Posted Tuesday, December 2, 2008 --- 1:00 p.m.

UW-Madison senior and member of the Madison Common Council, Eli Judge will not seek second term.

Here is the press release from Eli Judge:

MADISON- Madison alder and UW senior Eli Judge announced today that he would not be seeking a second term as the 8th District alder on Madison’s Common Council. Judge, 21, is the youngest member of the Council and plans to attend law school in the near future.

“It has been one of the greatest honors of my life to serve the students and residents of Madison over the past twenty months,” said Judge. “I hope my time on the Council has helped to make Madison a great place to live, work, and study. Madison is truly one of the greatest cities in the country and I am very fortunate to have been able to give back to the community.”

Judge has generated an impressive list of policy accomplishments over the course of his term in office. The Textbook Ordinance, Judge’s first item passed through the Common Council, has been cited by the UW Police Department as resulting in almost an 100% drop in targeted textbook thefts around the UW campus. Judge continued to have a successful term on the Council, passing the widely praised Photo Ordinance after working closely with tenant-rights organizations and local business groups to add protection for thousands of students and renters in Madison from unscrupulous landlords. Judge also secured $10,000 of new funding for the Rape Crisis Center and recently authored the Downtown Residential Lighting Initiative that will provide for strategic lighting fixtures in the downtown area.

Judge also helped lead the fight in opposing alcohol taxes on students and local businesses, promote the creation of a new student-centered neighborhood association, and remains committed to developing more campus-area watch programs to help students take an initiative in keeping their community safe.

"Eli has been a thoughtful, productive member of the Council and an effective advocate for students," Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said. "He has a bright future ahead of him, and I wish him well in all his endeavors."

Mike Verveer, former President of the Madison Common Council and current alder of the 4th District in Madison, echoed the Mayor’s support of Eli Judge, noting his ability to work with the various factions of the Council. “Eli is a wonderful student representative, remaining incredibly dedicated to improving Madison’s safety. He has shown a willingness to work with all sides of the Council to achieve concrete results and his style of leadership will be sorely missed. I wish him the best of luck with his future plans.”

In addition to Judge’s policy achievements, he remained dedicated to his promise of staying deeply connected with his constituents. He pioneered new techniques to stay in-touch, including weekly “Alder Hours”, a blog website with YouTube videos, frequent appearances at student organization meetings, and “house calls”, working directly with students in a one-on-one approach to help with problems involving the city of Madison.

Andy Myszewski, a UW-Madison senior, thanked Eli Judge for this dedication to students. “Eli was incredibly helpful when I had a problem with my landlord. He took time out of his day to personally meet with me and helped to resolve the issue. The time and dedication he put into this position made him more successful and visible to the UW-Madison campus, while also helping to improve the relationship between the city and students.”

Ald. Judge will remain a member of the Madison Common Council until April 2009. Judge encourages residents of the 8th District to get involved in their community by running for the seat. “I hope the person who inherits this position will continue my progressive, pro-student agenda, while remaining focused on the myriad of local issues, especially safety, that require further action,” said Judge.