Hello District 8!

Hi everyone!

First and foremost, thank you all for your support during the campaign and especially the past three weeks as I've been transitioning into this new role. The messages of support have been overwhelming, and I'm excited to serve you as your new Alder!

For those who don't know me, my name is MGR Govindarajan, I'm an incoming senior at UW-Madison studying legal studies and political science, with a certificate in criminal justice. I've been involved in campus as a student advocating for affordable housing and increased mental health access the past almost-three years, and look forward to continuing that work as Alder. My goal this session is to serve the student body as best as I can, reach out to communities that haven't been reached before, and ensure that city policies have students' best interests in mind.

Since getting sworn in last Tuesday the 18th, I've received committee assignments and have been working hard to learn and understand my responsibilities -- while also balancing studying for upcoming finals. I serve on the following committees:

• Transportation Commission: From road speed limits, pedestrian paths, and lane changes, Transportation Comission has jurisdiction over those areas. There were previously multiple transportation-related committees that were merged into this Comission, so it has a broad area of jurisdiction. 
• Sustainable Madison Committee: The overall goal of this committee is to work with community members to make Madison more sustainable. I plan on working a lot with community and campus leaders on initiatives here, especially when it comes to coming up with specific policy proposals.
• Downtown Coordinating Committee: Encompassing most of campus, the capitol neighborhoods and more, Downtown Coordinating Committee covers most policy proposals that affect downtown Madison. A lot of these tend to be business-related, but incoming construction projects will also be on its radar. Tends to be an opportunity for community members to voice their concerns and bring up ideas.
• Joint Campus Area Committee: An interesting committee, consisting half of Mayor-appointed members, and half from Chancellor Mnookin. It focuses mainly on UW building projects that should meet city guidelines and provides community members an opportunity to provide input to UW projects. 

A word on my committees - I'm super thrilled to be serving on them. They all offer me a chance to get involved in different parts of the city and provide the student voice. However, I want to make clear that I can still focus on other areas throughout the City. I can still work on Mental Health and Affordable Housing projects, I just am not a voting member of those committees. As Alder, I can also attend any committee and speak to my heart's desire, I just won't be able to vote. 

Call to Action: If you are interested in getting involved in the city, please reach out by emailing district8@cityofmadison.com. There are multiple committees that could use young people to sit on, and I'd love to work with community members that are interested in sitting on committees.

Again, thank you all for your support. I will keep everyone updated on city projects as news arrives.