Madison Progressive Voices is a show that focuses on those all-important things that are often lost in the media addiction to national and state politics: local politics and local issues. You can catch this new program Tuesdays at 3:30 am, 8:00 am and 1:30 pm.
The producer, Rick Richards, has since retirement in 2005 become very involved in local politics and issues and currently is the chair of the Progressive Dane Economic Issues Task Force and vice-chair of the board of Dane Buy Local
Rick also has a long career in information technology including employment at IBM, at the State of Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development and as an instructor at Madison Area Technical College. He spent several years foolishly trying to earn a living as an actor in the early 1970's.
January's Madison Progressive Voices program was a documentary about the local Progressive Dane political party. February's consisted of three parts: person-on-the-street interviews, a discussion of future goals by members of the Progressive Dane party, and a discussion of the barriers to third parties achieving ballot status by University of Wisconsin professor Joel Rogers. The March, April and May programs deal with making local government more accessible to the public by showing recent Progressive Dane teaching forums about how the City Council works (March), how the County Board works (April), and how the city and county budget processes unfold (May). Future shows will deal with how citizens best can interact with the Madison School board and issues such as the following, taken from the city and county platforms of Progressive Dane:
Open and Democratic Government; Efficient, Effective Government; Public Health; Sustainable Economic Development; Responsible Land Use; Safe, Efficient, and Accessible Transportation; Affordable Housing and Tenant Rights; Protected Civil Rights and Liberties; Tax Justice and Local Sovereignty
