BURLINGTON — Mayoral candidates Brian Pine and Max Tracy defined their support Wednesday night for more accessible public transportation, efficient energy systems and environmental policies that center on marginalized communities.
What the two City Council members didn’t define at the Progressive Party forum were any apparent differences between them on matters of policy or leadership style.
The forum was the first of three themed conversations that the party has scheduled for the month of November. Wednesday’s forum focused on environmental justice.
Pine of Ward 3, and Council President Tracy of Ward 2, announced their candidacies for the Progressive nomination when the forum announcements were published Monday night. The following day, Mayor Miro Weinberger also announced that he is running for reelection.
Independent Councilor Ali Dieng, Ward 7, is also running for mayor. But he has not yet indicated if he’s running with a party. During the discussion he commented on the Facebook live feed, but appeared to delete the comments afterward.
The Progressive caucus is scheduled for Dec.1, the Democratic caucus is scheduled for Dec. 6.
The forum was not framed as a debate, but rather as a conversation between the two candidates who often supported and mirrored each other’s progressive environmental visions.
Pine referenced Burlington’s environmental history, dating back to 1981 when he arrived on the University of Vermont campus. He said he began his work in environmental activism on campus when he helped found the Rising Sun Coalition, which he said was influential in decommissioning the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.
Pine previously served on the council from 1991 to 1995 and was elected again in 2018. For five years, he said he worked for the nonprofit Vermont Energy Investment Corp. in an effort to expand renewable energy sources to public buildings and low income people. He supports a weatherization program for Burlington that would include most rental homes.
“I am committed to expanding access to weatherization through creative financing mechanisms,” Pine said. The initiative would create green jobs for Burlington, he said. But without city investment, he believes the improvements could contribute to Burlington’s housing affordability problems.
“Unless we have a form of rent control,” Pine said, “if we simply impose a restriction or requirement for weatherization, without providing adequate financial incentives and resources, it will result ultimately in increasing rents.”
As someone who doesn’t own a car and primarily relies on walking and biking, Tracy said it’s been one of his primary goals to make Burlington a more walkable and bikeable city, thus reducing vehicle emissions. While progress has been made, he says the city needs more bike lanes.
“We know what we need to do, we need to create a real hub through downtown. So really dealing with Main, Battery, Pearl and Winooski. And then off of that having some additional spokes of bike lanes,” Tracy said.
“And I mean real protected bike lanes, because you won’t see people shift toward that mode of transportation who aren’t currently doing so unless they feel safe,” Tracy said.
Tracy, who has served on the council since 2012, is a labor organizer for the Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals. He emphasized how important grassroots momentum is to achieving the environmental changes he supports.
He contrasted his leadership style with that of incumbent Weinberger, whom he described as “top down” and elitist. “It’s been really focused on people with Ivy League degrees who are kind of experts, quote unquote,” Tracy said, referring to Weinberger’s administration. He said he wants to further democratize the city’s decision making and include the people’s voices.
He also criticized Weinberger’s handling of the F-35 basing at the South Burlington airport. Tracy said he fought hard to oppose the basing and protested the decision at Sen. Patrick Leahy’s office. (Leahy was a key supporter of the fighter jet basing.) He also introduced an unsuccessful resolution to limit noise from aircraft at the airport.
“It makes me angry honestly that we’ve had a mayor who has not only not opposed these, but has actually been advocating for them to come,” Tracy said. “As mayor I would want to put pressure on the congressional delegation and break the tradition that Miro has had.”
Pine said he would have advised the congressional delegation to move the F-35s away from the densely populated areas of Winooski, Burlington and South Burlington where the noise pollution impacts marginalized groups. Pine did not mention Weinberger during the forum.
