sustainership will continue until you call or e-mail the office and ask us to cancel it, and you may cancel at any time. It’s that simple.
Please click here and complete this form to contact PD. PD will then send you a letter in the mail with instructions on how to become a sustainer (currently we are unable to sign up sustainers online).
As a member of Progressive Dane, you contribute to the success of the party by volunteering at public forums, fundraisers, and special events, and by attending meetings where you help make important policy decisions. Please consider taking the next step and become a sustainer. If you are not a member yet, this is a great way to become active in on of most successful independent parties in the country.
Posted by prodane at 11:32 PM