[B]URLINGTON — City Council President Jane Knodell, P-Central District, handily overcame a challenge for the Progressive Party endorsement in her council district race.
The Burlington Progressive Party Committee held a caucus Sunday at Edmunds Elementary School. Close to 80 people gathered in the cafeteria to discuss priorities and explore endorsements for the four City Council district seats up for election in March on Town Meeting Day.
Redistricting approved in 2014 reduced the number of council seats from 14 to 12 and created eight wards paired with four districts. Each district represents two wards. Ward and district elections are held in alternating years, with the district seat elections coming up in March.
Word began to circulate last week that an activist group — the Coalition for a Livable City — planned to pack the caucus and recommend one of its members as the Progressive candidate for Knodell’s seat.
The coalition clashed with Knodell over her support for new downtown zoning and the Burlington Town Center redevelopment project. City voters approved the new zoning Nov. 8, but the measure didn’t gain a majority in wards 2 and 3, which constitute the Central District.
Coalition for a Livable City member Tony Reddington reluctantly sought the Progressive endorsement Sunday night. “I was hoping someone else would step up,” he said.
During remarks before the caucus, Reddington touted his experience as a state housing planner in New Hampshire and his activism with the CLC. Reddington called the new downtown zoning a “horrible mistake.”
Knodell cast herself as a champion for equitable growth during a career in city politics that began in the late 1990s, and she characterized her support for the new zoning and the Town Center project as an extension of that work.
Knodell prevailed by a vote of 21 to 6, securing the caucus recommendation. The Burlington Progressive Party will make endorsements based on those recommendations early next year, party officials said.
In the South District, comprising wards 5 and 6, Progressives nominated Charles Simpson, another CLC member and a retired sociology professor. Simpson would face off with Democrat Joan Shannon, another supporter of the new zoning and the Town Center project.
In the East District, comprising wards 1 and 8, Progressives deferred any decisions. Incumbent Progressive Selene Colburn, who was recently elected a state representative, said she’d like to focus on her work in Montpelier but wants to make sure there’s a strong Progressive candidate to run for her council seat before making a final decision.
Councilor Adam Roof, I-Ward 8, attended the Progressive caucus Sunday and said he’s considering a run for the East District. He said he would welcome the Progressive endorsement but would also be courting Democratic support if he decides to run for the district seat.
Colburn said Roof faces a “steep bar” for earning Progressive support, because he currently caucuses with Democrats on the City Council.
Samantha Tilton, with her daughter in tow, said she was strongly considering a bid but needed to figure out child care arrangements before officially seeking the Progressive endorsement. Tilton, who works for the UVM Transportation Research Center, said she’s likely to make her decision early next year.
East District residents will caucus again in January to make an endorsement. Dean Corren, a former Progressive state representative and unsuccessful candidate for lieutenant governor in 2014, said the deferral is “typical Ward 1 behavior.”
“We start late and finish strong,” Corren added.
City Councilor Max Tracy, P-Ward 2, said the East District wards have historically been the terrain of pitched battles between Progressives and Democrats. He predicted the March election would yield a similar fight.
“I think that’s going to be the real battleground in terms of the four City Council races,” Tracy said.
Progressives made no recommendation for a North District candidate and appear unlikely to endorse in that race. The incumbent is independent Dave Hartnett, who was previously a Democrat.
Burlington Progressives also discussed their priorities for the coming year, which include safeguarding or improving the city’s inclusionary zoning law, which creates permanently affordable housing; raising the minimum wage; standing up to racism; and protecting Lake Champlain from development-related pollution.
Dave Zuckerman, a Progressive/Democrat who just won the lieutenant governor’s race, gave a speech early in the night exhorting Burlington Progressives to help provide the grass-roots muscle to push Progressive policy solutions to Vermont’s affordability crisis, which he noted was a hallmark of Republican Gov.-elect Phil Scott’s campaign.
“Phil Scott’s affordability agenda and when I’m talking about the struggles of working class people, the two aren’t that different,” Zuckerman said.
The differences come to light in the potential remedies. Where Scott wants to shrink government spending, Zuckerman said he would prefer to increase taxes on the wealthy to avoid cutting government services.
