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Mayor Dave Cieslewicz deserves credit for graciously accepting victory after a long battle to raise bus fares in Madison. After the City Council voted to back the mayor's proposal, he used his Internet blog to compliment his chief challenger on the issue.
"The debate at the Feb. 24 council meeting about bus fares was one of the best I've witnessed in my six years as mayor," Cieslewicz wrote. "Much of the credit for that goes to the tone set by Brian Solomon, the chief opponent of an increase in fares. Solomon fought as hard as he could, he summoned facts, pulled up data and fashioned arguments without ever getting personal." The mayor is right. Solomon does deserve credit, not merely for keeping the debate substantial and responsible, but also for raising crucial concerns about ensuring that low-income Madisonians have access to quality mass transportation. Mass transit debates are not merely about ridership levels and elasticity models. They are about real people facing real challenges, about getting to and from jobs, schools and health care facilities. Solomon understands this. So too does the mayor.
They divided on the fare hike issue, with Solomon focusing on access and the mayor on quality of service. But, ultimately, they were not so distant from one another. And the mayor is right to send a conciliatory signal to a worthy opponent -- and the many Madisonians for whom Solomon spoke. Now the mayor and his critics can, and must, work together to find the models and the resources that will be necessary to ensure that Madison realizes Cieslewicz's hope "that this is the last fare increase we'll need for quite a while."
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