Madison city council, Dane County board elect new leadership

April 19, 2022 9:11 PM

Logan Reigstad,

Posted: April 19, 2022 9:11 PM

Updated: April 19, 2022 9:34 PM

by Logan Reigstad

Madison City County Building 2 — Madison's City-County Building on January 23, 2022. WISC-TV/Channel3000.

MADISON, Wis. — Both the Madison Common Council and the Dane County Board of Supervisors have new leadership following votes Tuesday evening.

In an 11-9 vote, Ald. Keith Furman was picked to be the new city council president, beating Ald. Nasra Wehelie to replace Syed Abbas as the council’s leader.

Prior to the vote, Furman said he views the job as a role designed to empower other alders and help them navigate complicated city systems.

“The president is still just one of 20 votes when it comes to passing legislation,” he said. “The president is not co-mayor or majority leader; we are a collective and a coequal body, and the role of president is to help facilitate and coordinate all the different items we have to address as a council. Being alder is really challenging, and the president can and should work with colleagues to help this body operate as efficiently and effectively as possible.”

As president, Furman said he hopes to focus on four priorities: providing the council office the tools needed to thrive, better engaging residents, investing more into training and supporting new alders and working with alders to better deal with conflicts.

Thank you to my colleagues for election to President of the Common Council for the next year. Humbled by their support and excited for the opportunity to serve Madison in this new way.

— Keith Furman (@KeithWisconsin) April 20, 2022

Ald. Jael Currie defeated Ald. Charles Myadze 12-8 to become the council’s vice president.

On the county board side, Sup. Patrick Miles beat former chair Sup. Analiese Eicher 20-17 to lead the group.

Sup. Andrew Schauer narrowly beat Sup. Elizabeth Doyle 19-18 to serve as the board’s First Vice-Chair, replacing Sup. Chuck Erickson. Newly-elected Sup. April Kigeya, who was sworn in minutes prior, was unanimously chosen as the board’s Second Vice-Chair, replacing Sup. Kristen Audet.

Sups. Yogesh Chawla and Maureen McCarville were tapped to be the board’s Sergeants at Arms. McCarville and Sup. Anthony Gray held the roles prior to Tuesday’s vote.