Mayor Miro Weinberger received the nod from Democratic voters at a party caucus Sunday evening to be their nominee in the 2021 mayoral race.
During his speech Sunday, Weinberger told voters that he’s successfully led the city through a pandemic and intends to lead Burlingtonians out of it. He also told voters he wants to see through the city’s reckoning with racism and policing reforms.
He received 330 votes from caucus-goers; 58 undervotes or abstentions were also cast. He’ll be facing off against City Council President Max Tracy, Ward 2, who earned the Progressive nomination this past Thursday, and independent City Councilor Ali Dieng, Ward 7, on the March 2 Town Meeting Day ballot.
Kienan Christianson also knocked Kerin Durfee out of the North District City Council race, 162-97.
In doing so, Christianson may have cost the Democratic Party a seat on the council, previously held by outgoing Franklin Paulino. It depends on what party Christianson plans to associate with in the general election, as he also received the Progressive nomination earlier this week for the council race. He had previously told VTDigger he may run as an independent.
The Democratic Party also renominated incumbent Joan Shannon, who represents the South District. Shannon is being challenged by Progressive Grace Ahmed, who was also nominated at the Progressive Caucus this past Thursday.
Tiki Archambeau, who’s on the Public Works Commission, is the Democratic City Council candidate for the Central District, challenging incumbent Progressive Perri Freeman.
Nominated by an almost-competitor
At Sunday’s caucus, Weinberger was nominated for the mayoral race by C.D. Mattison, a local web designer and board member of LGBTQ advocacy group Outright Vermont.
At the beginning of her speech, Mattison noted that she had seriously considered running for the Democratic nomination for mayor, and she had a series of conversations with Weinberger about whether she should run against him.
Mattison told VTDigger in late November that she had decided against running, but she didn’t feel pressured by Weinberger to drop her candidacy. Rather, she said, Weinberger had persuaded her that he’s the right person for the job.
“He’s been good at the head work,” Mattison said in November, such as helping the city recover from its financial crisis stemming from the Burlington Telecom scandal. “But it’s really connecting from the hearts that people need right now because everyone is not OK. … I’m going to hold him accountable to that.”
She echoed that sentiment Sunday in her caucus speech. She said Weinberger has built a financially strong city that’s been nimble enough to respond to the pandemic.
She said he’s also been open to feedback about how to respond to racial justice issues plaguing the city. Burlington had just experienced a summer filled with protests about police brutality against people of color, including calls to fire three Burlington police officers accused of excessive force.
“As Miro and I talked about people needing to feel heard, and what is best for Burlington, I experienced his willingness to share his concerns and commitment to racial justice as a father to his children of color,” Mattison said.
Weinberger sets out goals
Weinberger’s speech also focused on his administration’s response to the pandemic and the commitment he feels to address racism in the city. Burlington had declared racism a public health crisis in July.
He pointed to his administration’s response at the beginning of the pandemic — assembling an analytics team to track the latest research and data on Covid-19 and to buy materials to make more 25,000 masks to be distributed to residents.
Weinberger said he wants to continue forging consensus on how Burlington can reform its police department.
“My goal for the city remains to implement structural and cultural transformation that is supported and accepted by the community and officers alike,” he said, “while keeping the department effective and responsive and making our city safer for all than it is today.”
He also addressed the CityPlace downtown mall project, which has been stalled for years, and is now tied up in lawsuits with the city. He said he’ll address CityPlace more during his campaign.
“Of course the last two years have not gone exactly as we hoped,” Weinberger said. “The city has been financially well protected from the developers’ delays and our team is focused on and positioned to bring this project to successful resolution.”
He closed with a jab at Burlington’s Progressive Party, saying it’s moving in a “rigid, ideological direction.”
“We know here in Burlington how dangerous devotion to ideology without attention to detail, data or expert opinion can be,” he said, referring to the Burlington Telecom scandal. During that time, Progressive Mayor Bob Kiss diverted $16.9 million in taxpayer funds to keep the utility afloat, which caused the city’s bond status to nosedive.
“Let’s win this crucial election,” Weinberger said, “and keep in place a team with proven crisis leadership experience, and a keen focus on our biggest challenges.”
Progressives: Time for a change
In a statement provided to VTDigger in response to Sunday’s caucus, Progressive Party Executive Director Josh Wronski said “we are confident that Burlington is ready for a change in City Hall.”
“We are focused on presenting a positive vision that moves our city forward. I would hope that the current administration would also focus on a rigorous debate on the issues and not negative attacks,” Wronski said.
“From our early days, when Bernie Sanders was mayor, we have been rigid and uncompromising in our commitment to a city that works for all working people and the planet,” he said. “We have also shown through 30 years of Progressive leadership that we will lead in a way that brings all stakeholders into the process for an effective government that all people feel included in.”
