Progressive Dane is an independent, progressive

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

in Dane County, Wisconsin founded in the fall of 1992. Focusing exclusively on local elections, Progressive Dane endorses candidates and lobbies for issues decided on by its membership. It currently boasts seven members of the

Madison Common Council Madison Common Council is a city council of the legislative branch of the government of the Madison, Wisconsin, City of Madison in Wisconsin. The Madison Common Council consists of 20 Alderperson, Alderpersons elected from 20 wards of the United S ...

, three members of the Dane County Board of Supervisors, three of the seven members of the Madison

School Board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

and one member of the Fitchburg Common Council. It has tenuous relationships and substantial membership overlap with the

Wisconsin Green Party The Wisconsin Green Party (WIGP) is one of five recognized political parties in the state of Wisconsin and is an active member of the Green Party of the United States. History The Wisconsin Green Party emerged in the late 1980s when several i ...

. Elections in all of the above entities are non-partisan; no party names appear on ballots, and there are no party primaries held. Thus, while Progressive Dane calls itself a political party, the question of whether to support or oppose nominees of the Democratic, Green or other parties does not arise. Progressive Dane has both a city and a county party platform. Revised in 2011, Progressive Dane's county platform lists many progressive policies such as living wages and economic development, open and democratic government, public safety and protection, land use, transportation and environmental protection, affordable housing, quality human services and efficient, effective government. Progressive Dane's city platform was last revised in 2010 and it identifies the following goals and principles: Improve quality social services and public health; seek sustainable economic development, progressive tax justice and responsible land use; provide safe, efficient, accessible transportation; support affordable housing and tenant rights, an open and democratic government, and support employment rights of city employees and protect civil rights and liberties. The party has received harsh criticism from such local media as the ''

Wisconsin State Journal The ''Wisconsin State Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Madison, Wisconsin by Lee Enterprises. The newspaper, the second largest in Wisconsin, is primarily distributed in a 19 county region in south-central Wisconsin. As of September ...

'' and won plaudits from local progressive media, including The ''

Capital Times ''The Capital Times'' (or ''Cap Times'') is a digital-first newspaper published in Madison, Wisconsin by The Capital Times Company. The company also owns 50 percent of Capital Newspapers, which now does business as Madison Media Partners. The o ...

''. Progressive Dane achieved a high level of electoral success in the early-2000s, when Madison mayor and Progressive Dane member

Dave Cieslewicz David J. Cieslewicz (; ; born February 17, 1959), commonly referred to as Mayor Dave during his term, is an American politician who was the mayor of Madison, Wisconsin from 2003 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Personal life an ...

remarked, "For all intents and purposes, they are the ity’sgoverning party right now." In 2022, the party reported seven members on the twenty-member

, four on the thirty seven-member Dane County Board of Supervisors, and one member on the seven-member Madison Metropolitan School District Board of Education.Our Elected Officials
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References

External sources

Progressive Dane website
{{United States state and local political parties Regional and state political parties in the United States Political parties established in 1992 Political parties in Wisconsin Dane County, Wisconsin Progressive parties in the United States 1992 establishments in Wisconsin