The year is 1998. Michael Verveer is a 30-year-old member of Madison’s City Council, serving the heart of the city’s downtown.
He is the articulate public voice for the many students in his district who oppose stricter controls on alcohol. When the police announce in September that they have written their first tickets under a new policy to the hosts of an off-campus party with underage drinkers, Verveer tells The Capital Times that “some of my constituents are now facing several thousands of dollars worth of fines for a crime that I don’t think is that bad and that has been going on at the UW for more than four decades; namely, inviting friends over to celebrate a football game.”
….Fast forward to 2008. Madison’s economic revitalization has continued, and the face of downtown has changed as well, with many young professionals and “empty-nesters” moving in to hundreds of new condominium units.
….Verveer is not the only politician whose thinking on downtown alcohol issues has evolved in the past few years. The makeup of the Alcohol License Review Committee itself is a sign of how Mayor Dave Cieslewicz’s views on alcohol enforcement have changed.