Bobby Gronert
Bobby Gronert is running for election to the Madison Common Council to represent District 8 in Wisconsin. Gronert is on the ballot in the general election on April 7, 2026. The primary for this office on February 17, 2026, was canceled.
Gronert completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Bobby Gronert earned a high school diploma from Shorewood High School. Gronert's career experience includes working as a student.[1]
Elections
2026
See also: City elections in Madison, Wisconsin (2026)
General election
The general election will occur on April 7, 2026.
General election for Madison Common Council District 8
Bobby Gronert (Nonpartisan) and Ellen Zhang (Nonpartisan) are running in the general election for Madison Common Council District 8 on April 7, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Bobby Gronert (Nonpartisan)  | |
| Ellen Zhang (Nonpartisan) | ||
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Nonpartisan primary
The primary scheduled for February 17, 2026, was canceled. Bobby Gronert (Nonpartisan) and Ellen Zhang (Nonpartisan) advanced from the primary for Madison Common Council District 8 without appearing on the ballot.
Endorsements
Gronert received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here.
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Bobby Gronert completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Gronert's responses.
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- The housing crisis in Madison is out of control, and with our city growing fast, requires swift, strong action. We cannot continue to trust the developers and landlords who create and profit off of the housing crisis to fix it. Housing is a human right, and we should approach it as such, building high-quality public housing all over Madison. I applaud the Housing Forward initiative for being a good first step, but we must do more.
- The climate crisis forces us to redesign our infrastructure and the way our cities are designed, giving the coming generations an opportunity to radically rethink what a city can be and how it can function. Now is the time for Madison to take over our utilities, returning the power to the people and allowing us to decide how our power is generated. Now is the time to begin thinking of what a car-free Madison looks like, expanding bus lines, adding trolleybuses, trams, and commuter rail, and improving our already walkable streets.
- Centrists and moderate Democrats were unable to stop Trump and his rising fascist tide; unable to abolish ICE, provide healthcare for all, and give us a Green New Deal. Only socialist red can stop the far-right; only radical empathy can defeat the forces of hate. We must protect our city from Trump and his fascist thugs, while being a shining city on a hill demonstrating what a politics that centers and provides for the people can look like. It is not enough to simply be a "Sanctuary City" and refuse to work with ICE. We must actively oppose ICE, and fight for those most vulnerable.
Max Prestigiacomo(Former D8 Alder)
UW-Madison Young Democratic Socialists of America
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign website
Gronert's campaign website stated the following:
Our Platform
Here is how Bobby will fight for you
Affordable Housing / Bringing Down the Rent
Bring Down Rent, Build Public!
Luxury apartment developers get millions of dollars in tax breaks and loans from the City of Madison, only to then rip off students with exorbitant rents. Madison is in desperate need of housing, especially downtown and close to campus, so that students, young workers, and new families can afford to live in the greatest college town in America. While private landlords continue to operate for profit, Bobby will increase funding to the Community Development Authority (CDA) to build publicly, allowing our city to finally have apartments that working people and students can truly afford.
Build Upwards, Not Outwards!
Life in Madison revolves around campus and downtown; yet arbitrary building height restrictions limiting buildings to only three stories force students into housing far from campus. Every student deserves the opportunity to live near campus and downtown. Bobby will fight to remove cumbersome building height restrictions, so that Madison can build up, not out.
Affordable Housing, Not Luxury Hotels
At a time of sky-high rents and inadequate supply, the last thing Madison needs is more luxury hotels. The old MATC campus lot, just steps from the State's Capitol, provides a perfect opportunity to build hundreds of affordable housing units right in the heart of Madison. Bobby will fight to make sure that this lot is used for affordable housing — not another luxury hotel.
Housing is a Human Right
We are experiencing a crisis in homelessness in Madison. But instead of finding safe, affordable housing for every unhoused member of the Madison community, our Council just voted to destroy the most successful homeless relocation campground in our city. Bobby will fight to rehouse the people of Dairy Drive and build permanent solutions to end homelessness in Madison.
Tenant Defense Counsel / Stand up for Tenants!
The system is skewed in favor of powerful landlords. Only 3% of students can afford to hire an attorney to protect their rights, while over 80% of landlords hire eviction attorneys. When a landlord doesn't solve a pest issue, unjustly withholds security deposits, or refuses maintenance requests, renters have nobody to advocate for them. But it doesn't have to be like this. Bobby will create a Tenant Defense Counsel staffed by city attorneys ready to do just that — defending renters from exploitation, fighting unjust evictions, and negotiating obscene rent raises.
Public Safety
Safer Drinking Environments / End Bar Raids!
Cops have better things to do with their time than to cite and arrest students. When the MPD engage in bar raids and mass citations, they drive students into unsafe drinking environments and increase the risk of sexual assault. They also hurt local bars, which are cultural centers and small businesses that see their razor-thin profit margins destroyed. Bobby will direct the MPD to focus on harm reduction — not student punishment. By ending bar raids and mass citations, we can move towards safer drinking environments.
Mental Health Task Force
Armed MPD officers aren't the answer to severe mental health crises; cops should handle criminals, not the homeless or distressed. That's why instead of relying on excessive force and violence, Bobby will create a Mental Health Task Force staffed with trained and compassionate social workers. This task force will respond to non-violent mental health crises and will work to prioritize de-escalation and rehabilitation for Madison's homeless community. Bobby will also fight to address the root causes of crime by expanding mental health resources and increasing funding for drug rehab centers.
Eliminate Waste in the Police Department
While police play a vital role in public safety, it is important that we finally address the wasteful spending in the MPD. Our tax dollars shouldn't go towards funding riot gear or training police officers who leave the department after only a few years. Studies show that reinvesting police budgets into mental health resources not only improves public safety for our Black and immigrant communities, it decreases the overall crime rate. Bobby will go line-by-line and eliminate wasteful spending in the MPD.
Expand Late Night Bus Service
Late night buses aren't just a matter of convenience — they're vital for public safety. An expanded network of late night buses will ensure students get home safely without having to walk alone in inclement weather or spend the night on a friend's couch.
Green Madison
Truly Public Utilities
Madison Gas & Electric (MG&E) is a legalized monopoly here in Madison, leeching off of residents who have no other options for their power and gas needs. Control over the power grid would allow Madison to aggressively pursue green energy solutions and ensure affordable energy bills. Bobby will put MG&E under city ownership, making it a truly public utility company.
Expand Green Transit
Madison's bus network is already a backbone of the city, allowing students and young workers to get around town without requiring a car. To continue building toward a green future for Madison, we should consider electrified, more efficient solutions like trolleybuses and trams, making our city more climate-friendly while reducing operating costs.
Commuter Rail
Madison is growing rapidly, and bringing the whole of South-Central Wisconsin along with it. We need to be ready to build out a transit network to support those commuting to work from Dane County suburbs like Middleton and McFarland, as well as some of our biggest potential economic partners down in Rock County in Janesville and Beloit. Bobby will push to study the viability and cost of commuter rail, enabling future city governments to put our plans into practice. Working with other local governments, we can lay down the track to put our communities on the right track.
Protect Our Neighbors and Fight Fascism
Establish ICE-Free Zones
Our immigrant communities are under attack by the fascist thugs in the Oval Office. Bobby has a three-step plan to keep our immigrant neighbors safe: 1) Bobby will fight hard to strengthen community defense coalitions in Madison to support our immigrant communities and to fight against ICE raids. 2) Bobby will work to establish 'ICE Free Zones' by preventing MPD collaboration with ICE and banning Trump's thugs from using city lands to conduct mass kidnapping operations. 3) Bobby will increase accountability against MPD officers who refuse to comply with identification requests.
Abortion Rights' Defense
The decision to terminate a pregnancy is an incredibly personal, private, and difficult decision, and Bobby believes it should stay that way. Bobby will work to support local and regional Abortion Funds, to help provide logistical, financial, and legal aid to those making this decision. Bobby will also work to ban the MPD or City Attorney's Office from working with any out-of-state law enforcement agencies surrounding abortion-related conduct.
Lakeshore Path Lighting
Student safety in pedestrian areas should be priority #1 for UW-Madison. But for years, the university has delayed and made excuses for lighting the Lakeshore Path. Bobby will fight to light the Lakeshore Path and increase pedestrian safety for Lakeshore students.
Democratizing Madison
A People's Budget
Democracy isn't simply showing up every few years to vote — it's creating community centers that keep our neighbors engaged in local politics. It's ensuring that working people and students are involved in the budgeting process, so that our governance truly represents all of its constituents. Bobby will fight for Madison to implement participatory budgeting so that Madison citizens can directly participate in drafting fiscal year budgets.
Fight State Preemptions
Ten years ago, Scott Walker and State Republicans used their gerrymandered supermajorities to unilaterally overturn a series of laws democratically passed by Madison, including a minimum wage increase and tenant protections. Bobby will direct Madison's city attorney to challenge state preemption laws and win back Madison's right to govern itself.
— Bobby Gronert's campaign website (March 6, 2026)
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on January 29, 2026
