Click here to read the Madison Eagle endorsement.

For their experience, their community involvement, and their positions on borough policies, we wholeheartedly endorse Democrats Carmela Vitale and John Hoover for the two seats on the Madison Borough Council up for election Tuesday, Nov. 7.

Incumbent Carmela Vitale, a four-term council member and twice Council President, is a Madison treasure. Her experience spans every facet of borough government, including finances, budget management and the delivery of services and public improvements residents deserve. Her involvement extends to the environment, historic preservation, borough parks and senior citizens.

Most telling, perhaps, is that residents turn to Vitale with neighborhood problems, and quietly, behind the scenes, she listens, and works to get answers and solutions. No community has a better public servant, and Madison is fortunate to have the opportunity to re-elect Carmela Vitale.

John Hoover’s immersion as a volunteer in Madison’s civic life is no less noteworthy — service on the Downtown Development Commission (DDC), the Economic Revitalization Committee, the Strategic Planning Operations Committee, the Board of the Madison Alliance Addressing Substance Abuse (MAASA), the Board of Health and the Senior Citizens Advisory Committee.

Many residents may know Hoover best as the welcoming and helpful on-site manager of the Madison Farmers’ Market each Thursday downtown — and, like Vitale, he is committed to the revitalization of Madison’s downtown.

Two issues that have drawn a sharp line between the Vitale/Hoover ticket and the campaign of Republican candidates Ronald C. Hendrickson and Denis W. Schreiber are the practical value of the surplus generated by the borough-owned electric utility, and the moral value of the “Welcoming Community” resolution passed by the council in February. In this campaign, only Vitale and Hoover understand that the use of surplus restrains taxes and debt while funding needed infrastructure upgrades, such as road repairs. Only Vitale and Hoover understand that the “Welcoming Community” resolution guarantees residents will not be denied municipal services on the basis of their immigration status — a principled, and legal, stance against the tide of fear flowing from the White House.

For the best interests of this community: Elect Carmela Vitale and John Hoover to the Madison Borough Council on Nov. 7.