Soglin took time off from dealing with Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed budget cuts to issue a written statement opposing the measure and criticizing the speed with which Republican lawmakers are pushing it through.

“Decades of thought and study went into Madison’s housing ordinances,” he says in the statement to The Capital Times. “They were crafted after extensive discussion with landlords and tenants. We are surprised that state leaders who profess to trust local government and believe in local control would introduce this measure in the first place, and, secondly, would fail to provide an extensive deliberative process so that cities throughout Wisconsin could discuss it.”

No city wants to discuss it as much as Madison, which has passed more creative protections for renters than perhaps any other place in the state. That may explain why Soglin takes pains to portray the debate as one of local control, not fair housing.

“This matter is bigger than the housing issue. It is a question of who is best to make these decisions — the state or local government,” he says. “If the state enters this area, will it give serious consideration to the thoughts and concerns of those who are right there on the ground?”