Mayor's Office

Tonight, as we mark the anniversary of the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Madison, the City is honoring the Health Care Heroes who have carried us through the pandemic, including Public Health Madison and Dane County, and all the health care providers and staff at UnityPoint Health-Meriter,

I’m pleased to share with you some statewide recognition our City is receiving, because of the work of two strong women and their amazing staff.

UW-Madison is an important part of our community. In this era of COVID, we recognize that decisions made on campus will affect the rest of our community.

From the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, taking care of our homeless neighbors has been a priority. The City and County collaborated to get more than 500 vulnerable people off the streets and into safer settings that allowed for physical distancing.

I wanted to share a recent letter I sent to our Wisconsin congressional delegation as they consider funding for local governments devastated by the effects of COVID-19. Federal relief during this pandemic is crucial.

On June 3, I joined with members of the Madison Common Council and wrote to Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney to ask that he considering placing incarcerated individuals who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 into the healthcare system.

The letter is printed in full below.

It goes without saying that COVID-19 has presented an unprecedented challenge to our residents and our economy. This pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on the restaurant industry, having been unable to serve indoor or outdoor dining customers since March 23, 2020.

Last week, Public Health Madison & Dane County released Forward Dane, a phased reopening plan for Dane County during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Boating. Grilling out. Beverages. Picnics. Flags. Memories. Here in Madison, we know how to celebrate the start of summer. But summer this year will be different from any in our lifetimes.

I wanted to let you know that here at the City of Madison, our staff have worked thousands of hours responding to the COVID-19 pandemic – transporting people to the hospital, working on contact tracing the ill, setting up emergency shelters for the homeless, supporting essential workers with bus

Equity is a top priority for the City of Madison. Our communities of color have disproportionately felt the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and businesses owned by people of color here are struggling.

Today, Janel Heinrich, the Director of Public Health Madison and Dane County issued a “Forward Dane County Plan,” a road map for how and when our county will open its economy based on the progress the community makes on a series of metrics including our testing rate, our positivity rate and the p

Last evening, I was pleased to join Public Health Madison & Dane County (PHMDC) Director Janel Heinrich and Dane County Executive Joe Parisi as a new countywide public health order was issued to protect the health and safety of residents.

On April 20th, Governor Evers released the Badger Bounce Back plan – a multi-step, data-driven plan to reopen the economy while protecting everybody’s health.

Friday Good News Updates

It is Friday, and as promised, I want to share some good news as we begin the weekend. I am pleased to announce the unveiling of the City’s new initiative LOOK FORWARD.

Thank you again for staying home, for maintaining social distance when you need to go out and for wearing facial coverings. You are making a difference as we work to flatten the curve.

While we are all staying home due to COVID-19, interest is surging in home gardening. Many people sheltering in place are looking for things to do to keep themselves – and their kids - occupied.

On April 20th, Governor Evers released the Badger Bounce Back plan – a phased and data-driven plan for re-opening Wisconsin’s economy. The plan calls for a number of criteria to be met in order to move the next phase of re-opening the economy.

I really like the idea of ending the week on a positive note, so let me start by again saying thank you! Thank you for staying home, for maintaining social distancing, washing your hands regularly and wearing a face covering when you need to go out.

All we want right now is a return to some semblance of normalcy. We want to see our loved ones, go to work, and send our kids to school. But even more than that, we want to know that we and our loved ones are safe.

COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, starts when someone is infected, likely by the virus being carried in droplets from an infected person’s cough, sneeze, or breath.

Back in 1918, Wisconsin was struck by a devastating respiratory illness about six weeks before the end of World War I. Like today, a virus was being spread simply by the droplets emerging from people’s mouths when they coughed or sneezed.

As we continue to receive new and evolving information on COVID-19/coronavirus, many aspects of our daily work and personal routines are requiring adjustments. The unpredictability and changes in routines resulting from COVID-19 is creating stress in the workplace and with our families.

The partnerships, the creativity and the kindness offer a silver lining to this pandemic and Safer at Home order. As the weeks wear on, I think Friday is a good day to share positive updates. Please send me yours at mayor@cityofmadison.org.

I know many of us are getting weary of staying home and physical distancing during this pandemic, but look at the chart below to see how our Safer at Home efforts are working. We are indeed flattening the curve, but we need to continue to do so. Thanks for your efforts and patience!

On April 22, we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day. Earth Day has a long and proud history here in Wisconsin. Our own Senator Gaylord Nelson help create Earth Day and spread grassroots environmental activism around the country at a time when rivers were so polluted they caught on fire.

Badger-Bounce-Back it’s a clever title, but what does it mean?

Yesterday’s fire on our City’s west side serves as a stark reminder that our first responders continue to place themselves in harm’s way in order to keep us safe throughout this pandemic.

I was speaking to a group of employees who are hit hard by this pandemic this week, and although I could not talk about a specific end to this challenge, I did share that if there was a silver lining, it was that we have all formed so many partnerships.

We made it through an election during a pandemic! It was certainly not an election I would have chosen to hold, but despite the risks, thousands of area residents exercised their right to vote.

While we work together to stay healthy and support each other, I wanted to share that there are many City services and work continuing. We have hundreds of employees deployed in the field performing essential services. Hundreds more are teleworking to keep the business of the city going.

Acting rapidly to protect the homeless community and prevent the spread of the virus, the City of Madison and Dane County worked swiftly to launch a concerted effort designed to protect highly vulnerable, unhoused persons during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As we work together to protect each other and our community, I am asking local businesses and residents to help provide cloth face coverings for essential city staff who cannot work from home.

I am asking for your patience and vigilance as you follow our public health orders and maintain strong physical distancing and social solidarity.

The polls for our spring elections closed at 8:00 pm on Tuesday, April 7, and we now all wait to hear the results of our votes on April 13, the date by which all absentee ballots must be received (they also must be postmarked by April 7).

As I write this message, I am heartened that Governor Evers has issued an Executive Order delaying our election, but along with you, I await the next ruling from the courts before I breathe easy.

April 2, 2020

One of the bright spots in these troubled times is the great work City staff are doing for each other and our community. I want to share a few of these stories with you, and I encourage you to share more with us.

The COVID-19 pandemic has often brought out the best in people, however we have also seen troubling behavior directed at Asian Americans in our community. I will not cite specific instances as I never want to call attention to these expressions of hate.

The City’s Department of Transportation—Traffic Engineering, Metro Transit, and the Parking Utility—have had to respond rapidly to changing needs in our community over the past 10 days.

Madison is Asking a Federal Court to Postpone the Election, Consider Mail-in Ballot

Staff from the City of Madison are continuing to partner with Public Health, Madison & Dane County (PHMDC), as well as the County Executive’s office, local schools, the State of Wisconsin and federal agencies to “flatten the curve,” protect the public and lessen the effects of this pandemic o

The 2020 Census is here. As so much of our focus is appropriately on our community response to COVID-19, it remains critical that everyone who lives in Madison and Dane County completes the census and is counted.

The City and County are collaborating to protect residents that are without housing, most of whom are served through the shelter system.

It’s interesting to think back several weeks when we had not even heard of the term ‘social distancing’. I’m not a fan of the term – I prefer social solidarity and physical distancing. But whatever you call it, it’s now part of our everyday lives.

The City of Madison has been working around the clock since before the first Dane County case on February 5th to slow the transmission of the COVID-19 virus and protect our community.

First I want to say that my deepest sympathies go out to the families in Wisconsin who have lost loved ones to this virus and I want to thank the Governor for taking further steps today to stress the seriousness of this situation.

During this public health emergency, the City of Madison is focused on making sure our most vulnerable residents continue to have reliable access to food.

Voting is one of our most important democratic responsibilities and rights. And while the COVID-19 pandemic raises a host of unique challenges to voting this year, it remains just ask important as ever.

The City’s most immediate actions in response to the quick moving COVID-19 crisis have been to develop critical emergency operations, support our front line workers, and create responsive childcare, food, and housing systems for our community’s most vulnerable populations.

The City of Madison is deeply involved in the coordination of childcare arrangements for medical personnel, protective service members and essential City services staff.

The City of Madison has been working around the clock since before the first Dane County case on February 5th to slow the transmission of the COVID-19 virus and protect our community.

Sharing this important information from Public Health of Madison and Dane County