Satya Rhodes-Conway has won a second term as Madison's mayor, beating out her opponent Gloria Reyes in a race that saw issues like affordable housing and public safety take center stage.
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MADISON, Wis. -- Satya Rhodes-Conway has won a second term as Madison's mayor, beating out her opponent Gloria Reyes in a race that saw issues like affordable housing and public safety take center stage.
Rhodes-Conway, who was first elected in 2019, declared victory Tuesday night after Reyes called to concede less than two hours after polls closed. With 96.8% of precincts reporting, Rhodes-Conway led Reyes by roughly 11,000 votes.
In her victory speech, Rhodes-Conway focused heavily on her plans to continue the work she started in her first term.
"We're working on the things Madisonians care about," she said. "We hear from folks every day; we're going to keep right on doing that and serving the people of Madison."
Reyes, who previously served as Madison Metropolitan School Board president and as a deputy mayor under former mayor Paul Soglin, said in her concession speech she was disappointed with the outcome but didn't consider the race a loss.
"You see, I was not supposed to make it this far," Reyes said. "Significant barriers that life threw at me but still remained determined and resilient to ensure that the hard work of my parents was not in vein. I am so proud of the campaign we ran and the issues we brought to the forefront of this election."
Reyes launched her campaign with a focus on public safety, saying she was concerned about what she saw as a rise in crime. Rhodes-Conway touted priorities of hers -- including significant changes to the city's public transit system -- as proof of her leadership.
Madison's housing shortage also took center stage throughout the campaign, with Rhodes-Conway and Reyes taking different stances on a pair of zoning changes that Madison's Common Council passed to allow for more flexibility in local housing options.
During February's spring primary, Rhodes-Conway received 60% of the vote while Reyes got 28%. A third candidate, longtime city employee Scott Kerr, got 12% of the vote during that same race.
Satya Rhodes-Conway
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Winner
Gloria Reyes