Tonight, gymnasiums across the country will fall silent, the attention of Madisonians will turn from their brackets to their ballots, and all eyes will be on the debate between Analiese Eicher and Michael Johnson, two candidates for District 5 county board.

While the event may not draw as much attention as March Madness, there is a slew of key issues we would like to see addressed.

First, it is important to establish the relevance of the county board to students. Just because they don’t dole out liquor licenses doesn’t mean they don’t matter. From safety and 911 to transportation and conservation, students care about and rely on plenty of county services.

We look forward to hearing the candidates’ views on the environment. And those views need to go beyond “it’s good” and manure digesters. Of course preservation of the lakes is important, but there are also questions about whether to continue buying marshland for conservation as the budget tightens. Much of the land has been purchased to prevent urban sprawl, but conservatives on the board have criticized the purchases as wasteful and proposed a freeze in the past. The board candidates should explain a reasonable balance between conservation and fiscal responsibility.

Although it is no longer the hot-button topic, Sheriff Dave Mahoney’s policy of reporting illegal immigrants arrested for any reason to the federal government continues, and continues to draw the ire of Madison’s left. And while the candidates’ stances will be nothing novel, hearing how each plans on working toward an understanding with law enforcement is important.

In the sheriff’s department, as well as throughout the rest of county government, a budget shortfall forced the supervisors to make cuts across the board. The candidates should address which areas can sustain further reductions, which areas should be held harmless, and which can be cut entirely. If an audit is necessary to determine what services are being used, the candidates should identify which departments are in need of an audit.

With the melting of the snow, train fever has hit Madison, and since countywide and regional transit questions loom close on the horizon, both candidates should be able to discuss their vision for the RTA, how it will interface with city buses, and affect campus life. At the very least they should have some stance on it - Eicher failed to take any position when she interviewed with us.

Finally, Johnson will have to address what some saw as insensitive comments toward the Jewish community on a local blog a little over two years ago, as well as his refusal to distance himself from them since. Amid current concerns about campus climate, Johnson will have to reconcile his views with sentiments of the rest of the community.

And if Johnson and Eicher wanted to close the night by knocking on Wyndham a bit, that would save us the trouble.