Vote by Tuesday, April 1 for Mike Verveer
Creating a Better Madison for All
Affordable Housing
Madison is a boom town -we’re projected to grow by over 100,000 residents in the next 25 years- and we need more housing to support our new neighbors. Far too many face difficulty affording the cost of rent. I have championed and passed an innovative ‘bonus’ ordinance to encourage developers to include affordable rental units in their buildings. I will continue to defend renters rights, remove artificial zoning barriers, and advocate for family and student friendly housing to fix Madison’s staggering housing shortage. Additionally, I have, and will continue to, support the creation of additional homeownership opportunities including new condominiums downtown.
Sustainability
Combating climate change requires a significant investment. Though Madison leads Wisconsin in cutting edge sustainability techniques, there's more we need to be doing to protect the connection between residents and the environment in Madison. Ensuring our drinking water is clean, growing our urban forestry initiatives, making new development sustainable, and meeting Madison’s goal of 100% renewable energy by 2030 are essential goals for downtown and our City as a whole. I’ve championed the planting of hundreds of trees on city property such as in parks and along City streets as well as co-sponsored numerous pieces of legislation over the years such as funding the purchase of City EV fleet vehicles and buses and new community-scale solar projects.
Public Transportation
Many of our downtown neighbors work in the surrounding areas outside of the Isthmus. That's why I’ve consistently advocated for, and expanded, public transit options for students and residents downtown. I will fight to grow federal funding for the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system to include the north-south line (Rapid Route B) and work to attract an Amtrak line to Madison that will help connect us to the rest of the region. The voices of transit-dependent members of our community must be prioritized. Additionally, I’ve added miles of bike lanes, paths, and pedestrian improvements to improve the public health and safety of the community.
Neighborhood Safety
Public safety is the bedrock function of municipal government and all downtown residents and Madisonians deserve to be safe. Madison has long addressed public safety with a comprehensive approach beginning with prevention - from fire prevention to violence prevention. We have correctly invested significant resources in all aspects of public safety innovations and should further expand the use of a public health approach to curb violent crimes. The Community Alternatives Response Emergency Services (CARES) program responds to non-violent, behavioral health emergency calls that do not require law enforcement and I believe It should be expanded to be available 24/7. I will continue to promote a community-oriented policing approach, take action against gun violence in all forms, and address the core issues at the root of violence.
City Finances
Madisonians demonstrated their strong support for our robust City services by voting ‘YES’ for Madison’s funding referendum last fall. As a longtime member of the Madison Finance Committee, I take the responsibility of your trusted stewardship very seriously and will continue to be accountable with your tax dollars while also continuing to champion a fair shared revenue funding agreement from the State Legislature. I will also continue to explore all possible efficiencies in City government. It's important to find opportunities for the City to cooperate with other communities that allow our government to save money and better deploy essential services.