The political baptism came with fire.As a 26-year-old, freshman City Council member, Bridget Maniaci helped shepherd one of the biggest, most controversial and polarizing projects in Madison history â?? the Hammes Co.â??s $98 million redevelopment of The Edgewater hotel. Maniaci, who ousted veteran Ald. Brenda Konkel, the cityâ??s most relentless progressive, in the spring of 2009 to represent the Near East Sideâ??s 2nd District, spent her first year in office in a high-stakes political pressure cooker amid a whoâ??s who of city power brokers. Early on, she warmed to the project and eventually became a champion, some calling her advocacy courageous and others suggesting she was manipulated by a savvy developer, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and council leaders who supported the project. Maniaci, who graduated with bachelorâ??s degrees in political science and economics from UW-Madison and is a manager for Empire Photography on Monroe Street, had interned for Cieslewicz and worked on local campaigns but had experienced nothing like the Edgewater saga â?? closed-door meetings with â??men with sizable egosâ? and â??women who have mastered the art of put-downs.â?
Office of Strategic Communication