'IF I WERE MAYOR...' SOGLIN AND CIESLEWICZ TELL HOW THEY'D HANDLE SOME
STICKY SITUATIONS

With a little more than a week to go before the April 1 election for
Madison mayor, Dave Cieslewicz and Paul Soglin are running neck-and-neck.
And many likely voters still have not made up their minds. It's a difficult
choice.

Both former Mayor Soglin and environmental leader Cieslewicz are
visionaries. They see the big picture of local government and the
challenges the city must confront: tight budgets, sprawl, consolidations,
affordable housing and race relations, among others.

Moreover, both have progressive credentials and generally agree on
litmus-test issues, from abortion to race relations to war on Iraq. That's
made experience and personality the central campaign themes.

Often, the day-to-day job of mayor involves handling difficult issues that
blow up with little warning. So how would these two deal with the sort of
tempests that jump to the front pages and dominate talk radio?

To shed light on that question, we've presented Cieslewicz and Soglin with
a series of hypothetical scenarios (some of which may bear an uncanny
resemblance to real situations) that the next mayor could face. It's a way
for the candidates to show how mayoral they can be.

One of them will even get the chance to prove it.

A citizen e-mails your office complaining about prostitutes soliciting him
at his bus stop near Red Letter News. What do you do?

Cieslewicz: I call the police department and ask them to contact the person
and check it out. Then I follow up with the person and the department. I'd
also check in with the neighborhood association president to see if it's a
big problem. And if it is, you work with the police department to make sure
the matter is taken care of.

Soglin: We contact the police department [to see] how much the department
knows about the situation. Then we ask if [the complainant] would join with
some neighbors to be supportive of efforts to eliminate the solicitation.
There's got to be a clear neighborhood standard that this type of behavior
is unacceptable. If the area is getting a reputation for prostitution, then
we have high police visibility for a short period of time to put an end to
the cruising.

It has come to your attention that one of the chiefs appointed by the
Madison Police and Fire Commission is hugely unpopular with department
employees, causing workplace tensions. How do you address this?

Cieslewicz: This is purely hypothetical, right? First, I would have a
policy of not criticizing city employees in the press. I'd meet with the
employees and the union and any others involved, and I'd meet with the
chief. I'd continue that back-and-forth shuttle diplomacy to see if any or
all of the matters could be worked out.

Ultimately, if nothing can be done and all resources have been tried, I'd
need to work with the PFC to see about making a change.

Soglin: Been there, done that. [I'd call a meeting with] my staff person
who works with that department, the labor negotiator and any other city
staff person who has knowledge about [the] dispute. We will then [be joined
by] the chief, the chief's assistants and union and departmental
representatives. We will go through a long process, this will be
institutionalized. There will also be a facilitator there to keep the
discussion from becoming personal. It's good to have some outsiders in
there, not only for their technical expertise, but also because we all know
that the family behaves better if there are guests around.

A landlord hangs a 4'by 8' (legal size) banner from his building on the
Square that reads "Mexicans, go back home." Your office starts getting
calls complaining about the hateful message. How do you deal with it?

Cieslewicz: Two things. First of all, call the landlord and try to convince
him to remove it, just one-on-one. Second, contact the city attorney and
see if this falls into any hate speech category, to see if there's some
other way we can approach this from a legal standpoint. I make a strong
public statement denouncing the message and saying that this does not
represent the views of the majority of city of Madison residents.

Soglin: We would treat it the same way we would treat the sign that said
"No Bush War" [erected and later removed under city order by landlord Tom
Link]. My commitment to free speech and equal treatment transcends the
content of the message. I did tell Mr. Link if his sign were still up when
I was mayor, I would propose that any fine he pays would [go to a local
nonprofit group or homeless shelter]. He, by the way, found that to be
acceptable.

A group of drug-policy-reform advocates appeals to you to order police to
follow Madison General Ordinance 23.20, which allows up to 1/4 pound of
marijuana on private property to be treated as an ordinance violation,
rather than the stricter state statute. Do you give that order?

Cieslewicz: Yes. I think the War on Drugs was a terrible, expensive
mistake. I applaud Progressive Dane for what I think was a very thoughtful
document on drug policy. I would want to work with the authors of that
report to see what other things we could do to create a sane drug policy.

Soglin: Yes. And I remind our police officers that our interest in
marijuana is minimal. The interest we have in it is only if there are
people involved with it who are trafficking in dangerous substances and/or
their activity is related to violence.

Your office receives a report from a credible source that several Madison
City Channel employees were observed smoking pot at a party on their own
time. What do you do?

Cieslewicz: Nothing. I do nothing.

Soglin: As far as we know, we have no violation of any city work rule. I
would notify them as to what had been observed and tell them that I can't
make personal decisions for them, but that at a minimum they should be more
discreet.

The police chief retires, and the PFC is looking to appoint a replacement.
How do you get involved, if at all?

Cieslewicz: Yes, I would want to be involved. I would first check with the
city attorney to make sure that all legal and ethical restrictions are
being followed in terms of a mayor's role. But within that legal context,
it would depend on timing. If it were four seasons from now, [the people
I'd appointed would] reflect my priorities and values.

One concern I've heard raised about the PFC is that it doesn't have enough
people on it with experience in the departments it oversees. In my
appointments, I'd be looking for people who know the issues. Perhaps a
highly respected officer or firefighter who had retired. Morale in those
departments is extremely important. I recognize that and will grapple with
it as mayor.

Soglin: Communication between myself and the PFC would hit on two aspects.
First, that they do an open recruitment for a new chief. Second, that they
interview me, just as they would interview any other community leader,
about qualities we'd need in a chief.

I'd be pleased to have a chief who was knowledgeable about community
policing. A chief who saw the value of police officers working with other
city agencies, rather than one who viewed the department as a paramilitary
organization that should stand alone. One who had vision in regards to law
enforcement issues, perhaps consolidation with other departments. One who
is committed to affirmative action in hiring and to equal opportunities in
our community.

A chief who had the confidence that a well-managed department could not
include ESPN, which I love dearly. The problem is the outrageous salaries
being paid to professional athletes are funded by these television
contracts, which in turn are funded by the cable providers, which in turn
are funded by the rest of us who, if we want the Discovery Channel and the
History Channel, have to pay for them. I would do anything in my power to
break that up.

A city committee recommends dramatically reducing pesticide use in parks.
Your parks director says this will increase maintenance costs in the
already pinched division. Do you push for the reduction anyway?

Cieslewicz: Yeah, I would. The long-term importance for public health
trumps the budgetary consideration. Also, I believe the budgetary concerns
are overblown. If Monona can outlaw pesticides, Madison can do it.

Soglin: Been there, done that. There are now alternatives to pesticides
that are very effective strategies.

A private waste hauler presents you with a proposal showing the city can
save 35% in its garbage pickup costs if it privatizes this service. Do you
pursue this?

Cieslewicz: That would be the private waste hauler's calculations, and I'd
want the city's own numbers. But in analyzing any such proposal, I'd keep
in mind that it's not just the cost, it's the quality of service. And you
need to be concerned when someone comes in talking of privatizing
functions. You need to consider the workers. I'd be very skeptical of this
proposal.

Soglin: No. We may look at it, but I already know the answer. They can't do
that unless they're paying extremely low wages or they're discounting to
initially put us out of business and then raise prices after we're no
longer a competitor. That's what happened in the Northeast in the whole
post-World War II period. Once the city government is out of it, there's no
competition, and prices go through the roof. Workers are out of jobs. Those
who are employed get low-balled on their wages. The way we can save money
in waste collection is by doing a better job ourselves.

A controversy erupts when Girl Scouts are told they can't have people
sample their food at a cook-off contest they're holding at Monona Terrace
because it violates the catering contract. Do you intervene?

Cieslewicz: First, I would participate in a public act of civil
disobedience by marching to Monona Terrace and eating Girl Scout cookies.
Second, I'd have the Monona Terrace director in my office to amend the
catering contract to make sure something like this didn't happen again.
That meeting would take place over Thin Mints and coffee.

Soglin: I call up [public radio host Michael] Feldman, ask him to bring his
doughnuts. Yes, we intervene and talk sense to the caterer.