to challenge Madison’s uni-party.
But what do we know?
A slew of elections looms on the calendar — city, county, and school boards galore, all non-partisan, supposedly. That won’t stop the Democratic Party of Dane County WI from endorsing candidates across the board. And funding them; and setting them up with web designers, campaign lit artists, door-to-door canvassers, and proven voter lists.
Candidates can circulate nominating petitions for the April 2026 elections beginning December 1 — in nine days!
Local Democrats know what they’re doing. They elected 26 of the 37 members of the Dane County Board and 13 of 20 Madison alders. The Madison school board owes allegiance to the party and its allies in the teachers union.
Not just Democrats. Progressive Dane is also a full-service political party. Used to be that PD was more John Nichols/Bernie Sanders and local Democrats were more Fred Risser/Herb Kohl. But the local Democrat(ic) party has done a mind meld with PD; the two parties now endorse many of the same candidates. It’s a rush to the fringe. As a retired local official and former Democrat told us, “There’s not a dime’s worth of difference between them.” Both endorsed Mayor Satya Rhodes Conway, for instance. Incumbent Paul Soglin just wasn’t Left enough any more. (What does that tell you?!)
The case for change
• DANE COUNTY: All 37 county supervisors are up for election this spring. Voted to defund 20 sheriff’s deputies. Won’t audit millions of dollars in social service contracts. The county is $31 million in the hole.
• CITY of MADISON: Ten alders (even-numbered seats) will also be on the ballot. Alders cannot bring themselves to terminate the duplicative, adversarial, and dysfunctional Independent Police Monitor. Won’t equip police with cameras. Hit taxpayers for another $22 million above levy limits.
• MMSD SCHOOLS: Can’t teach minority kids to read or keep anyone safe. Justified voting themselves a pay raise to prevent “older, whiter, wealthier folks” from serving. Hit taxpayers for an extra $607 million. Two of the seven board members are on the ballot.
But wait, there’s more!
Anyone who challenges the progressive machine is risking Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg. Consider this case study: A professional man (a chemical engineer) working in the private sector and father of two ran for Madison school board. Bret Wagner lost to Martha Siravo, yet another professional “advocate.” Siravo was supported by:
• Dane County Democratic Party
• Wisconsin AFL-CIO
• AFSCME
• Madison Teachers Inc.
• Progressive Dane
• Wisconsin Education Association Council
• Wisconsin Progress.
And State Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison) who is, like Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist. By contrast, candidate Bret Wagner enjoyed no organizational support. He did get a newspaper endorsement and a nod from former mayor Dave Cieslewicz. Like most challengers of the status quo hereabouts, Mr. Wagner was the corner grocery store competing against WalMart.
Haven’t mentioned the Working Families Party, the Greens, and Madison-Area Democratic Socialists (who endorsed Madison council president Yanette Figueroa Cole).
A home for centrists
So the idea was to start a local-only political party — a landing zone for the Bret Wagners. A local party that advocated lower taxes, protected public safety, restored honors courses in our schools. One that wouldn’t play the guilt game. Share some infrastructure, raise a little cash, establish a brand that would identify like-minded candidates. We would have called it “Sensible Dane” in contrast to Progressive Dane.
→ The Sensible Dane platform (may it rest in peace).
A small gaggle of organizers (Blaska was one of them) managed to sign up four eminent, multi-racial co-chairs free of any Republican skeletons. Some were disaffected Democrats. Then — at go or no-go time — one of them, a former budget hawk Madison alder, backed out. His reason: He didn’t like one of Blaska’s social media posts! (And they say Progressive Dane demands ideological purity!)
Blaska’s Bottom Line: Too much Stockholm Syndrome, not enough brass.
9 responses to “We thought it was a good idea”
Dave,
Understandably, you criticize the Madison monolith from the perspective of traditional Republican standards.
But that misses the further ironic fact that the Madison monolith, in action, sets back the same progress that it alleges to advance.
One terrible case in point is the fact that, as the Madison school board devotes its energies to eliminating “systemic” racism in the schools, 95% — let me repeat that — NINETY FIVE PERCENT of its black 8th grade students cannot read at grade level.
And the school board doesn’t even care. In fact, they are so proud of their record that they rewarded their travesty by doubling their pay for a job well done.
So, yes, something did happen to Madison liberalism in the last decade. The best comparison might be to Stepford Wives.
“Sensible Dane” because “Military Intelligence” was already taken?
Be sure to watch in the spring 2026 alder election who the Dane Socialists and Working Families Party (from Bronx NY) endorses and gives money to.
Cole wasn’t the only Alder that the workings family party endorsed earlier in the year. Here’s the list.
Elias Tsarovski – Madison Common Council, District 4.
Badrinath Lankella – Madison Common Council, District 7
Nikki Conkli – Madison Common Council, District 9
Yannette Figueroa Cole – Madison Common Council, District 10
Sean O’Brien – Madison Common Council, District 16
Carmella Glenn – Madison Common Council, District 18
John Guequierre – Madison Common Council District 19.
And people wonder why Madison continues in this far left direction.
With Dementia Don sucking up to that Saudi killer and twin tower idea man. Then playing kissy face with Zohan should show you one thing. Your party needs to get the Muslim vote. Maybe they will even give you a plane.
Madison is a good breeding ground for Tony Robinsons.
It’s not a question of whether moderates “deserve” to lose (or win) in Madison/Dane County. It’s a question of whether they can win–ever. And the answer is no. It’s like asking whether Stalin “deserved” to win elections in the USSR by 98.6% of the vote. The fix was in then and the fix is in here and now and will be for the foreseeable future. Let’s hope the voters in Dane County propel Francesca Hong into the race for governor so she can see what it’s like to run for office in the rest of the state, which will send her to join Mandela Barnes in political limbo.
And who is the Gop going to run? Your entire party is in shambles. Do you really think that selling trump’s lies in Wisconsin can win you anything? There is no inflation, best numbers in history, Prices falling like rain, Best MRI ever seen by man or God. BLAH BLAH BLAH. People drank the Kool-Aid Puked and have had enough. Good luck in the mid-terms. Even Faux News has had enough of this clown show.
The GOP will run candidates that are less crazy than Barnes or Hong, which admittedly isn’t saying much. However, objective voters acknowledge that Trump and his policies have a higher success rate than Hong, who has accomplished nothing, or Barnes, who has accomplished next to nothing.
[…] doesn’t! To the recent retiree who suggested we start a think tank instead of a local, centrist political party, we already have the Badger Institute. For our Mamdani socialists, it explains why “Madison is a […]