Progressive Dane Spring Election Endorsements

Election, Tuesday, April 6th

---Dane County Board of Supervisors---

---Madison Metropolitan School Board---

Progressive Dane Membership Endorses Incumbents

At the December 16, 2009 general membership meeting, Madison Board of Education Member Beth Moss and County Board Supervisors John Hendrick, Al Matano, Kyle Richmond and Barbara Vedder were enthusiastically endorsed for re-election.

Beth Moss is completing her first term on the School Board. Beth took the lead coordinating grassroots efforts in the successful November 2008 school funding referendum and has worked to improve the district's community engagement and find ways to improve educational opportunities and achievement for all students.

Representing near west side District 11, Al Matano has been particularly active on transportation issues. He serves on the Madison Area Transportation Planning Board and with the Regional Transportation Authority moving forward, keeping Al in office is especially important. Al has taken leading roles in helping with the campaigns of other endorsed PD candidates.

District 27 Supervisor Kyle Richmond is Chair of the Environment, Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee. In that capacity he has been working hard on county-wide sustainable agriculture initiatives. Kyle also played a leading role in securing the County Domestic Partner Registry and equal benefits ordinance. Although unsuccessful, his recent work to enact a Vehicle Registration Fee and use that funding to protect human services programs and enhance fiscal stability laid the groundwork for future progress. Kyle has also recently joined the PD Steering Committee.

John Hendrick is the longest serving PD elected official, having represented District 6 since April of 1994. He co-authored the county Living Wage ordinance and has been the sponsor of improvements or defenses to the Living Wage every term, including in the 2010 budget process. John's leadership has been important on both the County Board where he is First Vice Chair and in Progressive Dane where he serves on the Steering Committee. Having served ten years on the zoning committee, his contributions have been particularly noteworthy on land use issues, especially the work in securing a progressive Dane County Comprehensive Plan and making sure that the plan is properly implemented.

Barbara Vedder represents District 2. For much of her most recent term she was temporary Chair of the Health & Human Needs Committee. She also serves on the County Task Force on Poverty which recently completed their final report. The County Board will be considering the Task Force recommendations in the coming year. In these tough economic times we need to keep Barbara there fighting to move the County toward more just, humane and compassionate action.

Volunteer via the Elections Committee to help our candidates get re-elected in the spring.

The Progressive Dane Elections Committee will be considering further endorsements for School Board and the County Board in January. The filing deadline to get on the ballot is January 5, 2010. To learn more about running for office contact Elections Committee Chair Lukas Diaz at elections@prodane.org.

More on Spring 2010 Endorsements & School Board Candidate Forum

On Wednesday, January 27th, the Progressive Dane Election Committee brought to the general membership recommendations on three new candidates running office this spring. The result? One endorsement and a candidate forum.

The membership voted to endorse Michael Johnson for District 5 County Supervisor. Michael is a member of the Progressive Dane Steering Committee, among the founders of Student Progressive Dane, and currently serves on the City of Madison Affirmative Action Commission. He is also a co-founder of Joint Halloween (Freakfest) and Mifflin Street Block Party Working Group and active member of the State and Langdon Neighborhood Association. As a Supervisor, Michael is committed to working with students and other resident to promote Environmental Sustainability, Economic Improvement, Social Justice, and Affordable Housing.

The other two candidates vying for Progressive Dane’s endorsement are running for the Madison Metropolitan School Board seat vacated by the retiring Johnny Winston, Jr. TJ Mertz, Progressive Dane Co-Chair and Chair of the Education Committee, shared with us his impressions of the School Board Candidate Endorsement process on his blog at http://madisonamps.org/2010/01/28/school-board-endorsement-or-why-im-proud-to-be-part-of-progressive-dane/.

The School Board Candidate Forum has been scheduled on Sunday February 21st. Hold the date and watch for more information.

Past Election Endorsements and Results