Ilstrup made his announcement Tuesday morning at the Neighborhood House Community Center, where he served on the board for more than a decade. A longtime figure in Madison’s business community, Ilstrup began his career as a bellman at the Madison Concourse Hotel, later opened HotelRed, and now leads Downtown Madison Inc.

His platform includes changing city policies such as zoning to address housing affordability, cutting regulatory steps and fees to help people start small businesses, and improving the city’s responsiveness to residents.

Ilstrup joins a field that now includes eight confirmed candidates. They are former City Council members Brian Benford and Syed Abbas; former Dane County Board member April Kigeya; One City Schools CEO and founder Kaleem Caire; athletic trainer and Monkey Bar Gym owner Jon Hinds; hospitality and food service director Larry Williams; and former Golden Gloves boxer and east side bartender Marcus Johnson.

Kigeya, who announced her bid in September, is running on a platform that challenges Madison’s reputation as a city with affordable housing, good-paying jobs, and a responsive city government. She said she hopes to reform city government so it “listens, responds and delivers for working people.”

“The challenges facing our city are real. But so is our ability to solve them,” Kigeya said in a press release. “When we listen to one another, bring people together, and put working families at the center of our decisions, we can build One Madison, where all of us belong and all of us can thrive.”

Benford, a former north side representative, said he was inspired to return to local politics after stepping back in 2023 by what he described as a lack of leadership following the Madison police shooting of Corey Ruiz on July 22. He is running a campaign fueled by the “people’s power,” emphasizing social justice, racial equity, and transparency. Benford has decades of experience as a social worker and currently works as a success coach for UW-Madison’s Odyssey Project.

Abbas, a former City Council president, announced his candidacy in late August. He works as the deputy legislative director for the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and lists housing, fiscal responsibility, social and environmental justice, and transportation as his priorities.

Caire announced his campaign in late September and said he has been considering a run since the 1990s. He is running on a platform of bringing independent politics and leadership experience, finding solutions to local problems, diversifying the city government workforce, strategizing with regional partners, and expanding homeownership opportunities.

Candidates for spring elections have until January 5 to file their final paperwork before the primary on February 16. The two candidates with the most votes will advance to the April 6 general election.

The mayor’s office oversees a local government corps of about 3,000 workers serving roughly 300,000 residents. Mayoral terms are four years, and there are no term limits. The mayor acts as the city’s chief executive officer, responsible for recommending policy to the City Council, breaking tie votes, and vetoing legislation. The mayor also ensures municipal laws are enforced, appoints department leaders and some committee members, and chooses deputy mayors who act as liaisons for agencies.

Half of the City Council—the odd-numbered districts—will also be up for election in April. A primary will be held in February, with the top two vote-getters in each race advancing to the general election.

Beyond police accountability and racial disparities, voters are expected to weigh several persistent issues in the spring election, including affordable housing, public safety, community input, transparency, municipal spending, and social justice.