Rhodes-Conway drops out of race for re-election
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway will not seek re-election, she announced in a blog post Friday afternoon.“I am immensely proud of what I and my team have achieved over the past seven and a half years as we have worked to make Madison a better place and to prepare the path for future success,"
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway will not seek re-election, she announced in a blog post Friday afternoon.
“I am immensely proud of what I and my team have achieved over the past seven and a half years as we have worked to make Madison a better place and to prepare the path for future success,” she wrote. “My tenure has been marked by unprecedented challenges including COVID-19 and a state legislature intent on taking away our funding and powers. Despite the challenges, we achieved a great deal for those who choose to make Madison home.”
Rhodes-Conway had announced in July that she would seek a third term. About a week later, Madison police shot and killed Corey Ruiz. Rhodes-Conway faced sharp criticism for her response. She declined to visit the site of the shooting, which became home to a memorial gathering that lasted 12 days, until City staff and police cleared it on the morning of August 4 at the mayor’s direction. More recently, she drew criticism for declining to provide condolences to Ruiz’s mother at a Common Council meeting where Elsa Ruiz testified against the termination of the interim independent police monitor.
“During my remaining time in office, I hope that we can all take a hard look at our local political ecosystem,” Rhodes-Conway said. “Madison has long been home to impassioned and spirited debate. But it is not hyperbole to say local democracy is at risk, not just from MAGA and right-wing extremists in the federal and state governments, but from a toxic political culture that is transcending partisanship and ideology.
“Harassment, threats, and lack of civility are driving people away from public service,” she added.
Rhodes-Conway joined the Madison Common Council as an alder in 2007, succeeding Brian Benford when he decided not to run for re-election. She served two terms, stepping away in 2013. She defeated incumbent Mayor Paul Soglin in 2019, and won re-election over former deputy mayor and school board president Gloria Reyes in 2023.
In June 2020, at the height of protests following the police murder of George Floyd, she recorded a video expressing sympathy for and gratitude for the police and posted it to a password-protected section of the City website. The video was leaked and posted to a pro-police Facebook group, and Rhodes-Conway apologized in a statement.
Rhodes-Conway’s exit from the race still leaves a crowded field, including former Alders Benford and Sayed Abbas, One City Schools founder Kaleem Caire, former Dane County Board supervisor April Kigeya, former Golden Gloves boxer Marcus Robert Johnson, visual artist and activist Natalia Hacerola, Monkey Bar Gym founder Jonny Hinds, and Larry “Ace” Williams. The primary is set for February 16, and the two candidates with the most votes will face off in the general election on April 6.
Rhodes-Conway said that Madison’s continued progress requires good government and serious engagement from our community.
“We need leaders who are more interested in making the government function well than in performing for social media. We need leaders who want to continuously improve, but won’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. We need leaders who are able to listen to and balance a wide range of voices. Above all, we need leaders who put the needs of Madison before their popularity or political futures,” she said.
Madison365 is a news outlet covering communities of color in Wisconsin.
