[B]URLINGTON — The race for Burlington’s Ward 3 City Council seat is getting crowded.
Lizzie Haskell, 21, a recent University of Vermont graduate who has worked with Burlington Democrats for years, announced her candidacy Tuesday.
She faces both independent [Jim Lockridge], executive director of the music incubator Big Heavy World, and Progressive Brian Pine, a former Ward 3 councilor and current financing consultant for the Vermont Energy Investment Corp., in the three-way race for the seat Sara Moore is vacating in March.
“The biggest part of my platform, and the biggest reason as to why I am running, is I want to be accountable to all voters,” Haskell said. “A lot of people aren’t feeling heard by the current city government.”
Haskell was president of the UVM Democrats during her undergraduate days, and has served on the Burlington Democratic Committee since fall 2015. She has held a number of committee posts with the local and state Democratic party, and picked up an endorsement from Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George, according to a news release. Haskell said her platform is similar to her competitors’.
“I don’t think there are major differences there,” Haskell said.
Pine announced his candidacy after Ward 3 incumbent Sara Moore, a fellow Progressive, said in a Facebook post in November that she would not seek re-election in March. Pine, who was part of a group who urged Moore to run three years ago, had earlier said he would not challenge her should she run again. Lockridge announced his candidacy in September.
“I have known for over a year now that I am not the best person for this position at this time, maybe ever,” wrote Moore, formerly Sara Giannoni. “I have gone through a few significant personal changes in my life which (have) made keeping up with my city council duties incredibly challenging.”
Pine was the Ward 3 councilor from 1991 to 1995 and the city’s housing director for 17 years, he said, and has coached youth baseball for years.
Lockridge has consistently advocated preserving the music venue 242 Main, which had been housed in Memorial Auditorium on Burlington’s Main Street. The auditorium has been condemned, putting the future of what some call the country’s oldest all-ages punk venue in limbo. Pine also included saving Memorial Auditorium in his platform.
Pine won the support of Ward 3 Progressives at their December caucus over Lockridge. All three candidates intended to seek the endorsement of Burlington Democrats at their caucus this weekend, but Pine said in a text message he was unaware of a filing deadline and missed it, taking his name out of the running.
All three candidates say their platforms are similar. Pine and Lockridge have been highly collegial, often complimenting each other’s commitment to the ward and to the city. They recently produced a video featuring both candidates delivering a message of joint civic responsibility.
“We might be competing for a seat on the city council, but no matter who wins, we are proud of each other for stepping up to run, and to serve,” Pine said, with Lockridge over his shoulder. “We hope to set a positive example for what Burlington politics can be.”
The two candidates end the video with a fist bump, smiling.
Burlington voters go to the polls to pick a mayor and councilors from all eight city wards and on Town Meeting Day, March 6.
