Yeah, April 6 could have been a lot worse.
Despite the loss of Paul Skidmore, the Werkes is on record saying the April 6 city election was not a total wash.
An ethereal publication called Tone agrees. Even more than The Capital Times, Tone seems to speak for Madison’s hard left. (It IS a fun read!) They’re up today with a post bemoaning “the grinding frustration of Madison’s 2021 election.” Their frustration is our elation! Even with Skidmore defeated, Tone’s Scott Gordon admits (if you can get past his Marxist jargon):
Tuesday was still a pretty good night for the kind of politics Skidmore represents — bought-off, committed to the status quo, and largely indifferent to Madisonians’ higher hopes for their communities. [Yadda, yadda.] Advocates for police accountability got their prime target in Skidmore, but a lot of business-lobby political spending paid off, and the Madison Professional Police Officers Association also got one of its biggest wishes in this election cycle. Incumbent District 18 Alder Rebecca Kemble … lost to challenger Charles Myadze by a margin of almost 10 percentage points.
6 of these 9 Defund Police candidates LOST!
The police union endorsed Myadze in February’s primary and ranked Kemble dead last in its scoring of incumbents. Back to Mr. Gordon in Tone:
Left candidates … ended up taking the biggest losses. Organizer Brandi Grayson lost out to District 14 incumbent and Common Council President Sheri Carter.
District 2 incumbent Patrick Heck beat challenger Benji Ramirez Gomez, and District 12 incumbent Syed Abbas fended off a challenge from Tessa Echeverria. None of these races were even close … Ramirez Gomez and Echeverria both ran explicitly as democratic socialists, and Grayson has played a leading role for years now in protests against police violence and systemic racism. …
‘Yes, each called for abolition or defunding of police and made that a central focus.’
Tone called for a Common Council investigation into that old Marxist bugaboo: “development and real estate interests.”
Blaska’s Bottom Line: Investigation? More of that old hard left cancel culture. Amelia Royko Maurer has put up an ethics complaint (flimsy though it be) against Alder Carter.
Blaska Policy Werkes 
12 responses to “‘A lot of disappointment for Madison’s left.’”
With any luck, the far westside will only have two years to regret the loss of Skidmore.
Jeez people! Get out and vote, will you?
It is good that the Council’s attempt to get full time salaries went down in flames, although I expect it to rise again like a phoenix. My wallet only contain so much!
LikeLike
Why did Paul Skidmore lose? Nice guy, not a radical. Not a Bushie………so what issue(s) caused folks to select his opponent?
LikeLike
Yepper, Squire, the Tone article WAS a gleeful read…
The Good:
“I’ll confess to feeling a bit dejected and fed up at the moment. Sometimes it seems that Madison is determined to squander the people and things that make it special.”
“Special” sure is subjective, l’il pal Scottie…
The Bad:
“We also have to hold… faith that we can still radically change this city, and that people can come around to ideas they at first dismiss as too extreme or unrealistic.”
Scottster –I sure hope not…
The Ugly:
“Skidmore ran on his reputation as Madison’s most pro-police Alder, and his campaign engaged in lies and fearmongering about efforts to defund the police.
Very hard to figure why Skidmore actually lost. Crime stats are off the charts, no exaggeration needed. What happened?
LikeLike
Paul Skidmore will find a way to turn his loss on Tuesday to a win for the Madison community. He will continue to be an advocate for Madison’s citizens & the MPD. The Leftists think that they have “canceled “ Paul by denying him re election. Ha! Paul will find a way to be the voice of reason & common sense ; plus he will have a lot of support from people who want to restore Madison to the great city it once was & still can be.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“plus he will have a lot of support from people who want to restore Madison to the great city it once was & still can be.”
I think a lot of us would like to believe that. Some of us have tried to find solutions, be the change, and all that. It gets tiring after awhile to continually get kicked to the curb.
Change would require a MASSIVE outpouring from people who’ve had enough, and I just don’t see that happening.
Hope I’m wrong.
LikeLike
I think overall it was a win for sanity, particularly the clear message about full-time council. Paul’s loss was disappointing. I was particularly happy with the very clear message about messing with the council, Brandi Grayson and Rebecca Kimble’s ouster.
LikeLike
PS – It would be really interesting to know why PD revoked the Grayson recommendation.
LikeLike
Brandi herself started calling PD racist but whether that was cause or reaction I dunno.
LikeLike
Self-implosion then, thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
So I do not remember hearing Paul Skidmore advocate for not having police accountability. I mean currently what safeguards and policies are in place that do not support public safety and accountability. That guy is a complete Doofus to put it mildly. The new slogan for these idjits is every store is boarded up and every home has a broken window and a stolen car. Instead of a chicken in every pot.!!!
LikeLike
I especially loved hearing the rants of Kemble supporters including people who are shaking with rage at Northside voters as well as one who implies that Myadze is some mysterious unknown figure…. (maybe a Russian? LOL)
Of course all of this should be roundly condemned as unacceptable questioning of election integrity, no?? I thought it was now borderline criminal to cast doubt on election results, yet these local yokels are going all-in?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Anyone who calls America “AmeriKKKa” has no place on a ballot. Brandi lost because she is Brandi, not any other reason as she claims.
LikeLike