Wis. mayor proposes 1st motto for capital of Madison: ’77 square miles surrounded by reality’

MADISON, Wis. – The mayor of Wisconsin’s capital city is proposing it adopt its first official motto: 77 square miles surrounded by reality.

The phrase is a take on former Republican Gov. Lee Sherman Dreyfus’ jibe that “Madison is 30 square miles surrounded by reality.”

The city is known for its liberalism and quirkiness. In 2009, it adopted the plastic pink flamingo as its official bird.

Dreyfus was running for governor in 1978, when he took his dig at the city. Paul Soglin was mayor then and is mayor again now.

He tells the Wisconsin State Journal (http://bit.ly/135bG6R ) that he told a Dreyfus aide the statement was wrong, not in sentiment, but in square mileage. The city had grown.

Soglin says his proposal shows the city has a sense of humour.

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Information from: Wisconsin State Journal, http://www.madison.com/wsj

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