- Environmental Sustainability
- Worker Protections
- Social Services
- Diverse Community
The number one pollutant in all the lakes in Dane County is agricultural phosphorus fertilizer. Residential use of such fertilizer is already banned in Dane County. Leland would support restrictions in the use of phosphorus fertilizer for agriculture, as well. Most farmland on Dane County is oversaturated, and practices like applying extra fertilizer over the snow in the winter leads to particularly detrimental runoff. Leland will work with groups, especially student environmental groups like WISPIRG, to ensure such policies are well-researched and lobbied for at the county level. Leland will also support greater use of manure digesters in Dane County.
Protecting and Expanding Green Space:
Dane County is considered one of the most beautiful and scenic communities in the country, and we must make a strong effort to maintain our most precious resources; our Earth. Leland will work with the county board to support the development of sustainable agriculture, that helps maintain our open spaces and farmland. Leland will also work to upgrade and introduce multi-modal transportation options to Dane County, including bicycling and light rail. This will make Dane County a better place to live, work and play.
A Creation of Renewable Energy Mitigation Program:
As Dane County struggles to locate new funding sources for conservation and green development projects, Leland proposes the creation of A Renewable Energy Mitigation Program. By utilizing this program, Dane County can raise funds by charging homeowners a fee if their homes exceed 5,000 square feet. In turn, money collect from this fee can be used to support Dane County’s environmental projects.
Green Building Incentives for Sustainable Development:
Leland advocates promoting an expanded array of Green Building requirements and incentives for residential and commercial developments in Dane County, to support a more sustainable economy. Using established national standards to promote Green development and construction, and giving incentives to construction projects that follow Green Building guidelines created by Dane County, which would include promoting the use of locally produced materials and the inclusion of green elements designs.
Sustainable Energy Finance Districts:
In 2009, the Wisconsin legislature passed Act 11, which allows for municipal governments to create financing plans to help develop renewable energy in their communities. Leland supports using a financing plan originally developed in Berkeley, California, that helps residents make Green improvements to their homes, including building their own renewable energy systems, by adding a property tax addition that the homeowner can pay over an extended period. Dane County can use its bond issuing power, as well as forming collaborations with building trades and responsible local banks and credit unions to help establish the fund and promote it to residents.
Leland supports a Lakefront Property Transfer fee, which would place a 1/2% fee on property transfers 70 feet from a high water mark. The fee would 1.) allow for increased county funded environmental sustainability programs, 2.) allowing for general funds to be used to support housing related programs in the county, and 3.) help establish a pattern for more progressive taxation in Dane County.
Read Leland's ambitious and innovative plan for a more sustainable community, DANE GAIN, The Dane County Green Action Initiative.
Leland will make sure that Governor Walker’s union busting Act 10 will not mean the death of worker rights. Leland would prioritize the continued recognition of Dane County unions and equitable and fair bargaining around their issues.
In the unlikely event that Governor Walker is not recalled, and Act 10 is not repealed, Leland will develop legislation to codify agreed upon rights, responsibilities, privileges and obligations of unionized employees and their unions into county law for all county employees. The right to organize and bargain is fundamental, and should be given to ALL workers.
With the assault on the public sector and our community’s shared common goods, it is critical that we work to keep public control of our assets and resources. Leland will propose an anti-privatization ordinance, that will require compelling evidence that the county will save at least 15 percent of current costs over the duration of a contract with any private interest. The county must also allow county employees to bid for the contract as well. In the event a private interest receives a county contract that displaces county employees, county employees will be offered a full year of employment at the prevailing wage.
The Tenant Resource Center and Rape Crisis Center are two of the most important student used services funded by Dane County. Leland will work with his fellow county supervisors to find additional streams of funding to help support these services, which are critical to the quality of life for students.
The Walker-led attack on our quality of life has been damaging on two levels; our most vulnerable residents have been left in the cold and our local government has been made weaker. Until the federal and state governments are willing to provide a basic safety net to those most in need, it falls to us in the local community. Leland would research and find efficiencies in multiple county departments and find creative ways to raise revenue, like the Vehicle Registration Fee, to ensure that services like mental health, medical treatment, homeless shelters, food pantries, senior care and other human services continue to be available to county residents.
In previous years at the county level, an informal TABOR-like funding model has been used for county budgeting (no tax levy above inflation + population). As the county population grows, and the devastating effects of draconian state budget cuts seep into our community, we must work to create new funding streams to keep up with the demand of our residents. Leland supports prioritizing programs that connect residents with housing and food.
In recent years, Dane County has promoted ideas of three task forces; The Task Force on Poverty, The Task Force on Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System and the Immigration Issues Task Force. Leland supports working to implement the recommendations of Poverty and Racial Disparities Task Forces, as well as pushing the Immigration Issues Task Force to submit a final set of recommendations for the County Board to use. Reaching out to groups like UTI, MEChA, the Multicultural Student Coalition, and others is vital to ensuring student participation on these issues.
Instead of waging an unsustainable war on our community, we must take sensible steps to maintain public safety. Supporting rehabilitation and treatment programs, rather than building expensive jails, will have a more positive impact on our community. The county should also fully fund services for those who are victims of domestic violence.
The county should prioritize increasing the representation of underrepresented groups, such as students, as well as other marginalized groups on county committees. This will help increase the representation of many diverse voices in county government. Leland will also work with the County Clerk to help ease the transition for voters, in a post Voter ID world, helping to eliminate obstacles to voting and registration, especially students.
As the son of immigrants, Leland understands deeply their important contributions to everyday life. Leland will push the county board to support direct, significant action to end the County Sheriff’s policy of reporting undocumented residents not accused of serious crimes to federal officials. Leland will also work to keep Dane County out of restrictive, polarizing federal programs that have eroded community unity.
Read Leland's plan to empower and engage residents, Accessibility and Accountability.
