Running for Re-Election in 2011

Here is my 2011 campaign kickoff. It is in the form of a letter to the Herald Independent, but I have now learned that they no longer publish campaign announcements in the newspaper after the deadline for filing passes. Adam has posted my announcement on their website.

I also learned over the weekend that former alder Chad Speight has decided to make another run for Monona city council so we will have contested races for city council as well as Mayor.

(I just read on the Rag that 'they' had heard that Mayor Kahl was running for school board instead of another term as mayor. 'They' need new sources unless Robb has completely taken leave of his senses.)



Dear Editor:


I am writing to announce my candidacy for re-election to the Monona city council. I believe we have accomplished quite a bit during my time on the council and in particular during the last two years.


• Despite the most challenging economic conditions of my adult lifetime, we froze the city’s 2011 property tax levy without hurting services. Mayor Robb Kahl, my council colleagues, and our city staff deserve kudos for pulling that off.

• We obtained some $300,000 in grants to make significant energy-conserving facility improvements and sustainability planning. As Chair of the Monona Sustainability Committee, I was especially pleased by this achievement.

• As a longtime staunch advocate of the library, I was thrilled when the Monona Public Library was named the 2010 Wisconsin Library of the Year by the Wisconsin Library Association.

• After years of planning and preparation, we successfully completed Phase One of the Monona Drive reconstruction.


Much of the credit for any success that we have enjoyed goes to our very fine city staff – from the hourly workers to the salaried department managers. We are fortunate to have some truly top notch people working for us.


We aspire to making Monona the best little city in Wisconsin. Before we can begin to achieve that goal, we need to reinvigorate Monona Drive by creating conditions that will help our existing businesses thrive and also attract new businesses.

We also need to integrate Monona into a regional transit service that makes sense for us and serves our needs. Monona’s strategic location next door to the state capital and second-largest city in Wisconsin offers huge advantages to Monona as a place to live, work, and play. Our limited transit services prevent us from maximizing our location. I want to work with the regional transit authority to find solutions that work for Monona.

I want the city to make big strides to improve communications with city residents. We have made some headway, but we can do better. This past year, I began working with key city staff to identify necessary software and hardware and then successfully proposed several targeted budget amendments for key technology acquisitions that give our staff the tools they need.

I thank the voters for their past support and look forward to an interesting campaign.

Regards,



Doug Wood
Monona Alder