BURLINGTON — City Council candidate Ali Dieng secured the Democratic endorsement Thursday in the Ward 7 special election scheduled for June.
Dieng, 35, won by a landslide vote at a Ward 7 Democratic Caucus held at the Robert Miller Community Center. Fauna Hurley, chair of the Burlington Democratic Party, said that the caucus drew a larger crowd than is typical for a ward caucus.
“We had a lot of New Americans, which was wonderful to see,” Hurley said.
Dieng, who is West African, is drawing residents from the New North End’s growing immigrant community into the political process, she said. If he wins, Dieng would be just the second New American to serve on the City Council, and he is the only current non-white member.
The other two people who sought the Democratic endorsement, Chris Trombley and Loraine Carter-Lovejoy both plan to throw their support behind Dieng, Hurley said.
Miro Weinberger, Burlington’s Democratic mayor, is also backing Dieng.
“I have known Ali for several years and been impressed with his work at Parent University. I called Ali this morning to congratulate him on his decisive caucus victory, and am excited to support his candidacy in the days and weeks ahead,” Weinberger said in an email Friday.
Dieng, who is the family outreach coordinator for the Burlington School District, said he was energized by Thursday’s vote, but the campaign is only just getting underway.
Dieng will face off with Republican Vince Dober, who held the Ward 7 seat from 2009 to 2013. It’s possible other candidates will join the race as the filing deadline is May 22.
Progressives will hold a caucus to make their own endorsement, and Dieng said he plans to seek their support as well. Dieng said several people have asked which party he would caucus with if he’s endorsed by both.
“Right now I want to focus on winning, so who I will caucus with I still don’t know,” he said.
