BURLINGTON — City voters returned three incumbents and elected the chair of the local business association to an open seat on the City Council in an election that largely preserved the status quo.
Queen City voters also approved the $85.5 million school budget and a $19 million, 10-year bond for school infrastructure and maintenance projects.
City Council President Jane Knodell, a Progressive, won a narrow victory to return to her Central District seat. Knodell beat out grassroots activist Genese Grill by 81 votes.
Caryn Long, a Ward 1 resident, was in the Central District Tuesday holding a sign supporting Grill. Long said she was hoping Grill and the other challengers would carry the day, bringing “balance to city government.”
Long said she feels the incumbents are in lock-step with Mayor Miro Weinberger on a broad array of issues, especially development.
“I don’t want a king, I want a democracy,” Long said.
After her victory Knodell said she believed voters returned her to office after looking at her experience in office — she said the election was not simply another referendum on the Town Center redevelopment project.
Knodell rejected claims made during the campaign that she doesn’t challenge the mayor, pointing to a fight over the arrival of the ride-hailing service Uber and opposition to several of Weinberger’s spending proposals.
Former Councilor Brian Pine, who worked on Knodell’s campaign, said he supported her because she is “the most effective and most studious city councilor.”
In the South District, incumbent Democrat Joan Shannon trounced her two challengers, Progressive Charles Simpson and independent Abdullah Sall, earning more votes than both of them combined.
“I’ve made a lot of connections in the community and that community really came out to support me, both in terms of votes and in volunteers,” Shannon said.
Richard Deane, a Democrat, won election for the East District open seat over Progressive Charles Winkleman, 436-382. Deane, an architect with the firm TruexCollins, serves as chair of the Burlington Business Association.
Deane could not be reached for comment Tuesday night, but has cast himself as a consensus builder who is in favor of thoughtful development.
Earlier in the day Rep. Joey Donovan, D-Burlington, correctly predicted the outcome of all four City Council races, suggesting that only a “vocal minority” opposed the city’s current direction on growth and development.
“We’ve already seen voters come out and support the mall redevelopment, so I think that question has already been answered,” Donovan said, standing outside Mater Christi School, the polling station in Ward 1.
Donovan was there to support Deane, her fellow Democrat, who won in a low turnout contest.
Only 134 people voted in Ward 8, which has more than 3,500 registered voters, but consists largely of the UVM campus and traditionally student housing.
“The UVM students register but they don’t stick around. They normally don’t vote in local election or on school budgets,” said Ward 8 Clerk Keith Pillsbury.
In the North District school commissioner race, incumbent Mark Barlow defeated his challenger Helen Hossely by a 2-1 margin.
Burlington voters also passed an advisory question calling on the Legislature to pass a statewide $15 minimum wage. They also voted to increase city councilor pay from $3,000 to $5,000, and an item that clarifies the mayor cannot vote on his or her own appointees. All passed by wide margins.
Though the school budget passed with 59 percent of the vote, it was rejected in the New North End, which is often described as more conservative than the rest of Burlington.
Republican City Councilor Kurt Wright, who represents Ward 4 in the New North End, said he wasn’t surprised by that result.
“They understood the need to do the bond for maintenance on our schools, especially around handicapped accessibility — but the school budget was too much for them. It shows their continuing concern about property taxes,” Wright said.
For full results from Burlington, South Burlington, Colchester, Winooski, Williston and Essex check out Channel 17’s results page.
