Poll worker Jenni Cardell processes absentee ballots at the Wil-Mar Community Center Tuesday, which included four advisory referendums asking voters about proposed major changes to the structure of the City Council.
MADISON REFERENDUMS
| MADISON REFERENDUM | Percent |
|---|---|
| 145 of 154 precincts | |
| Question 1: Full-time City Council | |
| No 29,598 | 58% |
| Yes 21,073 | 42% |
| Question 2: City Council size | |
| Remain the same 35,231 | 70% |
| Be reduced 8,198 | 16% |
| Be increased 6,724 | 13% |
| Question 3: Increase council terms to 4 years | |
| No 28,202 | 56% |
| Yes 22,515 | 44% |
| Question 4: Term limits for council members | |
| Yes 36,178 | 71% |
| No 14,665 | 29% |
Madison voters Tuesday overwhelmingly supported term limits for City Council members and keeping the size of the legislative body the same, while rejecting proposals to move to a higher-paid, full-time council whose members would serve longer terms.
The results of four advisory referendums included on the spring election ballot could offer direction to the City Council as it weighs some of the biggest structural changes to city government in decades.
Voters were asked whether they wished to:
- Keep the council part time with members paid about $13,700 annually or move to a full-time council with pay between $45,000 and $71,000
- Decrease, increase or keep the same the size of the 20-member council
- Increase term lengths for council members from two years to four years
- Implement term limits of no more than 12 consecutive years.
More than 70% of voters favored implementing term limits and keeping the 20-person council the same size. But the questions on full-time, higher-paid positions and longer term lengths were rejected by voters, both by double-digit margins.
Eileen Harrington, former chairperson of the now-dissolved Task Force on Government Structure, whose work prompted the advisory questions, said it didn’t shock her voters didn’t get behind a full-time council and longer term lengths — two changes the task force recommended be made.
“I’m not surprised that without any of that background information or context that voters would not support these changes,” Harrington said.
The task force spent 20 months examining the structure of local government. In a report to the council in early 2020, the task force concluded the current system is “fundamentally unfair,” particularly for people of color and low-income residents, and one that favors people with the time, resources and knowledge to participate.
Harrington said she felt there wasn’t a “meaningful effort” from the council to educate the public on the task force’s work before the vote.
Among its various recommendations, the task force suggested moving to a full-time, 10-member council with members paid $67,950 annually and elected to four-year terms.
Former Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, who served two terms from 2003 to 2011, has been a vocal critic of the proposed changes and advocated keeping the current “citizen body” structure.
“I hope Madisonians don’t just see this as something they rejected but also as something they support,” he said of the vote results. “I hope there’s a renewed appreciation for their neighbors who step up to work on the council for little money or recognition, but just to serve the community.”
Cieslewicz said he was surprised to see the appetite for implementing term limits, but it’s something he opposes because “people should get the opportunity to vote for who they want to vote for.”
PICTURING A PANDEMIC: SEE THE LAST YEAR THROUGH THE EYES OF THE STATE JOURNAL’S PHOTOGRAPHERS
Picturing a pandemic: See the last year through the eyes of the Wisconsin State Journal's photographers
At least 28 Madison-area restaurants closed last year while 91% of businesses reported revenue declined. Though the economy has begun to recover, the pandemic's major financial toll continues. Hawk's Bar and Grill, shown here last March, remains open.
Tammi McCarthy and her children, Kenadie, 8, and Kullen, 5, adjust to making educational studies a part of home life as they work on a table especially-assembled for school work in their home in Sun Prairie on March 18, 2020.
India Anderson-Carter, right, learns that she will be a resident in obstetrics and gynecology at UW-Madison through a Virtual Match Day, due to COVID-19, hosted by UW School of Medicine and Public Health, as her family, including her sister, Lexus, at left, react to the news in the basement of her parents' home in Madison on March 20, 2020.
Hanah Jon Taylor plays the saxophone outside his jazz club, Cafe Coda on Williamson Street in Madison on March 21, 2020. The cafe was ordered to close along with bars and restaurants across the state.
In hindsight, the sign on the Orpheum Theater on State Street in Downtown Madison, pictured here on March 23, 2020, was overly optimistic. Closures of theaters, restaurants, bars and other businesses would stretch well beyond March.
With the "Safer at Home" order from the governor, traffic volume fell dramatically in Madison. The view is of West Washington Avenue on March 25,2020.
A window decorated by Amina Diallo, 10, at her home in Deforest offers support to essential workers continuing their duties in the midst of the pandemic. Part of a nationwide effort to show appreciation for those whose careers are required during the global health crisis, each color represents a different line of work. Among the groups included are health care workers, of which her mother, BethAnn Soiliman-Abdalla, a nurse, is included. She is pictured at her home on April 1, 2020.
Dr. Matt Nolan shares an "air hug" with his son Condict, 3, outside the family’s home in Madison on April 2, 2020, as his wife, Dr. Maggie Nolan, holds their son Arthur, 1, with Charlotte, 6, nearby.
Doug Milks clean voting booths after they were used at East High School on April 7, 2020.
Town of Dunn resident Robert Wilson reviews his selections on his ballot while voting at the town's highway garage building on April 7, 2020.
Family members and friends of Donald Harrop celebrate his 103rd birthday through a closed doorway at the Milestone Senior Living Center in Cross Plains on April 24, 2020. Born in 1917, Harrop has now experienced two pandemics, the Spanish Flu of 1918, and the current COVID-19 crisis.
Long-time friends, from left, Mary Power, of Fitchburg, Karen Kilroy, of Stoughton, Jane Morgan, of Oregon, and Pattie Sartori, of Stoughton, at right, practice social distancing as they gather for an overdue visit, which included sharing books and food recipes, at Waterman Triangle Park in downtown Oregon May 6, 2020.
A statue of Abraham Lincoln, a traditional gathering spot for photos of graduates at UW-Madison remains fenced-off to visitors as the university takes precautions against the spread of the COVID-19 virus on May 7, 2020.
UW-Madison graduates, from left, Jacob Tottleben, of St. Louis, Lindsey Fischer, of La Crosse, and Olivia Gonzalez, of Milwaukee, open bottles of champagne at the State and Park Street crosswalk to celebrate after watching their virtual spring commencement ceremony on the rooftop of Fischer's apartment on May 9, 2020.
Jeff Langner, right, works with Patricia Grillot, Madison, on finding the shoes on the first day that Morgan Shoes was open again on May 12, 2020.
Members of the Wisconsin National Guard setting up a new site to collect samples from people in their vehicles at a free community testing site for COVID-19 at the Alliant Energy Center on May 13, 2020.
Lynn DuPree, front, and John Burgar, both of Madison, use slot machines that have protective dividers between them at Ho-Chunk Gaming Madison in Madison on June 9, 2020.
Dan Tortorice, center, with his grandchildren, Aria Oettiker, 9, left, and her brother, Anthony, 6, during a visit to Vilas Zoo on June 18, 2020, the first day of the reopening since it closed due to the pandemic.
Members of the UW-Madison marching band wear face coverings and play instruments with bell covers during a limited capacity practice session on the campus on Aug. 27, 2020.
With students seated at a distance from each other, UW-Madison philosophy professor Harry Brighouse leads a discussion in an Ingraham Hall lecture room on Sept. 1, 2020.
A sign in a window at Sellery Hall, one of two residence halls at UW-Madison that were on day one of a 14-day quarantine on Sept., 10, 2020.
Unloading food at Sellery Hall. Witte and Sellery Halls were on day one of a 14-day quarantine on Sept., 10, 2020.
Pastor Karla Renee Garcia holds a service in the parking lot at S.S. Morris Community AME Church on Milwaukee Street in Madison on Sept. 13, 2020.
With positive COVID-19 cases surging in college communities across the state, Gov. Tony Evers extended the statewide mask mandate through late November. Pedestrians on State Street were photographed on Sept., 22, 2020.
Election Day voting at Olbrich Botanical Gardens on Nov., 3, 2020.
As staff in the expanding COVID-19 unit at UW Hospital worked tirelessly to care for a soaring tally of coronavirus patients in November, nurse Ainsley Billesbach expressed frustration that people weren't taking the disease more seriously. “We’re eight, nine months into this, and we have the maximum patients we can handle right now,” she said then.
Kate Dale, left, and her sister, Meg Prestigiacomo, with a picture of their mother, Anne Heine, who died from COVID-19 in July on her 73rd birthday, outside Prestigiacomo's home in Madison on Nov. 19, 2020.
No spectators are allowed in the Kohl Center due to COVID-19 as Wisconsin Badgers take on Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions in a men's basketball game on Nov. 27, 2020.
Members of the Lodi basketball team spread out on the bleachers when not playing, during a game against New Glarus at Lodi High School in Lodi on Dec. 11, 2020.
Members of the Wisconsin Badgers volleyball team celebrate a point during the second set of a season-opening Big Ten matchup against Purdue at the Wisconsin Fieldhouse on Jan. 22, 2021.
Logan Wroge | Wisconsin State Journal
Logan Wroge is the K-12 education reporter for the Wisconsin State Journal. He has been with the newspaper since 2015.
