[B]URLINGTON — First time candidate Ali Dieng scored a decisive victory Tuesday in the Ward 7 special election, winning by a two-to-one margin over his closest rival.
Dieng, who received the Democratic and Progressive nominations, defeated Republican Vince Dober 610-302. Independent candidates Ellie Blais received 47 votes and Chris Trombley received 29.
Dieng scooped up big endorsements in the final days of the campaign — from U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Mayor Miro Weinberger — but speaking just after the results were announced, he credited his team of volunteers for the victory.
“We worked very hard, and when you work very hard great things happen,” Dieng told reporters.
Twenty more people voted Tuesday than in March on Town Meeting Day, and both major party candidates spent roughly $2,600. Turnout was 24 percent at 989.
Vermont GOP Executive Director Jeffrey Bartley acknowledged Dieng’s hard work in a congratulatory Tweet.
Congrats @diengali. Hard working candidate. #BTV https://t.co/SKkMCo5XvB
— Jeffrey Bartley (@JeffreyBartley) June 27, 2017
Dieng will replace outgoing City Councilor Tom Ayres, a Democrat, who announced he would be resigning the Ward 7 seat in April to take a new job in Randolph.
Dober had previously held the Ward 7 City Council seat from 2009 to 2013. His campaign spent $1,789 and the Vermont Republican Party kicked in another $824 bringing the total to $2,613; Dieng’s campaign spent $2,622. Dober had several high profile donors. He received $500 from local real estate mogul Ernie Pomerleau and $1,000 from Republican donor Lenore Broughton.
However, Dieng benefited from the support of dedicated volunteers including Mark Larson, a former state representative and Shumlin administration official, and members of the advocacy group Rights and Democracy.
State Rep. Jean O’Sullivan, D-Burlington, also pitched in to help boost Dieng. “This was the most exciting City Council election we’ve had in years. My god, eons,” O’Sullivan said while waiting for the results to be announced.
Part of the excitement around Dieng’s candidacy stems from that fact that he will be only the second City Councilor from Burlington’s new immigrant community, which has been growing rapidly since the city became a refugee resettlement area in the 1980s. He will also be the only person of color on the City Council.
Dieng, a U.S. Citizen, was born in Mauritania and raised in Senegal. He met his wife, Angela Smith-Dieng, while she was serving in the Peace Corps. The two were married in Mauritania in 2005, and moved to the United States in 2007.
Dieng is the family outreach coordinator for the Burlington School District and manages Parent University, a program that teaches parenting and life skills like budgeting and first aid.
As a city councilor representing Burlington’s New North End, Dieng will be thrust into a debate over a bike lanes on North Avenue that he said he wholeheartedly supports, but which has drawn the ire of some residents.
Dieng said he plans to build the relationships he established with Ward residents during the campaign, and said he would continue to solicit their input as a councilor.
Correction: An earlier version of this story stated incorrectly that Dieng had only one pledge of more than $100, he received multiple.
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