I completely agree with former Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz's Feb. 7 letter to the editor, which expressed opposition to the proposal to reduce the size of the Madison City Council and make council members positions full time. I need not repeat or restate his perfectly sensible arguments.
In my view, reduction of the number of council members will result in a reduction of avenues for public input on city governance and a dilution of the representation of individual neighborhoods. As things stand now, I am well represented by my current council member and worry that this would not be the case if four or more representatives were replaced by a single professional politician.
Furthermore, this could yield more power to rich and powerful private entities, potentially at the expense of the will of ordinary people. This follows another recently announced policy proposal to reduce or eliminate residents’ input on housing developments in their own neighborhoods.
That is not the only way that these plans may aid private interests. With fewer council members to pressure, the job of well-financed lobbyists will just get easier. Now that’s what I call the best government that money can buy.
