Hello from your new District 3 Alder

Hello District 3 residents,

I’m Derek Field and I’m honored to have begun the role of Alder for our district earlier this week after being elected in the 2023 Spring Election. I’m writing this post to tell you a little more about me, describe what I hope to work on, and provide information about how you can get in touch with me with questions or to raise concerns.

I grew up on my family’s farm in Blue Mounds, WI and developed my work ethic and leadership skills as a youth leader in 4-H. I moved to Madison in 2012 to attend UW-Madison, where I studied Economics and Political Science. During my time on campus, I participated in shared governance and student activism on issues like college affordability, student food insecurity, student voter registration and civic participation, and other campus issues. I then earned my Master of Public Affairs degree from UW-Madison’s La Follette School of Public Affairs in 2017. Today I’m an Institutional Policy Analyst in UW-Madison’s Office of Data, Academic Planning, and Institutional Research, where I use data to answer analytical and policy questions about how UW-Madison serves its students. My fiance, Derek Schmidtke (don't worry, it's less confusing than it sounds!) and I bought our house the Hiestand Park neighborhood in early 2021. We have two cats and love gardening, cooking, camping, and hiking. We'll get married here on the East Side of Madison next fall.

My term representing District 3 on Common Council began earlier this week on Tuesday, April 18th. Along with serving on Common Council, the Mayor appointed me to the Plan Commission, the Public Safety Review Committee, the Committee on Housing Strategy, and the Greater Metropolitan Planning Organization. I will also closely follow proceedings on the Water Utility Board, the Finance Committee, the Transportation Commission, and others as they discuss business relating to our district. I will work very hard to serve our district by representing our interests and working on the challenges we face like rising housing costs, public safety and traffic safety issues, and more.

My predecessors set a very high bar of service to this district and detailed, helpful communication, and I will try my very best to meet that standard. I will communicate about City decision-making with regular blog posts including supporting data wherever possible, and via occasional updates to the District 3 Facebook page. I will also make every effort to attend neighborhood meetings and events in the district, host neighborhood meetings about City-related projects, and be responsive to your emails and calls when you need to reach me.

Thank you for reading this far down my lengthy post! I met many of you at your doors this spring and hope to continue seeing you around the district and at events. Please don’t be shy! You can email me at district3@cityofmadison.com, or you can call or text at (608) 729-4037. This contact information is also available on the District 3 Alder page. Gratefully,

Derek Field