The Mayor's Race

Well, the entry of Peter Munoz into the mayor's race has certainly livened things up a bit. I have to say, what was once a predictable spring election has gotten very interesting. I had a feeling this is going to be a campaign where there was alot of "me too" going on. So far it has sounded like the Mayor was going to try to sound like Ray Allen by talking about being business-friendly and Ray Allen was going to be the one talking about affordable housing, workforce mass transit (buses not trolleys!), social services and improvements to Allied Drive. And of course, there was going to be talk about management and style.

Then, enter Peter, and the discussion of management and style took the front seat. He certainly said some powerful and necessary things in his Cap Times interview. I've worked with Peter Munoz and I really like and admire the guy. I also appreciate that he stepped up and is running, even though I don't think he really planned to. That takes courage. More importantly, he's in the race for the right reasons and he's passionate about it. He truly believes the democratic process and bringing people together and that's really refreshing. And, I couldn't disagree more with Austin King's comments in the Wisconsin State Journal

Ald. Austin King, 8th District, a Progressive Dane member, said Munoz's campaign would be handicapped by more than its late start.

"Peter is a very bright guy and pretty well respected," King said. "But his former association with the Common Sense Coalition is a blemish on his record of public service."

King said there also could be questions about Munoz supporting Cieslewicz's mayoral campaign in 2003 and then being turned down for a position in his administration.

"He will have a hard time convincing people that this is not about sour grapes," King said.

These comments made me really sad. I think Peter has alot of integrity and I have alot of respect for him. Remember, he was only the leader of the Common Sense Coalition for a month before he stepped down. The fact that he stepped down speaks volumes. And this most certainly isn't about "sour grapes", this is about seeing something that isn't being done right and knowing that we need to do better and feeling passionate enough about it to try to change things. What more could we ask for in a Mayor. Thank you Peter for running.