Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway of the city of Madison, spoke to Madison College students, to emphasize the importance of voter registration and local government involvement in our communities.
Speaking from the Truax campus inside the Intercultural Exchange, Rhodes-Conway discussed the importance of local government and the various roles it plays in the community, including public transit, public safety and affordable housing.
Rhodes-Conway made the point that government officials aren’t scary but are just people. Anyone can be involved with their community.
“I’m talking about it is our responsibility as people who live on this planet to take care of our communities for the rest of our lives… so don’t burn it all in the first month,” she said.
She encouraged the students to get involved in communities and discusses the importance of student voices in their communities.
In addition to encouraging involvement, Rhodes-Conway urged the students to go vote and emphasized the importance of the February primary and the April general election.

She admittedly recognizes that it’s “hard to be a Democrat right now.” With news from the White House about the many legal challenges and uncertainties, she highlighted the potential negative impacts for people in our communities.
Rhodes-Conway spoke about finding places, such as committees, that students can join to engage in ways that feel positive and nourishing to them. She introduced the idea that it is easy to join committees that students care about and or are interested in, such as community service.
“I would just encourage each and every one of you to find the places that feed you… and find the ways in which you can be engaged,” Rhodes-Conway said.
People can come to meetings of committees of the city council. And if someone cares about a particular issue, they can watch the agendas.
For more information, go to the cityofmadison.com site, visit the mayor’s page and scroll through committees that might be of interest to students, and then apply. By pacing oneself and finding effective and interesting ways to contribute to local politics and local government, students can make an impact Rhodes-Conway said.
“And so, you got to pace yourself, and you got to find places where you can do work that you feel is effective, but also interesting. And dare I say fun?” Rhodes-Conway said.
The conversation also covered affordable housing, economic development and the challenges of implementing body cameras for police.
The primary elections on Feb. 18 feature three candidates for State Superintendent of Public Instruction: Dr. Jill Underly, Brittany Kinzer, and Jeff Wright. Rhodes-Conway said she will be endorsing Underly.