The Burlington Democratic Caucus was on the high road to unity Sunday — until the third ballot dropped a roadblock in the way.
Beginning at 1 p.m. more than 1,300 local residents, a record-breaking number, packed Memorial Auditorium to choose a nominee for mayor. Two of the four candidates, State Rep. Jason Lorber and City Councilor Bram Kranichfeld, stepped aside after the early ballots with conciliatory concession speeches.
During the third round of voting, however, with the choice down to Airport Commissioner Miro Weinberger and State Sen. Tim Ashe, the process hit a wall. The issue was what constitutes a majority, based on caucus rules. With 1,083 people voting, down from 1,309 in the first round, three ballots were judged to be spoiled, thus depriving either finalist of a clear majority.
But that depended on how the rules were interpreted, and some Ashe supporters were not content. “We’ve been hosed,” said one as the candidates, their managers and legal counsel convened backstage at Memorial Auditorium to negotiate.
Ashe had received 541 votes, one more than Weinberger. The question became whether the spoiled ballots – at least two of them described by counters as write-ins – should be included as part of the total. In the end, party leaders opted to leave the decision on how to proceed up to the competitors. Ashe and Weinberger opted for a recount and, if no winner emerged, reconvening for a decisive vote in several weeks.
Under Caucus rules published on Nov. 4, “Any ballots cast for any candidate after the second round who has been eliminated as per the by-laws as the result of the vote in the second or any subsequent round, shall be considered a wasted ballot.” Yet that failed to resolve the question of whether wasted ballots should be included in the vote total.
Complicating the matter further, hundreds of voters left during the third round counting, in part due to a comment from the stage. Party Chairman Steve Howard noted that people could go home since there was sure to be a winner with only two candidates remaining in the race. Once the results were announced, volunteers for Ashe and Weinberger whipped out cell phones in an effort to bring supporters back.
By the time the recount was over, only a few hundred people remained. The outcome was a tie at 540 each, with five spoiled ballots and no winner. Huddled with reporters and TV cameras at the side of the stage, Howard explained that the party was bowing to the preference of the candidates in the interest of unity.
Decisions about the date and location of the reconvened caucus, as well as the critical question of who will be allowed to participate, will be handled by the party’s executive committee. Although it is possible that voting could be restricted to only those who attended the Nov. 13 event, representatives for Weinberger and Ashe say that it should include any Democrat who decides to attend.
According to Democratic Councilor Ed Adrian, it cost at least $5,000 to stage the Sunday caucus. Donations were collected in a huge plastic jar.
By 1:30 p.m. a line of people stretched down the sidewalk outside. Memorial Auditorium is located two blocks up Main Street from City Hall, the building Democrats hope to reclaim next March.
Inside, the candidates circulated as volunteers staffed literature tables and voters snaked their way slowly down long lines to a bank a registration tables. The plan was to speed up the process with computers, but for some reason that slowed things down instead. Eventually, the party abandoned the machines and signed people in by hand.
The official business began about 45 minutes later, but the mood was jubilant during the wait. People caught up with friends, or joked about being “Democrats for a day.” At one point Kranichfeld entered the hall at the head of a line of supporters brandishing signs and chanting “Let’s go Bram.” It looked and sounded like an old-time political convention.
After opening remarks by State Treasurer Beth Pearce and Secretary of State Jim Condos, each of the candidates was officially nominated. All delivered polished remarks that connected with the crowd.
Weinberger talked about moving Burlington forward, Lorber said he would lead with compassion, Kranichfeld promised that “Burlington is not for sale,” and Ashe, referring to local Democrats and Progressives, said that he is best equipped to “unite these unnaturally divided groups.” The division, a 31-year-old political feud that has produced bitterness on both sides along the way, still lurked below the surface on Sunday. Some Democrats said they would only passively support Ashe, who they still consider a Progressive, if he won; some Ashe supporters, despite the candidate’s pledge to back whomever wins, said they would have a hard time voting for Weinberger.
Oddly enough, Kranichfeld’s catchy “not for sale” remark echoed the 1981 campaign slogan coined by Bernie Sanders when he defeated Democratic Mayor Gordon Paquette, and Weinberger’s repeated “moving forward” comments were used by Progressives back in 1983, in that case to chide obstructionist Democrats on the City Council.
Ashe’s argument points to the fact that he is the only Democrat who can win the Progressive nomination, since he has previously run as one. For the first time in years, members of both groups were meeting, however unofficially, to see if they could, as Ashe put it, “end three decades of conflict.” Implicit in the remark was his pledge, if nominated as a Democrat, to challenge Mayor Bob Kiss as a Progressive should he decide to seek a third term.
“I’m as frustrated as you,” Ashe told the crowd, “about the lack of transparency at City Hall.”
Weinberger also voiced frustration, but his argument is that the city has been slowly losing its way, with financial missteps and stalled projects, since Kiss was elected six years ago. Stressing his combination of progressive values and business expertise, Weinberger sees his edge as a proven ability “to get projects done.”
The balloting began around 4 p.m. as volunteers with boxes fanned out through the huge building. Although as many as 1,500 people were present, not everyone voted. Some were volunteering or providing morale support, others just observing one of the largest political gatherings in years.
The audience was larger, said party officials, than the one that turned out in the same location for Peter Shumlin during his race for governor. In any case, they stayed longer.
By 5 p.m., after the first ballot results were announced, Lorber dropped out with a brief, upbeat speech. According to the caucus rules, he could have waited until after the second round. Ashe came out of top with 458 votes, followed by Weinberger with 391, Kranichfeld with 354 and Lorber with 106.
The second round total was 1,217, a drop of just under 100 people. Ashe remained ahead, picking up some of Lorber’s supporters to get 471. Weinberger was second with 390, and Kranichfeld gained two votes for a 356 total. According to party bylaws, however, the race was now down to the top two.
By the time the third round results were read the caucus had been going on for least four hours. Despite predictions that someone had to win this time, the one-vote margin, combined with ambiguous caucus rules, brought the proceeding to an abrupt halt. The mood of unity faltered as Teams Ashe and Weinberger convened onstage with party officials to unravel what was turning into a mess.
After about a half hour, Howard emerged with the two candidates to explain that the priority was “to be united and prepared to win.” Thus, the decision was left to Ashe and Weinberger, who agreed to an immediate recount. If the outcome didn’t change, Howard added, the caucus would be “suspended and reconvene within a month.”
Some people applauded, but a few expressed discontent. Since the voting itself was over, more people left.
The recount took more than an hour, and the result clarified nothing. Weinberger and Ashe were tied at 540. But since 1,085 people had voted, it took 543 votes to win, and now there were five spoiled ballots.
On Monday, the Burlington Democratic Party expected to hold a unity event at Main Street Landing. The caucus had been moved up from its usual December date to provide more time to campaign. Unity will have to wait, however, until the caucus is resumes sometime after Thanksgiving.
Weinberger was upbeat, happy about his showing and confident he can still win. Ashe expressed some frustration, about the outcome and the prospect of waging yet another campaign before the winner gets to face presumed Republican candidate Kurt Wright.
In the auditorium, the atmosphere had shifted slowly from elation to disappointment. Straggling out shortly before 8:30 p.m., people speculated on how, with weeks to plan this event, the opportunity to build momentum had been missed. Some even joked that the public, looking at the delay and disarray, might wonder whether a group that can’t complete a caucus can manage a city in financial distress.
But the prevailing attitude was guarded optimism about the prospect of electing a Democratic mayor for the first time since 1981. Adopting a phrase often associated with movement politics, more than one caucus-goer quipped that “this is what democracy looks like.” Sometimes, though, it did sound ironic.
Correction: Kranichfeld gained two votes for a 356 total in the second round, not 12 as we originally reported.