Election Wrapup

by Jay Allen

Well, after four long months, almost $10,000, dozens of volunteers, over 100 yard signs, letters to the editor, and knocking on 1400 doors, the election is now over.

I want to thank all of you who worked on my campaign for Fitchburg Mayor.  We won, and there is no way this victory would have happened without you.  The real work now begins.

I have dozens of committee positions that will need to be filled.  In the next few days, I hope to have a complete list available, and I would like to have them filled as quickly as possible.

Over the next two years, there are many things that need to be done.  I will need your help then, as always.

One last note...Mark Vivian is a good man.  He did and said some things in this campaign that he should not have.  Regardless, he still deserves your respect, and I ask that my supporters treat him as you would anyone else.  The City needs to be unified and must come together over the shared values that we have.  Our success depends on it.

Thanks again, everyone!

Wow!

by Jay Allen

Whenever faced with an absurd allegation, there is an immediate desire to want to squash it in its tracks and shut it down. However, in this case, it seems better for it to be put out for all to see.

My opponent has sent out a letter accusing me of aiding and abetting some people with "terrorist ties." Of all the things I have been accused of over the years, this one has got to be near the apex of absurdity.

Bill Lueders of Isthmus has written a complete article about Mr. Vivian's allegations here.

I would like to address a few specific things in his letter:

Badger School

In the 2009-2013 Capital Improvement Plan, I had included a line item for the acquisition of the Badger School. This building is on a five-acre parcel, located within the City of Madison, adjacent to the Southdale Neighborhood that will be part of Fitchburg sometime before 2022. The purpose was to operate a neighborhood center for the area. During the discussions held, it appeared that the City of Madison would be willing to help fund the operation of the center.

This proposal was predicated on two things: A commitment by a local organization to operate the center, and a fundraising campaign to pay for it. I held several meetings last fall, and the result was that there was no organization that was willing to operate it. Without an operator, it is not possible to raise funds for a purchase, so the proposal has been dropped.

Drumlin Garden

The Drumlin Garden is in the City of Fitchburg. It happens to be the site of the Anderberg House. On January 14, the Historical Society sent a letter to The Alexander Company, expressing their desire to preserve the house. On January 16, The Alexander Company applied for a demolition permit for the house. While they have not demolished it, they could at any time. After hearing of this, I sent a letter to Randy Alexander. I have never received a response to that letter. To slow down what appeared to be an inevitable demolition, I introduced a resolution with its associated referral sheet to use eminent domain to protect the house and the ground that it sits on.

The purpose of this resolution was really two-fold. The first was to get an actual appraised value for the property. The current Mayor has been throwing a number around, but since the Alexander Company hasn’t stated a price, this number isn’t official. The City is working with the Madison Area Community Land Trust and with the Dane County Conservation Fund to put together a funding package. However, as of now, we are still waiting to get a real price. As of today, we have none, and thus, we have not been able to put together a funding package.

The second purpose was to have a real discussion about the sale of the property with Alexander Company. Those discussions have started, and seem to be progressing well. Alexander Company has a number of non-monetary concerns. The Madison Area Community Land Trust is currently trying to work through those. It is possible that satisfactory resolution of those issues will compel Alexander Company to come to a favorable agreement with the City of Fitchburg. But none of that happens without having the discussion. It should be noted that, because of the positive direction the discussions have taken, the eminent domain resolution has been tabled indefinitely.

Maybe the discussions succeed, maybe they fail. As a leader, I would prefer to have a discussion that fails than to not have the conversation at all.

An item of note...Since we are working with the Madison Area Community Land Trust, they will be the operator of the community garden, should an agreement be reached. In addition their intention would be to use the Anderberg House as an office and a community education facility. The current tenants would not be living there in the future, even if the property is acquired. The notion that the City is trying to protect these tenants from eviction is simply untrue. Neither the City nor me are involved in the landlord-tenant situation. I am not sure where that came from.

From what I understand, some organization called Food Not Bombs held some sort of protest at a building owned by Alexander Company. The protest was apparently in support of the Drumlin Garden. I had never heard of this group before. As for the terrorist connections, the voters can make their own judgment. I did ask our police chief, Tom Blatter, to check into this allegation. He ran this organization through the various crime reporting agencies that he has access to, and the worst thing he could find about Food Not Bombs is that they sometimes distribute food without a proper permit. Otherwise, they are not on any "watch list" that Chief Blatter can find.

Until yesterday, I considered Mark Vivian a friend. We did not agree on every issue, but he did endorse me for Mayor in 2005 and wrote this letter to his supporters. I cannot fathom how his campaign has taken this wrong turn. This is not the work of the Mark Vivian that I know. I hope that the one I know comes back soon.

The Forum that Almost Was

by Jay Allen

As some of you know, the Fitchburg Star was intending to sponsor a mayoral candidate forum on March 27 at 5:00. Kurt Gutknecht, the local reporter, had checked with the two candidates, and we were both able to attend. He also checked with City Hall, and was told that the Council Chambers was available for this event. So, in the March 19 issue of the Fitchburg Star, you will see a front page blurb advertising the forum.

The forum is officially cancelled.

Today (March 18), Kurt and the candidates received this email from City Hall:

"I have had to cancel the March 27th debate that you requested. I have not been through this process before and actually the Council Chamber use is only authorized for local organizations, not individuals or Businesses. The City wants FACTv to sponsor a forum on the open 5th Tuesday March 31, 2009.

You are welcome to submit questions via FACTv email."

This email was sent by the City's administrative assistant, but I want to make it clear that she is not responsible for this. This decision was made by someone else. She is just the messenger, so no one should hold her responsible for this.

This is a curious email. First of all, in nearly 16 years as an elected representative, I have never seen "the City" take a position on who should sponsor a candidate forum. I also have never seen the City "cancel" a candidate forum. There must be some person who made this decision. The Common Council was not consulted, and the City Administrator has been unavailable because of a family medical emergency. So I am curious to find out who it actually was that made this decision.

Second, it is of note that numerous candidate forums have been held in the Council Chambers. All the forums that I am aware of have been sponsored by other organizations, including the Fitchburg Chamber of Commerce, the Dane County Public Affairs Council, and the League of Women Voters. I suppose the local newspaper is a "business", but so is the Chamber of Commerce. Neither the LWV or Dane County Public Affairs Council are "local", so it is unclear to me how the distinction is made. As far as I know, the Council has never discussed or voted on any guidelines for Council Chamber usage.

Third, regardless of my participation, I think it is completely inappropriate for the taxpayers of the City of Fitchburg to "sponsor" a political debate. I cannot fathom how anyone would have thought this was a good idea.

Fourth, "the City" did not contact any of the candidates involved to inquire of their availability for the date that "the City" prefers. As many of you already know, I have a town hall meeting scheduled for March 31, and thus am unavailable.

Fifth, it is unclear to me who "the City's" choice for a moderator would be. If "the City" were to hire a moderator, that would have to go through the normal City process for hiring a contractor, and there is not nearly enough time. What criteria does "the City" use for running candidate forums? As far as I know, there are no guidelines that have ever been established for the conduct of a city sponsored forum, nor are there any standards for how a city sponsored moderator is selected.

The bottom line is that "the City" has made this decision, so the candidate forum publicized in the Fitchburg Star will not happen. However, I encourage you to attend my Town Hall meeting on March 31, from 6-8 pm at The Dry Bean on Verona Road.

Onward to the General Election

by Jay Allen

Today, the City Clerk conducted a recount of the primary ballots.  In District 4, there was one absentee ballot which was not properly certified.  This resulted in an absentee ballot being disqualified.  It was a ballot cast for Marc Jones.  This brought the vote to a tie.

In the result of a tie, names are drawn.  Mark Vivian's name was drawn, and thus, will be my opponent in the general election.  This is a change in strategy, but not a change in the goal.  I am running for Mayor because I am best capable of dealing with the difficult budget times ahead and because I will ensure that Fitchburg grows in a sustainable manner.

This is what I will do, and I ask for your vote on April 7.

The Primary

by Jay Allen

Special thanks to all my supporters and all those who worked on my campaign.  Thanks to you, I won all four districts in the City, and won the overall vote count.  The totals are as follows:

619 - Jay Allen

394 - Marc Jones

393 - Mark Vivian

211 - Roger Tesch

It is expected that Marc Jones will be my opponent in the general election, which is April 7, however, because of the closeness of the vote there will likely be a recount.

Please email me if you would like a yard sign or if you would like to be listed as a supporter.  I still need to raise about $4000 to complete the campaign, so please donate if you are able.  You can send a contribution using the form on the How Can I Help page, or you can use the DONATE link on the home page to donate directly with a credit card or using your Paypal account.  Thanks again for all the work you have done to help me.  I really appreciate it.