Madison Spring Election 2023: District 2 Candidates

by Safety Connection February 18, 2023

YOU have a chance to impact public safety in Madison with your vote!

Here is more information about the candidates that will appear on your District 2 primary ballot on Tuesday, February 21st, plus our public safety candidate pick!

UPDATE 2-22-23: Juliana Bennett and Colin Barushok advanced to the general election that will take place on Tuesday, April 4

District 2 Candidates:

Colin Barushok

Juliana Bennett

Evan McSorley

Madison Area Safety Connection recommends Colin Barushok for District 2. Colin will prioritize preventing crime, advocate for providing adequate resources so police have time for community-oriented policing, support body cameras for police officers, and will work to increase funding for MPD training. He believes in open and transparent government, and will defend historical landmarks as well as prioritize new development. He supports evaluation of the developing BRT system to ensure it is running efficiently and equitably.

Juliana Bennett would be the worst pick, as she has a strong history of anti-police votes, including voting no on the body-worn camera pilot program, voting no on accepting 6 grant-funded officers to work proactively with our at-risk youth, and even voting no on fixing a leaking city building’s roof because it houses MPD’s training center. The lone sponsor of a resolution that set out to ban police from using tear gas, mace, any other chemical munitions, and other non-lethal tools, like beanbag rounds, is out of touch with standards of modern policing, which emphasizes more non-lethal tools, not less. More options make it less likely that lethal force might be needed, so that is what we like to see.

Juliana is also endorsed by the Progressive Dane PAC and will therefore have a city-wide agenda instead of a district-oriented mindset. She will be held accountable for every vote by this political action committee which has endorsed her, as evidenced by this statement on their website, among other things: “We make no apologies for expecting endorsed candidates to remain accountable to their campaign promises and to our progressive program. They are recruited to work with each other and Progressive Dane on a regular basis.” If you want an Alder who represents YOUR interests and YOUR district’s interests, vote for Colin!