Mayoral Candidate Rob Catalanello Outlines Platform

I would like to officially announce my candidacy for Mayor in the November election. I am running because I believe I have the skills and executive experience that will allow me to make Madison an even better place to live and run a business. My priority will be improving quality of life for our residents and business owners.

I will focus on four main topics: Responsible Governance, Infrastructure, Quality of Life, and Green Initiatives.

The primary responsibilities of municipal government are to ensure services are delivered efficiently and to protect the investment made by residents in their homes. Last year the governing body passed the most wealth destructive set of zoning laws in borough history. With one fell swoop, they made many homes in Madison non-conforming by changing the rules about front facing garages. Did you know, if you have a garage that faces the street, your house may be in violation? This is not responsible government.

While serving on council from 2011 through 2016, I championed the repair and upgrade of our municipal infrastructure, from sewer pump stations to the Madison Recreation Complex. I voted for building the turf fields and I helped raise the money to pay for them. We must continue to invest in our infrastructure: roads, sewers, water lines. We must provide free high speed WiFi downtown for the benefit of merchants, residents and visitors. I support the construction of new turf athletic fields in 2020, with or without financial participation of the Board of Education (BoE). The current position of the governing body, to proceed with new investment only with financial participation of the BoE, is both unfair to our children and a red herring. Simply put, the BoE has more pressing priorities, and the governing body knows this. There are many ways to partner with the BoE on a project like this, and I am committed to making it happen.

I will revisit the proliferation of high-density housing developments in our borough. I will lead a frank and honest discussion with residents about the affordable housing requirements being forced on us by the state. I will confront the assault on our Historic District by bringing together developers and residents in the planning stage of new projects to try and come to a compromise that benefits all. I support using public money in well planned and executed public/private partnerships designed to help preserve our history. I will actively seek input from residents on how best to deal with these and other quality of life issues facing Madison.

I will propose a series of revenue generating Green initiatives that will put Madison on the national stage. These include, but are not limited to, a bicycle sharing program, a seed giveaway to encourage growing food locally, working with electric vehicle manufacturers to implement a ‘Norway model’ in Madison for electric vehicle charging, and a major solar energy program for the borough. Think globally, act locally.

Finally, I will address the massive accumulation of unrestricted surplus in Madison, which now stands at $17 million and will rise to $20 million this year. There is currently a huge debate in the governing body over the proper level of surplus for the borough. This is not dissimilar to what the borough faced in 2012 when I was council Finance Chair. Poor fiscal management by the governing body in the 2000’s left the borough with an inadequate surplus, which negatively affected Madison’s credit rating. In 2012, instead of guessing, I initiated contact with the ratings agencies to ask what level of surplus is appropriate and what steps we had to take to solidify the AAA credit rating. Fast forward to the present, while the governing body debates, I called contacts from my 25 years in the financial services industry at Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch to ask what they think. After about an hour, I got an answer, which is substantially less than the borough currently carries. This is the sort of leadership I can provide to the governing body.

I would like to close by offering to debate my opponent in August on Infrastructure/Recreation, in September on Finance, and in October of Quality of Life/Green Initiatives. The debates will be live-streamed so more residents can participate.

I look forward to speaking with residents in the next few months. Please feel free to contact me any time with questions or concerns. (rob@catalanello.com)