Madison in the Morning

Madison in the Morning

Madison in the Morning, keeping Madison informed weekday mornings on 1310 WIBAFull Bio

 

Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway running for re-election

MADISON (WKOW) -- Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway announced she is running for re-election Sunday afternoon. 

"Our community needs strong and experienced leadership. So, I am happy to announce that I am running for re-election as Mayor of Madison," Mayor Rhodes-Conway said. 

Satya Rhodes-Conway was elected in 2019 as the 58th Mayor of the City of Madison. 

She said she was elected on a platform that she says included affordable housing, transit, climate resilience and equity. 

"We are building a better Madison and we can do big things nationwide," she said.

Affordable Housing

The Mayor said the pandemic has exacerbated Madison's housing crisis, and that's why she says she is fighting to keep the city affordable for all families.

According to Rhodes-Conway, ways she has done this is by simplifying approval processes to make it easier to build "missing middle housing and backyard cottages."

Additionally, she stated that they have increased down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers and increased funding to eviction defense by $1.7 million dollars.

"And we've land bank property to support the creation of affordable housing all across our city," she said. "In four years, we have more than doubled the affordable housing budget. And we have more rental units in the pipeline than ever before

The Mayor said she launched a guaranteed income pilot program in Madison that supports families and children who need it most. 

Recently, she launched the first customer assistance program for municipal utility bills that she says gives low-income households a break on their water and sewer bills. 

Transit

Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said one of the single most important things they can do in Madison is create a rapid and electric public transit system that "offers a real alternative to car travel by delivering passengers swiftly to where they need to be."

This includes transportation to employment centers across city schools, grocery stores and entertainment. 

"That's why we asked President Biden to include our bus rapid transit plan in his budget last year, and he did. And that's why we asked for 46 new electric buses from the federal government, and we got them," she said.

Right now, she said they are rolling out policy proposals to improve current transit operations.

Climate Resilience 

"Our community needs sustained action on climate, rapidly reducing our emissions while building our resilience," Rhodes-Conway said. 

She said "dramatic climate action" is needed by "all of us" to ameliorate the worst impacts of climate change. 

Right now, Satya-Rhodes Conway is the vice chair of the US Climate Mayors -- a bipartisan group of 470 mayors across the country. 

Rhodes-Conway's announcement comes 10 days after Gloria Reyes announced she is also running for Mayor. Reyes is the former deputy mayor and former school board president for MMSD. 

She responded by saying,

"I believe diverse voices and ideas for governing are important. What we heard today is four years of theorizing at a time where we need to realize practical solutions for public safety, economic development, and affordable housing that we can prosper from together. I look forward to continuing to share my roots with Madison and a healthy discussion about our city’s future."

More at WKOW 27 News


Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content