Chad's Priorities for Monona

*Update our neighborhood parks, playgrounds, and playing fields
*Renovate city buildings to reduce utility costs and improve productivity
*Improve lake water-quality by improving retention structures, reducing runoff, and reducing flooding
*Advocate for pedestrian safety on our streets so that children can get around to schools and parks more safely
*Reward excellence from city staff, and Support the programs that make our city a great place to live
Our grandparents and parents sacrificed and invested in a better future for their children and grandchildren, and now we must do the same for future generations. TOGETHER, WE CAN BUILD A BETTER MONONA !


Since 1998, I have been proud to call Monona my home. I grew up in Hampton Virginia, where taxes are low and the quality of life is correspondingly lower. I adopted Wisconsin as my home 19 years ago because I value quality public services, excellent public schools, and the higher standard of living that comes with a well-educated electorate and a well-funded public sector.

When I served on the Monona city council in 2008 and 2009, I promoted sensible and responsible improvements to our city. I improved Transit marketing efforts as chairman of the Transit Commission. I helped to create "virtual sidewalks" around Winnequah School so that kids can walk or bike to school more safely. I supported buying more fuel-efficient vehicles to reduce fuel costs and save the taxpayers money. I defended the rights of citizens to live freely, so long as their actions were not harmful to others. In that regard, I helped to implement our smoking ban, which allows all citizens to eat and drink along Monona Drive in smoke-free and more family-friendly establishments. The positive health benefits of this policy are now well documented.

I am running for office to defend and improve the vital services that the people of Monona expect. We already know what Wisconsin is learning too late, that Governor Walker does not understand what makes Wisconsin great. In Wisconsin, we have learned that democracy and prosperity require honest accounting, investments in education and technology, and quality public services, so that all citizens can participate in the advancement of our state. We do not divide or segregate our people; we are one people from many backgrounds, who share a commitment to good government, democracy, and forward progress. I will fight for these values, to protect vital services such as transit, the library, the senior center, and our parks and recreation programs.

Our investments in our library staff and facilities allowed us to earn "the best library in Wisconsin" award. I want to see us become the "best small city to raise a family" and the "best place to operate a business" by investing in our community with a long-term vision, rather than racing to the bottom. Together, we can build a better Monona.

My experiences as an employer and small business owner mirror my approach to governing. I will treat customers/ constituents with respect and dignity. To be the best, we need to attract and retain outstanding employees/ public servants to work for us. I will continue to treat our city staff just as I treat my own staff, with good and fair compensation, and an expectation of excellence. I will continue to be responsive to the concerns and complaints of the people, and I will expect our services to be the best in Wisconsin. I reject the notion that government should be small or large; good government (like a great business) must be efficient, effective, accountable, and responsive to the people. I respectfully ask for your vote on April 5th.


(These posts range from 2011, back to 2008, when I was first elected to the Council)

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Opening Statement at Candidates Debate

Hello, my name is Chad Speight, and I want to represent you on the Monona City Council. I have lived in Monona for the past 10 years, with my wife and 2 kids, who are 12 and 9 years old. I have been my son’s youth baseball coach for the past 5 years, and I currently coach my daughter’s DestiNation Imagination team at Winnequah Middle School. I am a progressive, and I am passionate about the future of our dear city.

Monona is truly a diamond in the rough, and my goal if elected will be to assure that we continue to improve our great city, to invest wisely so that we can maximize the services that taxpayers demand, and minimize the cost.

We are so lucky to have the lakes, a great library, a nice pool and beautiful parks. I want to make sure that we continue to improve and invest in these assets. I look forward to working with Jake, our new recreation department director, to improve our programming for people of all ages. Our programs should stand out, attracting participants from all over the east side.

I want Monona to be a leader in Dane County. We all know that our lakes could be much cleaner, and I want to continue to find ways to partner with surrounding cities in assuring the renaissance of our waterways. After all, Monona is the only city in Dane county that shares a name with a lake.

Our transit system is woefully inadequate, forcing almost all families to own multiple vehicles, which raises the cost of living in Monona, increases traffic congestion, and puts too much stress on our already poorly maintained streets. For too long, Monona has been penny-wise, and pound- foolish. We need to understand that some government services are worth far more to the taxpayer than what we are forced to spend on our own when the services are inadequate.
I want our city to be a leader in sustainable practices, which will improve our image, AND save the taxpayer money. Energy-efficient buildings are cheaper to heat and cool. Fuel efficient vehicles are cheaper to operate. Let’s stop running our city like a stingy landlord, and start investing in the future to show Dane County that Monona really is a City of Pride.

As a business owner, I understanding the importance of paying the bills, balancing a budget, making payroll, and looking out for the bottom line. As a leader in the remodeling association at the local and national levels, I understand the need to build consensus, to listen carefully to competing interests, and to help promote change which is rooted in common-sense, and the benefit of future generations.

Monona is a great city, with energetic and progressive citizens who want to make our city even better than it already is. Together, we CAN build a better Monona. Together, we WILL build a better Monona. I ask for your vote on April 1st.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Biographical

Politicians I admire
On a personal level, I have been an avid supporter of Russ Feingold for the past 16 years- I volunteered for that campaign in 1992, the summer we moved to Madison from Dayton, Ohio. I met Paul Wellstone at a fundraiser that fall, who is another hero of mine. I am a Progressive Patriot.
We are big supporters of Representative Tammy Baldwin and State Senator Mark Miller as well. Sue Carr (my wife) and I were very involved in supporting Fair Wisconsin last year, holding a fund raiser at our home attended by Mark Miller and Joe Parisi.

Education and travels:
I grew up in the South, in Hampton, Virginia. I attended private schools in a racially-divided community which had very little investment in the public sector. I attended Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, where I studied history and politics.
As an undergraduate at Dartmouth College, I studied for a term in Budapest, Hungary, during the winter of 1986, 4 years prior to the demise of the Soviet Union and the crumbling of the Eastern Bloc. I studied goulash socialism, among other things, and traveled extensively in western and eastern Europe. I came home with a much broader understanding of economics, politics, and the wealth of nations.
The United States has been lucky to enjoy the prosperity of the last 50 years, and we will need to start paying attention to Europe and other developed nations if we are to avoid sinking into a steep decline. Our current ways of funding health care and transportation, just to name a few, are not sustainable. I understand the intellectual bankruptcy of conservative economic policy, and the absurdity of viewing all government regulation as inherently bad. The free market, properly regulated, is a great thing. We currently lack sensible regulation and taxation policies due to the ascendancy of the supply-side, anti-government conservative movement. As a student of history, I can only hope that I am correct when I predict that this era is coming to an end.
I enrolled at William and Mary College in 1988 to earn teacher certification. In 1993, I enrolled in the Sociology PhD program at UW-Madison, but I did not earn a degree. As a remodeling contractor and business owner, I have continued to take classes to maintain the highest levels of expertise in my industry. I am a NARI Certified Remodeler, and I frequently speak as an expert at the Better Building, Better Business conference (every winter in the Dells.) I am a regular guest on the Larry Mieller show (WPR, the Ideas Network) discussing home improvements.

Career, family and experience:
I was a high school history teacher from 1989-1992, in Dayton Ohio. I met another teacher, named Sue Carr, who I would eventually marry in Madison, Wisconsin in 1993. Sue and I decided to move to Madison in 1992. We were attracted to Dane County for many reasons: excellent opportunities to further our educations; beautiful natural surroundings, and progressive attitudes.
We started Chad’s Carpentry in 1992, as a small residential remodeling company, which I had intended as a temporary vocation while earning a PhD, planning to become a professor. Expecting our first child in 1995, we decided to focus on our family, which led me to drop graduate school and focus on our remodeling business. When we were expecting our second child in 1997, we decided to look for a larger home, when we moved to Monona.
As business owners, we have always provided generous benefits to our talented staff because we are committed to being responsible employers. We also do NOT work for cash (ie., engage in tax evasion; it is appalling to contemplate how much remodeling happens “under the table”) We do not complain about the taxes we pay, since we realize that government plays a vital role in a civilized society, and I enjoy defending that vital role, as a tax-paying small-business owner. Of course, the health insurance we provide is bankrupting all of us precisely due to the failure of government to step in and regulate (or nationalize) the insurance industry. This complex, competing, private bureaucracy does not deliver better value or better health outcomes, but I cannot solve this issue on the city council.
Chad’s Carpentry is a leader in sustainable design and green building practices. We stress the importance of understanding “whole-house” building science, energy-efficiency, durability, and healthy indoor air quality.
I did serve on the Monona Transit Commission in 2002-3, and I helped to negotiate an agreement with Madison Metro which was rejected by the council. I look forward to exploring again ways to improve our transit services. I have been active in promoting improvements to the north end of Winnequah Road, improving our recreation department, and improving the health of our lawns and lakes.

Campaign Announcement, first campaign, 2008

Chad T Speight has announced his candidacy for the Monona City Council. Speight, 41, is the president of Chad’s Carpentry, a local remodeling firm. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College, and he has lived in Monona for the past 10 years.

In announcing his candidacy, Speight said, “Monona is a great community, and I believe that our best days are yet to come. We need to preserve and enhance our family-friendly qualities. I have a passion for politics, and I want to contribute in a positive way, helping Monona move towards a more sustainable future.

“The people of Monona are thoughtful and enlightened, and I look forward to working with them as we continue to improve our city services and infrastructure. We need to have an open and honest discussion about where best to invest public tax dollars, because Monona does need to invest wisely as we move into the future.”

Speight served for 2 years on the Transit Commission, and he believes that a better transportation infrastructure will make Monona much more attractive to young families. In addition, he is interested in investigating ways to make our streets safer for children, pedestrians, and cyclists. “As we work to continuously improve our infrastructure, we need to invest in sidewalks and bike lanes to ensure the safety of our citizens.”

Speight specializes in sustainable, energy-efficient remodeling, and he would like to investigate options that the city may have for similar technologies, which are cheaper to operate and maintain. In addition, he is committed to maintaining and preserving our parks and public lake access to ensure that the benefits of living in Monona are maintained. “Our access to Lake Monona is a wonderful part of living here, but only if we invest in cleaner, safer practices to be able to enjoy the lake for years to come.”

Speight continues to serve as a board member of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI), and he has been an advocate for contractor licensing, better building codes, and better building practices in remodeling and new home construction.

Speight is an active volunteer in the local schools, where he is the coach for one of the new Destination ImagiNation teams at Winnequah Middle School. He coaches youth baseball in the Monona Recreation League, and enjoys playing soccer in the 40+ league. He and his wife, Sue Carr, have two kids, Amelia, a seventh grader at Winnequah Middle School, and Kevin, a third grader at Nichols Elementary.

“I commend the council and the mayor for making tough decisions at the recent budget sessions. I am ready, willing and able to help make those decisions, and to continue to move the city in a positive direction for those families here now, and for those looking to Monona for a future home.”