Spring Election: Who’s running and who’s not

Neil Heinen by Neil Heinen

There was a stark contrast that stood out as Tuesday’s deadline for filing for the Spring Election came and went.

And it was this: six candidates running for two seats on the Madison School Board, and 15 of 20 Madison City Council seats with but one candidate running.

There are other anomalies, some more familiar than others: uncontested races for Supreme Court, Dane County Executive and one of two Dane County Circuit Court races. Meanwhile three people are running for State Superintendent of Schools.

But here’s the point: the races for Madison School Board will benefit from committed candidates with their own ideas on public schools and a variety of backgrounds and qualifications. City council elections will not. And that’s not good.

We’re a ways away from making public office a more desirable form of public service and we need to fix that. In the meantime we express our gratitude to those who have decided to run and are offering the value of a choice.

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