Matt Van Eperen

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Matt Van Eperen

Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

April 4, 2023

Education

Bachelor's

Marquette University, 2017

Law

Marquette University Law School, 2020

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Matt Van Eperen ran for election to the Madison Common Council to represent District 3 in Wisconsin. He lost in the general election on April 4, 2023.

Van Eperen completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Matt Van Eperen earned a bachelor's degree from Marquette University in 2017 and a J.D. from Marquette University Law School in 2020.

Elections

2023

See also: City elections in Madison, Wisconsin (2023)

General election

General election for Madison Common Council District 3

Derek Field defeated Matt Van Eperen in the general election for Madison Common Council District 3 on April 4, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Derek Field (Nonpartisan)	62.0	3,044
		Matt Van Eperen (Nonpartisan)	37.2	1,827
		Other/Write-in votes	0.7	35

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,906
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Madison Common Council District 3

Derek Field and Matt Van Eperen defeated Stephanie Salas in the primary for Madison Common Council District 3 on February 21, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Derek Field (Nonpartisan)	43.1	1,296
✔		Matt Van Eperen (Nonpartisan)	31.5	946
	Submit photo	Stephanie Salas (Nonpartisan)	24.1	725
		Other/Write-in votes	1.2	37

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,004
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2023

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Matt Van Eperen completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Van Eperen's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Matt Van Eperen is a father, husband, community member, and candidate for Madison Common Council District 3. After graduating from Marquette University and Marquette Law School in Milwaukee, Matt and his wife Kayla married and moved to Madison for their careers. Their son David joined them in 2022, and Matt began looking for more ways to get involved so that Madison continues to be a safe, equitable, and healthy place to live. Matt decided to run for Common Council to move Madison forward and solve problems facing the community like the housing crisis, public safety, economic prosperity/equity, and more. Matt got a glimpse of how politics affects the community and individuals while interning for Congresswoman Gwen Moore's District Office, and believes local civic engagement has the most power to change lives for the better.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Housing Affordability / Security. As our city (and county) continue to grow, we need to ensure that there is sufficient housing inventory and that such inventory is affordable. Currently, Madison is facing a crisis as there is low total housing inventory, and affordable housing is even more scarce. We need to ensure folks that want to live here can.
• Public Safety / Justice. While Madison is generally ranked high on the safest places to live, that does not mean we shouldn't focus on criminal behavior or the underlying factors that put public safety at risk. We need to build trust and engagement between community and law enforcement, ridding the city of bad policing tactics but ensuring that law enforcement has the tools it needs to work with the community towards the goal of safety. We also need to examine underlying causes of crime (e.g. mental health, food security) and other non-criminal public safety risks (e.g. transportation, environment).
• Economic & Social Mobility / Equity. We need to support good jobs at fair wages. We need to ensure equitable access by small businesses to the resources it may need to grow, and remove barriers to small business growth. The city's budget should reflect diverse needs and not create further disparities between folks in our community.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Matt's public policy passions include housing inventory/affordability/security, transportation and infrastructure, small businesses, community investment, policing/public safety, and education.

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.

See also

2023 Elections

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Candidate

Madison Common Council District 3

Website

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