Behind the Scenes with Madison’s City Council: A Series | District 1 | Maura Wroblewski

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January 18, 2022

Welcome to All Things Madison’s “Behind the Scenes with Madison’s City Council” series. Each week for seven weeks, All Things Madison will feature one of Madison’s city council members and share about their roots in Madison, what led them to run for their position, what projects they are tangibly working on to better our community, and much more. To discover what district you reside in and learn who your district’s councilmember is, please click here.

When Maura Wroblewski moved to Madison in 1999, her focus was on establishing new roots with her family in an unfamiliar city and sending their son off to kindergarten at West Madison Elementary.

Two decades later, Wroblewski has not only solidified her roots here in Madison, but she’s proudly serving as councilwoman for District 1.

For Wroblewski, serving as an active community volunteer was something that came easy to her because many of the opportunities revolved around her two children, Zach and Sarah.

“As my kids grew, I wanted to be as involved in their lives as possible,” she shares.

Wroblewski served as a PTA member and officer at their elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as coached her son’s baseball team at Palmer Park.

“I was actually the first female baseball coach within the Madison Baseball Association,” she shares proudly.

Throughout her years serving the city in various capacities, Wroblewski says that she began to see opportunities for improvement within her own district. She notes that the first time the city council ever piqued her interest was all the way back in 2004 when she was aware of a certain city deliberation she had a strong opinion about and wanted to give her two cents about.

She never stopped thinking about the opportunity to be a voice for her district and the city as a whole via serving on the city council, so she finally ran and won her seat to serve as the District 1 councilwoman in 2016. She was then re-elected in 2020.

“I had three goals when I started in 2016,” Wroblewski shares.

First, she desired to have a way for the people who lived in the apartments on Gillespie Road and Wall Triana to safely walk to school, the library, Kroger, etc.

Next, she wanted to improve the intersection at Balch Road and Gillespie Road.

Finally, she wanted to see an increase in District 1’s green spaces.

She is thrilled to report that all of these goals and more have been given great attention, with sidewalks being added along Wall Triana, a new roundabout on Balch/Gillespie that replaced a four-way stop (“I shed a tear of happiness every time I drive through it!” she says.), and more greenway space at the Mill Creek Greenway between Oak Stone and Foxfield neighborhoods.

For Wroblewski and several other council members, serving the city is their full-time job. When asked how she would describe what she tangibly does for those who are unfamiliar with what the role of a city council member is, she says that her job is “to speak up for the concerns and needs of our districts in particular and our city at large.”

She explains that city government is highly important because of the role that it plays in one’s daily life as a resident of our community.

“I can help you with so much more than Montgomery can or Washington D.C. can. I can help with potholes, street lights, and other things that are impacting your life.”

She says that if she hears about a need that is outside of her district, she will work diligently to find a representative who can give attention to that specific matter.

“We are able to focus with a rifle shot the direct needs and wants of our community,” Wroblewski says when explaining how she acts as an immediate link between city residents and those that can make things happen in Madison.

Wroblewski shares that the city council is the legislative branch of city government and that their number one task is to approve the budget. She says that throughout the year there are also a number of ordinances that come before the council that they have to work through.

She says that one of the biggest fires they have to put out (no put intended) is dealing with fireworks, which Madison does not allow.

“Our city has a lot of retired veterans with PTSD. These fireworks lead to a horrible night for them as well as every dog in Madison.”

To read more about the fireworks ordinance in Madison, click here.

As for what’s next on Wroblewski’s “wish list” of items to tackle, she says that she is keen on completing the Mill Creek Greenway extension from Oak Stone to Bridgefield. She is also excited to see construction begin on the next round-about, which will be located at the intersection of Burgreen Road and Huntsville Brownsferry Road.

When asked what she loves about her job, she answered without hesitation.

“The people,” she says. “This city has a ‘can do’ spirit, an involved spirit. We have people that are passionate about our schools. We are not a disassociated community. We are intelligent and passionate.”

She also says that she loves to give information and help people stay informed, which is why she enjoys staying active on social media.

“Even when you’re giving bad news, you’re still giving some news, which is important,” she says.

Wroblewski also praised the City of Madison’s Communications Specialist Samantha Magnuson and how well she disperses information city-wide.

“She does an absolutely fabulous job,” remarked Wroblewski about Magnuson.

When Wroblewski isn’t busy working on city-related tasks, she enjoys spending time with her husband Ron of 31 years. She also enjoys fostering cats.

Wroblewski is also exceptionally proud of her children. Her son Zach is now a school teacher in Roswell, Georgia and married to his wife Megan. Her daughter Sarah is a Staff Sargeant in the Air Force and will return home from a seven-month deployment soon. She is stationed in Charleston, South Carolina.