The decision for the campus-covering District 5 County Board seat April 6 won’t come down to sorting through specific candidate credentials. Instead, the choice will be between personalities and the various passions accompanying them.

I, like many other observers of this race, hadn’t seen too much to get excited about. But Monday night’s County Board debate fleshed out some clear differences between the candidates and indicated this contest may be more significant than previously thought.

Neither Michael Johnson nor Analiese Eicher possess particularly prodigious qualifications, although the organizations and causes they’ve both been involved with say a lot about their attitudes toward government and change.

While Eicher derided Johnson’s activist background Monday night, his specific involvement with local issues says a lot about what he holds important. His involvement with the City’s Affirmative Action Committee and Progressive Dane, in addition to his leading role in the Langdon and State community organization, indicate his desire to work on issues important to the community. Perhaps most significantly, his work challenging the Dane County Sheriff’s Department’s deplorable treatment of immigrants — namely terrorizing immigrant communities with deportations for the most benign infractions — strikes a direct contrast to Eicher, who currently enjoys that department’s endorsement.

Regarding that endorsement, it might also be worth noting that Eicher supports more police — specifically from the Sheriff’s department, whose officers would likely be paid over-time — at Freakfest and Mifflin. How does that represent student interests? A dearth of law enforcement is no longer a problem at either event. Surely organizing with community members and local businesses would be a more fruitful use of time.

It speaks volumes about a potential officeholder that he or she is ready and willing to work on problems greater than himself or herself. Eicher’s work with the College Democrats doesn’t substantiate much of a desire to improve the community. In fact, I’m not aware of anything the College Democrats have done that goes beyond simply electing Democrats. In that sense, it’s easy to make the case that its members are more interested in party politics and developing powerful relationships than advocating any particular issue that might benefit the community directly.

Hard decisions and effective leadership will never be easy to come by unless there exists some genuine passion for the interests involved. There were several topics raised in Monday night’s rather brief debate that demonstrated the leadership philosophies of the candidates.

The nascent Regional Transit Authority, which could help keep Madison an affordable place to work and go to school by facilitating easier transport on and off the isthmus, was ebulliently supported by both candidates. However, where Eicher was unwilling to commit to setting up a reliable financing mechanism, Johnson unambiguously supported a marginal increase in the sales tax to support the RTA. It’s easy to be for improving infrastructure in the abstract, but a real leader will take a stand on the difficult details necessary to develop and maintain that infrastructure.

On a similar note, while both candidates expressed strong support for the environment, Eicher stuck to the talking points about manure digesters and skirted a difficult question about protecting marshlands by noting that development is important and environmental protections need to undergo a thorough cost-benefit analysis. Not exactly the conviction one would expect from a true environmental advocate. In fact, that is exactly the sort of compromising attitude that wavers under developer pressure to the detriment of Dane Country’s ever-shrinking natural resources.

Affordable housing, another resource in need of support in Dane County, also came up Monday night. Johnson seemed intent on making it a major issue if he were elected, and that should be an encouraging sign to students and long-time residents alike who have seen the failing economy make city living increasingly difficult to afford. His proposal to establish a $10 fee on real estate transactions to put toward an Affordable Housing Trust Fund might, over the long term, provide the county with the negotiating power to maintain Madison’s economic diversity downtown and elsewhere.

Speaking of social spending, it was encouraging to hear Eicher tout Dane County’s premier human services and advocate reinforcing them in rural areas. Still, she passed on offering up any specifics about how to expand or improve them.

Eicher did take a stand against non-binding referenda last night, depicting votes against the wars or in favor of impeaching former President Bush as wasteful distractions. Oddly, however, during the rebuttal period, she countered Johnson’s support first by celebrating the recent declaration of Wilco as honorary members of Madison and then reiterating her opposition to such declarations. Johnson, on the other hand, argued that such referenda offered an important mechanism for conscientious local representatives to register the views of their constituents.

In her closing statement, Eicher vowed to work not as an “activist” but as a “fellow student.” It would seem she meant: “I’m not passionate about county issues, but I will hold Alder hours on campus”. In contrast, Johnson has shown a real interest and involvement in local issues from affordable housing to immigration. District 5 sorely needs a dedicated representative with the courage to provide real leadership and, if Monday’s debate was any indication, District 5 needs Michael Johnson.

Sam Stevenson ([email protected]) is a graduate student in public health.