Editor’s note: This commentary by John Bossange of Burlington. Bossange is a retired school principal and currently serves on the King Street Center Board of Directors.
[T]he passion for ideological purity has been the foundation for political movements and parties throughout the history of America. For the past decade or so, we have seen the Tea Party drive the national Republican Party far to the right and become a party defined by a narrow set of rigid principles.
Here in Burlington, our Progressive Party is beginning to mirror that same narrow scope of thinking, only this time they are using their own philosophical purity to become obstructionists from the far left. Unable to compromise and reach a consensus with those holding differing opinions, our Progressives are behaving much like those Tea Party members on the right. Saying “no” to initiative after initiative that does not meet their purity standard has become their reason for being.
We can see evidence of this most recently in the case to “Keep [City Hall] Park Green,” a movement baked with deceiving information attempting to draw on the emotions of residents who want to save the trees for the people and fight City Hall. The battle over the future of downtown and CityPlace became another all-or-nothing debate, with the Progressives supporting the cause as a fight for the people against a big developer.
Both the Cambrian Rise apartments, where the developer is building affordable housing while selling 12 acres of park land to the city along the bike path, and the proposed “Southern Connector” highway, which will save neighborhoods on lower Maple and King Streets from traffic congestion, are both examples of projects with legacy benefits to our city. The Progressives see these initiatives as a loss of power and control.The recent sale of Burlington Telecom to a financially stable buyer makes financial sense, yet the Progressives see this, too as a loss for the people while backing a proposal that did not meet the financial standards of the state Utility Board for approval.
Progressives can’t see these projects for what they are: long-term investments for the health of the city. Because they are not their ideas, they only see wealthy investors making off with people’s money. They remain blind to the need for public-private partnership investments. They refuse to accept that it is not always possible for a small city like Burlington to manage large assets and make improvements on its own. The private sector should invest in our city and follow the strict scrutiny and guidelines set forth by residents through forums and by our city’s leadership teams.
Their ideological purity standard has made it difficult for them to settle into the mainstream of ideas and accept the democratic process of collective decision-making. Instead, when they don’t get their way, they obstruct, appeal and support lawsuits that meet their narrow standard of what they think is best for the people and the city. That type of entitled, elitist thinking harms a functional democracy.
It’s easy to stay on the sidelines and find reasons to obstruct. But we also know how challenging it is to address a problem in an inclusive manner, reach a consensus and carve out a solution that everyone can live with. True leadership takes courage, persistence to push against ideological purity from all sides, time, reflection and a willingness to sacrifice a bit.
The Progressives in Burlington have a history of not being able to do that, and given their recent Tea Party-like behavior, there appears to be little reason to expect things to change. Given Tuesday’s election results, let’s hope the Progressives can now see their way out of their philosophical box and put the needs of true representative government ahead of their need to preserve their ideological purity and newly elected power.
