Madison Spring Election Guide: District 16

by Safety Connection March 15, 2023

You can impact public safety decisions in Madison with your vote in the Tuesday April 4th spring election in Madison!

Your District 16 candidates are Kim Richman and Jael Currie.

Our pick: Kim Richman!

Kim Richman is the clear choice for District 16. Kim has a strong track record of advocating for public safety through community-oriented policing, and he is committed to neighborhood and community collaboration and accountability for all levels of city government.

Kim Richman:

Is the founder of the Buckeye-Grove Good Neighbor Project (with 1,000+ members) and has helped Madison residents build healthy police-community partnerships and feel safer at home
Strongly supports adequately funding all first responders like police, fire, EMTs and CARES as our city continues to grow. He opposes any budget amendments that will defund, redirect, reimagine, or reallocate any funding from any first responder agency unless that agency can absorb the cut for data-proven reasons like a consistent drop in calls for service
Will advocate for transparency and better communication in city government so residents can more easily stay informed and be invited to give input long before changes and new projects are being voted on by city committees, commissions or the Common Council
Is endorsed by the Madison Professional Police Officers Association

Jael Currie:

voted against accepting 6 grant-funded police officers who would’ve worked in the neighborhoods directly surrounding the 4 main Madison (MMSD) high schools
voted against accepting 6 grant-funded police officers (it still passed) who will work proactively with at-risk youth to build trust and legitimacy
voted against the police body camera program
voted against even receiving (just going on the record to accept the work of) the Final Report of the Body-Worn Camera Feasibility Review Committee which was tasked with studying whether body cameras could/should be adopted in Madison
voted to remove Parking Enforcement Officers (PEOs) out from under MPD and into Parking Utility which was vehemently opposed by PEOs for many reasons—many of them safety-related. And it cost you (a city taxpayer) more money. Alders in support of the move urged their colleagues to remember their commitment to “reimagining public safety.”
voted to reallocate funds from the severely short-staffed Madison Police Department to CARES (Madison’s Crisis Alternative Response Emergency Services). Kim Richman, if elected, will lead an effort to build a private-public partnership to fund CARES and expand it faster without pitting first responders against each other in the city budget process
voted to repeal the curfew on youth 16 and under
voted for zoning changes that will rapidly add dense urban infill with no corresponding increase in police staffing