Dane101 | The blog aggregator for Madison, Wisconsin

Film101 Podcast

Follow Us On Twitter

Search

Syndicate

Left Column Skycraper - Project Wonderful

Ads by Project Wonderful! Your ad here, right now: $0

User login

Navigation

Sanborn & IZ: Money talks.

Submitted by Lisa S on Tue, 2005-11-01 04:08. Current | Politics

Earlier this month, the Apartment Association of South Central Wisconsin lost a legal challenge of Madison's Inclusionary Zoning ordinance. The ordinance which requires the inclusion of affordable workforce housing (those at or below 80% of the county's median income) in all developments now faces another challenge.

At tonight's special meeting of Madison's Common Council, District 1 Alder Jed Sanborn introduced a repeal of the ordinance. His repeal is co-sponsored by only four other alders: Thomas, Skidmore, Compton, and Radomski.

Spokespeople for Wisconsin's Realtors Association and Builders Association were quick to express support for Sanborn's proposal:

Quote:

"I think that's a very good idea," Phil Salkin, government affairs director for the Realtors Association of South Central Wisconsin, said of repeal. "I suspect this will get very intense."

Quote:

But Kent Disch, government affairs director of the Madison Area Builders Association, said, "At this point, I think IZ is irreparably broken. There are just too many problems."

Delora Newton, the Executive Director of Smart Growth Madison, declined comment on the proposal but did share concern about the ordinance:

Quote:

Delora Newton, executive director of Smart Growth Madison, a real estate industry group that initially opposed but eventually endorsed IZ, said she couldn't immediately comment on Sanborn's proposal but said the law has caused concerns. The city may need to make some major changes or "find alternatives to producing affordable housing," she said.

Members of these organizations and others associated with the Landlord, Realtor, Developer (LaRD) lobby made at least $4740 in campaign contributions to Alder Sanborn this spring. Sanborn's campaign came with the highest price tag in the most recent City Council election. LaRD money accounted for 41% of the total $11,500 spent by Sanborn in the election.

The area represented by Sanborn includes a socio-economically diverse group of residents from some of the lowest-income to some of the highest-income in Madison. Some of these lower to middle income residents may have their first opportunities to purchase a home or to rent an apartment that is truly affordable to them as a result of Inclusionary Zoning.

Few, if any, of these residents' names can be found on Sanborn's campaign finance reports though. These reports do include the names of at least 47 individuals associated with the LaRD lobby. Of these 47 contributors, only 4 list addresses located in the district represented by Sanborn.

So, whom does Alder Sanborn represent? Does he represent the residents of his district? Or does he work for the deep pocketed special interests who contribute cash at election time?

Click on the attached Excel spreadsheet to find out who contributed and how much they gave.