Dear Community Leaders,

In April, our neighborhood learned that we face a bleak future––one that will disproportionately impact those of us who are people of color, low income, and children, and leave our homes “incompatible for residential use.”

F-35 Joint Strike Fighters will soon rip through the place we live and love: Eken Park.

We know from personal experience that there is reason to be very afraid. When the current F-16s takeoff or maneuver overhead, our children cover their ears and scream. The aircraft are dangerously loud. Everyone agrees, even the Air Force, that the F-35s will be worse.

It isn’t our small homes, backyards, swing sets, neighbors, or kids that are incompatible for residential use. We do have a corrosive force in our community––but it isn’t us.

The Air National Guard violates nearly every value our progressive community claims to uphold. It is everything we strive to overcome.

It has polluted––perhaps permanently––our lakes and drinking water with PFAS “forever” chemicals. The DNR has found it in violation of spill and environmental remediation laws.

With at least six instances of sexual assault and harassment against female members of the 115th Fighter Wing’s Security Forces Squadron, the Air National Guard is a hive of violence against women. When someone tried to stop it, they were met with retaliation and reprisal.

And now, the result of a disgracefully undemocratic process, Madison may be subjected to a squadron of immoral machines, monuments to mass violence and corporate power. At this moment of pandemic and economic collapse, each of us knows the F-35s are a tragic misuse of resources. We need that money for the health of our families, community, and planet.

Neighbors: let’s stand together to stop this blight. The F-35s are not inevitable.

Community leaders: this is a test of your progressive values. Do everything you can. Creatively and vigorously use our collective power and resources––legal, financial, and otherwise––to protect us.

The Air National Guard is incompatible for residential use. It’s time we tell them to leave.

Sincerely,

Eken Park Co-Signers:
 
Tehmina Islam
Eugenia Maria Highland Granados
Omar Poler
Twyla Clark
Jakob Feltham
Jennifer Schroeder
Maggie Freespirit
Heather Good
John McCracken
Sara McKinnon
Emily DeClercq
Bernadette Conley
Dan Cox
Tracy Peterson
Anna Rue
Devin and Jen Martin
Jacquelyn Askins
Erin Teksten
Hayley Archer
Rainbow Marifrog
Rocio Morejon
Kristin Forde
Brian Ward
Kate Diamond
Sara Mader
Emilie Kalpinski
Joseph Perez
Tessa Echeverria
Beth Vander Meulen
Zack Brewer
Jamie S. Hawkins
Sophia Hansen
Grace Olson
Rev. Dr. Amanda Stein
Amy Kue
Julia Carlson
Alexander Swenson
Amanda Koch
Carlos Rivas
Amanda Postel
Keely Wrolstad
Katherine Overmyer
Mark Gordon Zipperer
Heather Butler
Anne Seeber
Roberto Yañez
Sydney and Joe Kamp
Danielle Skupas
Tyler Fassnacht
Diane Morris
 
Co-Signers from Emerson East, Hawthorne, Burke Heights, Westchester Gardens, Sherman, SASY, Lerdahl Park, Tenney-Lapham, Marquette, Eastmorland, Blooming Grove, Lake Edge, Glendale, Bay Creek, Crestwood, Old Middleton Greenway, Sheridan Triangle, Capitol View:
 
Ian Aley
Jessica D Dufault
Nathan Dufault
Taralie Peterson
Elrene Lund
John E. Peck
Lindsey Lund
Ellie Thomas
Barbara Vedder
Susan Kaye
Ali Hurckes Dwyer
Caleb Pourchot
Daniela Rumpf
Heather Green
Janet Parker
Julia Cechvala
Anita Temple
Kate Waterman
Douglas Renk
Samuel Annis
Ashley Hartman Annis
Megan Bjella
Kay Galuska
Bria Servoss
Gerardo Mancilla
Araceli Esparza
Richard Miller
Westchester Gardens
Charlyn Cruz Nuñez
Dennis Noonan
Clare Norelle
Stefania Sani
Jennifer Arzt
Carl Ham
Susan Frikken
Caitlin Reichelderfer
stephen perkins
Helen Rose Miesner
Brian Benford
Beth Racette
Richard Ely
Leah Evans
Donna Magdalina
Kimberly Tanudjaja-Smith
Kathryn Mazack
Pacia Harper
Ron Fisher
Aubrey Fisher
Lael Sheber
Pat Calchina
Serena Sato
Martha Worcester
Clare Mazack
Shaheen Sutterwala
Sara Christopherson
Jessica Becker
Forrest Voedisch
Erin Wilichowski
John Bell
Erin Schneider
Sharon Lezberg
Jannet Arenas Pineda
Madeline Hartjes
Hawley and James Kusch
Mary Lee Nelson
Amelia Baxter
Linda Hall
Elizabeth Roberts
Maureen Cassidy
Patricia La Cross
Christopher Burant
Heather Shimon
Christine Reichelderfer
Echnaton Vedder
Rebecca Lin
Andrew Rohn
Mark Warnick
Jennifer Warnick
Elizabeth Nunez
Karin Silet
Lucia Ledesma
Sally Herman
Meghan DeSpain
Cynthia Lin
Elizabeth Bruno
Kevin J Clark
Joanne Kirkland
Karen A Mullis
Jenny Seifert
Julia Weaver
Jeannine Ramsey
Marcia Yapp
Sam Breidenbach

*co-signers updated 3/21