Politics of a protest: Madison leaders say encampment must end as governor candidates weigh in
MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) — More than a week after demonstrators set up an encampment along one of the busiest streets on Madison's east side, city leaders are calling for the occupation to end.
Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway has not indicated whether police officers or other city workers could be used to remove people and property from the middle of Williamson Street.
In a statement Friday, she instead called for occupants to "voluntarily" remove the barricades, tents and tables that currently span a little more than one block.
The encampment was established in response to a Madison police officer fatally shooting Corey Ruiz on July 22.
Cellphone videos showed Ruiz struggling with four officers before one officer shot him three times in the head from close range. Police later shared a photo of a fixed-blade knife they said Ruiz used to cut the officer who shot him.
The demonstrators have said they will not leave the intersection where the shooting occurred until the officer is criminally charged.
In the following days, Madison leaders decided to use dump trucks to secure the perimeter of the protest, and the city brought in portable toilets as more homeless people joined the occupation.
Rhodes-Conway said in a statement Friday that the encampment was causing "real, possibly irreparable harm to local business owners and community services."
The occupation has also forced firefighters and EMTs to reroute some of their responses because a fire station is located two doors west of the encampment.
Dane County Supervisor Yogesh Chawla said local officials were negotiating with protest leaders and community groups to bring the encampment to an end.
"We're working as a community to do everything we can to de-escalate violence," he said.
Chawla and the alder who represents the area, Davy Mayer, said one sign of progress was the St. Vincent de Paul thrift store reopening Friday morning. The shop is located inside the encampment area.
"We were ensuring their trucks can get in and out," Chawla said. "They have a big backlog after being closed for a week, and they serve one in five people in Dane County."
The protest and the governor's race
U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, the presumptive Republican nominee for governor, has highlighted the issue. He has accused Democrats and leaders of the progressive city of failing to take meaningful action.
"Instead of ending the illegal encampment, the city of Madison is providing porta-potties and shutting down public streets to accommodate it," Tiffany posted on X Thursday. "This is Wisconsin's capital city — our leaders should be enforcing the law and restoring order, not allowing lawlessness to disrupt people's livelihoods."
Tiffany's campaign did not respond to an interview request from CBS 58 Friday.
Each of the four remaining Democratic candidates spoke to CBS 58 about the encampment Thursday or Friday. That includes the front-runner based on recent polling, state Rep. Francesca Hong, D-Madison, whose district includes the encampment site.
"Protest is a form of direct democracy, and I haven't yet talked to some of our folks there," Hong said when asked whether the occupation should end. "What I'm hearing is we want to make sure everyone is safe, and Tom Tiffany should be focusing more on stopping Mr. Mining and selling out the people of Wisconsin to Donald Trump."
State Sen. Kelda Roys, also of Madison, did not directly address whether the encampment should be removed. She instead accused Tiffany of playing politics.
"My heart breaks for the loved ones and family of Corey Ruiz and also for my community, my city of Madison, which is really suffering from this tragic event," Roys said. "And I think it's shameful that any political leader would try to politicize this or use it to their benefit."
Joel Brennan, a former cabinet official during Gov. Tony Evers' first term, called for a measured response to the situation in Madison.
"I felt for the individual involved and his family. Those are things I think we all feel," Brennan said. "And there are ultimately things about that that we need to make sure we can get done, but there's also a point at which I'm running for governor. I'm not running for activist-in-chief."
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley is now running second to Hong in recent polling after former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes suspended his campaign Thursday.
Crowley said proper communication was the only way to end the street occupation peacefully. He referenced protests in Milwaukee and some of its inner-ring suburbs during the summer of 2020.
"You balance it through communication. You balance it through trust," Crowley said. "When we had different protests happening here within Milwaukee County, we were out there having the conversation, letting folks know about the issues that could potentially happen."