Reelect Tag Evers

Madison is at a Crossroads

I was first elected to office as District 13 Alder in 2019. I hit the ground running, working to preserve food access and increase affordable housing in South Madison. The Truman Olson site on South Park is now the home to 150 units of affordable housing and we’re on pace to open a new full-service grocery store in the summer of 2025.

Since being elected, I’ve focused attention on the Triangle, the part of the district bordered by Regent, S. Park and West Wash. The Triangle is home to many of District 13’s most vulnerable residents. I serve on the Bayview Foundation Board of Directors and the Community Development Authority (CDA). Our collective efforts have paid off – Bayview has completed their exciting redevelopment project and the CDA Apartments redevelopment project is set to break ground in the spring of 2025.

Crisis Response

Less than ten months after taking office, the world changed. On February 5, 2020, Dane County reported our first COVID-19 case. The pandemic revealed the cracks in our health care system, with disparate impacts on the more vulnerable members of our community. I am proud to have helped create the mutual aid network District 13 Cares. The D13 Mask Brigade worked together to sew masks for those in need, and made donations to meet essential needs of our community.

Then the world changed again. The murder of George Floyd forced a long-overdue national reckoning, calling forth a serious commitment to root out systemic racism. As a city, these twin pandemics — COVID-19 and systemic racism — were the source of ongoing crises in public health, jobs, housing, homelessness, and food insecurity, crises that were interlocking and mutually-reinforcing.

Equity and Sustainability

Over the last several decades in this country, we’ve defunded supportive services for residents while shifting more and more responsibilities to the police. I am proud to be part of city budget decisions that started the CARES PROGRAM, allocating resources to mental health and substance abuse workers as a first-line response to those in need.  We are reimagining public safety, broadening our crime prevention strategies through a public health framework.

Madison is a city that is widely regarded as a great place to live for many, but not for all our residents.

With the looming threat of catastrophic climate change, it’s imperative we implement policies within a dual lens of equity and sustainability. My past work on the Sustainable Madison Committee helped to update the city’s 2011 Sustainability Plan. My specific focus in affordable housing sought to expand housing options for all our residents in ways that reduce our carbon footprint.

Working for You

As your Alder, I serve on the Community Development Authority (CDA) board, shaping housing policy that impacts many low-income District 13 residents. Our district has hundreds of public housing units spread across the Triangle and in Bay Creek at Romnes Apartments. At CDA, I push to expand our city’s portfolio of permanent affordable housing for low-income residents. Madison has very low vacancy rates which drives up the cost of housing for all. We need more housing at all price levels, but we cannot rely solely on market forces to get us where we need to go.

I have worked to keep the Monroe Street Library open so that many residents, especially seniors, who depend on that branch location will continue to be served. I sponsored budget amendments that were passed to increase funding for affordable housing, violence prevention, home ownership assistance, and eviction prevention.

The work of being your Alder continues. There are multiple issues in play at any one time. Your voices are important. I will always listen. Creating justice and sustainability is a long game, and I am in it for the long haul.

I am deeply honored to serve as your Alder. I ask for your support so we can continue this vital work for another term.