Business and Labor Closely Aligned on Madison Common Council Endorsements

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Feb. 22, 2017)

Contact: Erik Greenfield, Communications Manager, 608-443-1952 (office), 608-669-7884 (cell)

MADISON – Today the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors announced its endorsements for the Madison Common Council elections taking place April 4. With representation from many prominent and emerging companies throughout Greater Madison, an endorsement from the 48-member Chamber board signals a candidate’s strength on business issues and vision to grow Greater Madison’s economy.

The Chamber’s endorsement decisions closely mirror candidates endorsed by the Building Trades of South Central Wisconsin.

“In contested races for Madison Common Council, the choice for business and labor alike is clear. To have the endorsement of both the Chamber and Building Trades demonstrates a candidate’s understanding of how economies work and how best to foster job growth in our region,” said Chamber President Zach Brandon. “It is important that we not let up on the economic momentum we are seeing in Greater Madison, and these candidates have the right experience, passion and commitment to help us continue to drive that momentum.”

The Chamber endorsed the following candidates for Madison Common Council:

District 1: Barbara Harrington-McKinney
District 3: Amanda Hall
District 5: Shiva Bidar-Sielaff
District 7: Steve King
District 8: Zach Wood
District 9: Paul Skidmore
District 10: Maurice Cheeks
District 11: Arvina Martin
District 12: Larry Palm
District 13: Sara Eskrich
District 14: Sheri Carter
District 16: Denise DeMarb
District 19: Mark Clear
District 20: Matt Phair

The release from the Building and Construction Trades Council regarding their candidate endorsements is attached here.

About the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce:
The Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce is the voice of business with nearly 1,300 organizations – ranging from one-person shops to corporations with more than 10,000 employees – working to bring the Greater Madison area to its full potential. The Greater Madison region is a leader in innovation. From cutting-edge technologies to distinctive retail shops to inventive services and products, our members vary greatly but are united by the region’s entrepreneurial spirit. More information can be found at greatermadisonchamber.com.

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Chamber Urges Immediate Action to Avoid Multi-Year Road Work Delays

Today the Chamber sent a letter to state legislative leaders and Governor Walker, urging immediate action to avoid multi-year delays to critical road projects including I-39/90 and Verona Road. For business, economic, mobility and safety reasons, multi-year delays are just plain unacceptable.

Ideally, we would like to see long-term transportation finance reform to provide sustainable revenue sources for projects. In the short-term, however, immediate options must be considered, including use of the budgeted contingency bonding, to lessen the impact on these critical projects.

Read the Chamber’s complete letter here.

All Signs Point to Improvement for City Sign Code

Over the last year, the Chamber has led a workgroup of city and business leaders focused on finding solutions to problematic areas of Madison’s sign code that would support city planning, safety, and private business goals. This effort began with the introduction of proposed changes to Madison’s sign code that would have created new, across-the-board restrictions and reduced signage for commercial signage. The Chamber opposed the original proposal and built coalition of partners to encourage a more meaningful, comprehensive discussion on Madison’s sign regulations to address city and business concerns. Read the coalition’s letter to Mayor Soglin here.

The Mayor agreed to hold off on his proposals and proceed with the proposed review. To guide that discussion, the workgroup developed six shared goals:

1. We both seek to appropriately manage the use of commercial messages within the city, to provide attractive signage compatible with surroundings, and to prevent unnecessary clutter within the city.
2. Signage options should be affordable for businesses, functional for their locations, and visible for customers.
3. Ordinances should not limit originality or sense of place but allow for the creation of beautiful, vibrant, and safe buildings with quality design.
4. The sign code should prioritize visibility of business signs and take into account factors such as location while making provisions to be flexible, functional, and allow for creative flair.
5. Businesses should have access to clear and easy-to-understand information about signage, city codes, and sign application process.
6. Finally, the sign permit and approval process should be timely and efficient for city staff, committees, and businesses.

Last week, this work culminated with the introduction of several proposed changes to Madison’s sign code. If adopted, these changes not only will provide more flexibility for businesses, it also recognizes the important role that appropriate and identifiable signage has in helping businesses inform, direct and communicate with customers.

We expect more conversations on signage in the future, but this proposed set of changes is a positive step forward.

Chamber Guides Collaborative Approach to Benchmarking

Earlier this week, the Madison Common Council directed city staff to begin work on the creation of a public/private voluntary energy benchmarking program. Benchmarking is a way to measure a building’s energy usage by comparing to usage from similar-sized buildings.

The adoption of this ordinance is the culmination of nearly two years of work. Originally, the program was proposed as mandatory for every city building over a certain size. The Chamber opposed a mandatory approach, which would have been costly, contentious and created false, negative public perceptions regarding energy usage. Rather than malign businesses, the Chamber advocated for a voluntary program that could educate businesses about the benefits of benchmarking to reduce energy consumption and lower costs.

The Chamber commends city leaders for defeating a mandatory, combative approach, and working towards a collaborative, voluntary program that can do great things for both the city’s sustainability and private business goals. In particular, special thanks goes to Alder Matt Phair for his leadership on this issue.

The Chamber will continue to work with all stakeholders in the design, promotion and execution of the program.

Chamber Joins Federal Call to Action for Innovation

The Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce joined more than 250 organizations in business, education, science, industry and engineering in signing “Innovation: An American Imperative.”   This statement is a national call to action to strengthen federal policies as well as find sustainable investment channels for research and development that fund important innovation.  A similar statement was released in 2007. The Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce is the second city chamber in the country to sign on to the initiative.

CEOs from around the country joined the effort including signatories below:

• Samuel R. Allen, Chairman & CEO, John Deere
• Norman R. Augustine, Co-Chair, Restoring the Foundation
• Wes Bush, Chairman, President & CEO, Northrop Grumman
• Kenneth C. Frazier, Chairman & CEO, Merck & Co., Inc.
• Marillyn A. Hewson, Chairman, President, & CEO, Lockheed Martin Corporation
• Charles O. Holliday, Chairman, Royal Dutch Shell plc
• Joseph Jimenez, CEO, Novartis
• W. James McNerney, Jr., Chairman of the Board & CEO, The Boeing Company
• Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft
• Jay Timmons, President and CEO, National Association of Manufacturers

This initiative focuses on important areas of the Chamber’s most recent legislative agenda including:

• Ending sequestration’s deep cuts to federal investments in R&D
• Making permanent a strengthened federal R&D tax credit
• Reforming U.S. visa policy
• Stimulating further improvements in advanced manufacturing

For a complete copy of the statement, see here.