While Miro Weinberger added Gov. Peter Shumlin to his growing list of prominent Democratic endorsers last week in the race for Burlington mayor, Kurt Wright provided a deeper look at the unusual political alliance he is creating, and identified some players in a possible City Hall team.
Republican Charlie Smith has been a key financial advisor from the start. Wright also has the backing of North End Democrats like John Ewing, the former chair of Smart Growth Vermont, and David Hartnett, his campaign manager, the second Ward 4 councilor and owner of the Jolley Short Stop, a Mobil gas station and popular gathering spot in the north end of the city.
Last week Wright added lawyer Sandra Baird, a former Green Party candidate, as a backer and prospective member of his transition team, and called opponent Wanda Hines a likely pick for a key role in his administration. Her current boss, Community and Economic Development Office Director Larry Kupferman, would be fired. Wright also wants major changes at Parks and Recreation and the Public Works departments.
The Republican has acknowledged the potential political edge provided by Hines’ presence in the race, but says that he sincerely respects her work and has known her for years. Her candidacy is apt to attract more Progressive and independent voters than Republicans or Democrats, and a three-way race makes it easier for someone to win with little more than 40 percent of the vote.
In January, Wright’s campaign manager helped Hines obtain enough signatures to get her name on the ballot by putting her petitions out near the cash register at his business, according to a witness.”
In his 2009 race, Wright received 32 percent. In 1981 Bernie Sanders won with just over 40 percent and a 10-vote margin.
Hines and Hartnett are also friends. They first crossed paths at Burlington High School decades ago and have stayed in touch. In January, Hartnett helped Hines obtain enough signatures to get her name on the ballot by putting her petitions out near the cash register at his business, according to a witness.
Responding to rumors about their relationship last week, Wright insisted that there was “no collusion.” However, he retreated slightly from an offer to give Hines “a key role in the administration.” Questioned on a morning radio show last Wednesday, he clarified, “Wanda would be someone I’d strongly consider.” Although he intends to overhaul CEDO, Hines might stay in her current post promoting social equity investment.
Hines has mixed feelings about the offer. On the radio, she didn’t hesitate to accept “any position” where she “can continue to contribute to my community. Yes, I would. People, you know, paint Kurt as this bad guy. I don’t think Kurt is a bad guy.”
Reached by Seven Days reporter Paul Heintz later the same day, she reconsidered and told him the offer was inappropriate, “especially when I’m running against him.” She might accept it anyway, but in the meantime her message to Wright, through Heintz’s blog, was that “all of us will look at the options after the election.”
Endorsements and allies
Wright sometimes questions the value of political endorsements. “I won’t be getting big time endorsements from governors and senators,” he predicted in December, just after Weinberger nabbed the backing of former governors Madeleine Kunin and Howard Dean. However, he does frequently bring up the significance of those he has won, especially from the police union and “some of the best developers.”
Since December Weinberger has also received the backing of U.S. Rep. Peter Welch and Sen. Pat Leahy. Wright hasn’t focused on endorsements from leaders of his party, preferring to convey the message that he is independent and nonpartisan. Vermont Democratic Party Chair Jake Perkinson, a Burlington resident, disputes that image, describing Wright instead as a flip-flopper who has helped to prolong a “destructive culture of denial” in the city.
After meeting with the candidates, the firefighters union decided not to back anyone. At this point the only major endorsement not yet claimed is that of the state’s No. 1 independent, Sen. Bernie Sanders, whose support (or silence) could well determine the outcome of the race.
Burlington’s Progressive Party, which has chosen not to run a candidate for the first time since 1991, could also endorse. Steering Committee members, plus invited progressives notables, were slated to meet privately with the candidates this weekend. Public backing for Wright is unlikely, but Weinberger is also a long-shot given statements by Party officials. Not taking an official position is the most likely option.
Wright pledges to create a “tri-partisan administration.” He also recently claimed quiet support from some progressives “who won’t say so publicly.”
But Baird and Hines don’t fit the description of either progressive or, in Baird’s case at least, even a fan of the left.
A teacher and attorney respected for her advocacy work on many issues, Baird served two terms in the Vermont Legislature. In 1989 she ran for mayor, representing the Green Party in the first race won by Peter Clavelle. In 2009 she endorsed Wright rather than Kiss. In the Democratic caucus last fall she was for Councilor Bram Kranichfeld, and subsequently endorsed Weinberger.
In the current issue of 05401, a Vermont magazine produced by architect Manni Leoni, Baird explains her philosophy. Socialism is a utopian dream “to expand the power of the state to redistribute wealth,” she writes, and the American left has ignored the “radical struggle for freedom.” Turning to Burlington, she accuses the city’s progressive mayors of “centralization of power more than real improvements for the citizens of the city.”
In contrast, she believes that Wright’s skills and experience will bring people together. “I have worked with Kurt for many years on issues including the waterfront, domestic violence, crimes against women and men, and civil liberties,” she says. Wright has made domestic violence a key talking point, and promises to “appoint a member of my staff to focus on this issue. Sandy will also be helping on my transition team in regards to all these issues.”
Responding to word that Wright may give Hines a job, Ward 4 activist Lea Terhune disputed the suggestion that she is either left-wing or a spoiler. “Wanda dances to her own beat, she’s no lefty, and she’s nobody’s spoiler,” Terhune wrote. “This proud good woman simply decided to run for mayor, she’s got a plan, and it’s not dang-awful head-achy complicated.”
Wright’s choice of Hines for a key job is “an example of the kind of management team he would bring to City Hall,” Terhune added. “We can’t get distracted by petty issues, blown out of proportion by eager newsmakers.”
The TIF conundrum
Terhune serves on the Ward 4 NPA Steering Committee and has worked on numerous community projects. Recently, she has been as a vocal critic of city finances, charging that the mayor, his staff and the CEDO are withholding information. She is actively promoting a Burlington Finance Summit planned for Feb. 22.
The event will be keynoted by Auditor of Accounts Thomas Salmon, who has criticized Burlington for declining to answer his questions about its management of cash and internal controls. Participants will include City CAO Scott Schrader, School Department CFO Karen Groseclose, State treasurer Beth Pearce, as well as the three candidates for mayor, who are expect to discuss their financial plans.
Mayor Kiss will provide the welcome for an evening apt to feature fierce attacks on his administration’s record.
Terhune’s view comes through best in recent Twitter comments. On Feb. 5, for instance, she questioned the value of recent public hearings on charter changes. “Thse pblc hrngs = proof of public input? Say what? Trash democracy.”
Several days later she tweeted that Ward 1 Councilor Sharon Bushor, along with CEDO, “mislead vtrs about TIF, repeat lie ‘no new debt’ & ‘vtrs can decide debt later.’ Voters beware!” Later the same evening, she wrote that “CEDO & pol-hacks deceive vtrs w/ trick language.” The next day she noted that residents may assume they can obtain financial information, “but if Mayor/CAO withhold info, council is helpless. Change that!”
Wright says that his management style is to “take things on an individual case-by-case basis.” On the new tax incremental financing (TIF) district for downtown Burlington that concerns Terhune, the approach has moved him from solid support to a rushed attempt to remove it from the March ballot, and most recently, back to guarded support.
On Dec. 6, the proposed item, a request to borrow up to $10 million “by pledging the credit of the city” for downtown public improvements designed to generate tax revenue, easily won “tri-partisan support.” But once word leaked about Salmon’s pending audit, Wright moved to reverse the council’s decision. Nine other councilors agreed, but the mayor declined to submit and instead challenged the legislators to educate the public about an initiative they claim to support.
Last Thursday, TIF came up at the candidates’ forum during a joint Ward 2 and 3 NPA. Weinberger said he remains a strong supporter. Wright expressed concern “about it going down,” explaining he still likes TIF but “even developers wanted to wait.”
Hines saw a “red flag around the whole scenario,” and said “voters have a right to vote it down.” But she wasn’t sure about the details.
Unanswered questions
Hines frequently declines to provide substantive answers to questions, explaining that she hasn’t had enough time and will know more once she is elected. At a recent Free Press debate, however, a defining campaign moment revealed that she may not have a sufficiently firm grasp of some issues, according to reporter Sam Hemingway.
Asked whether city finances are being handled properly, she replied, “Well, I’m undecided at this point,” then spoke about trust before eventually concluding, “I can’t speak for the finance team. … I’m not there, I don’t know.”
Wright also had some trouble with his answer, specifically with distancing himself from financial missteps that “occurred when he was on the council and was in a position to have done something about it,” Hemingway noted.
Weinberger, who can come across as cautious and equivocal at times, sounded clear and assertive in his criticism of the administration’s lack of due diligence or “proper skepticism.”
At the Ward 3 forum Hines even declined to say who she supports for president in the upcoming primary. She called the question an invasion of privacy. “I’m not going to tell you who I’m going in the booth to vote for city council or board commissioner or anything else,” she said. “It’s my right.”
Wright followed her lead, but added that he actually hasn’t decided “who I’m going to support. I’m not certainly happy with what I’m hearing out of the Republican primary now. I think it’s an embarrassment. But I’m going to stick to Burlington issues. I think that we need to focus on Burlington.”
Weinberger didn’t hesitate before declaring himself “a proud supporter of Barack Obama.”
Wright on the issues
“My basic philosophy is Republican,” Wright acknowledges. But he adds that his approach is moderate, centrist and mainstream.
His main argument is that the city’s Progressive administration has not been open or honest, and that he has the required experience and familiarity with local government mechanics to restore stability.
Weinberger charges that, as a council member and president, Wright has been part of the political leadership that created the problems he now promises to solve.
In forging alliances with Hines and Baird, Wright hopes to appeal to liberal and left-leaning residents concerned about issues affecting women, minorities, young voters, and newcomers to the city. In recent months, however, he has cast City Council votes that suggest another set of priorities.
In September, for example, he backed Mayor Kiss in the debate over his attempt to forge a partnership with Lockheed Martin, a leading military contractor. Wright opposed community standards that would have excluded Lockheed, and supported the mayor’s veto.
In December, he led an effort to challenge the use of Penny for Parks money to build an improved skate park, but insisted that it was not an attempt to derail or delay the overhaul. “Citizens have felt that they haven’t been represented,” he explained.
Advisory votes usually go nowhere, Wright said, a position at odds with Burlington’s tradition of sending messages on national and global issues.”
He also opposed an advisory ballot item, introduced by Progressives and Democrats, that urges the state and federal governments to adopt revenue and investment policies that reduce wealth disparity and make large corporations pay a fair share of taxes. Wright claimed that he appreciated the intent but felt the wording was “too vague.”
Advisory votes usually go nowhere, Wright added, a position at odds with Burlington’s tradition of sending messages on national and global issues. The underlying argument being made, by Wright and others, is that the council should not spend so much time on matters beyond the typical scope of local government, or place them on the ballot.
The cornerstone of Wright’s campaign is a bold proposal to investigate the sale of the Burlington Electric Department. The goal, according to his literature, is to address the city’s problems “without tax increases.” If the price is right and “the buyer’s environmental ethics are as good or better than we have today, then the issue would go before the voters to decide,” says a campaign brochure.
Sen. Tim Ashe, a Progressive/ Democrat legislator who narrowly lost the Democratic nomination in the hotly contested mayoral caucus, called Wright’s BED sale idea “totally half-baked” and “insane.” Weinberger has said much the same. He sees BED as a major success story and notes that “a lot of damage has been done by poor privatization.” Wright nevertheless insists that their positions are not far apart.
