Paul Soglin, Madison's longest-serving mayor, announced he will not seek re-election in April 2019. Soglin is also currently running as a Democrat for the Governor's race.
In a statement, Soglin spoke about the timing of his announcement.
“I want to give candidates for Mayor, who have begun to emerge, the time and space to make their case to the voters. There are three announced candidates for the office. One of those candidates, Satya Rhodes-Conway, is eminently qualified.”
Rhodes-Conway is a former alder who joins two others looking to run for Soglin's position next April. District 10 alder Maurice Cheeks and former city councilwoman Brenda Konkel join Rhodes-Conway in the race.
"The people of Madison have honored me by their trust and confidence over 22 years,” Soglin said. “Making a city run well is something I do well. I am leaving the city of Madison different and I think stronger. I’ll miss the talented, hardworking people who work for the city. We have one of the great workforces in municipal government, anywhere."
The mayoral election will be April 2, 2019, with a primary scheduled for February.
The 73 year old said his announcement also had in part to do with his campaign for governor.
Even if he did not run for governor, Soglin said “8 years in office is long enough,” even though in total he’s served over 20 non-consecutive years as mayor.
As for what’s next, he said he’s going to be the next governor of the state. Campaign finance reports were due on Monday to rank which of the eight candidates have the most campaign cash on hand. Soglin was 6th, reporting he collected $116,000 and has $58,000 cash on hand. Whether he plans to use any of that money for paid media or advertising, Soglin said “It’s coming.”
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Madison Mayor Paul Soglin says he will not seek re-election.
Soglin is Madison’s longest-serving mayor. He says he wants to give candidates the time and space to make their case to voters.
So far, the candidates for mayor are Brenda Konkel, Maurice Cheeks, and Satya Rhodes-Conway.
Soglin is a candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor.