This commentary is by Jason Van Driesche, who has lived in Burlington’s South End since 2008. He was an advocate for walkable and bikeable streets from 2009 to 2018, and in that role, worked closely with both Miro Weinberger and Max Tracy on related policy issues.
Over the last month or so, I’ve talked at length with both Miro Weinberger and Max Tracy, the two leading candidates for Mayor of Burlington. Those conversations reaffirmed for me that Miro remains the most effective leader for Vermont’s biggest city. I will be voting for him on March 2.
I have known Max for years and have talked with him many times about politics. I deeply respect his passion about the issues, and I agree with him on a fair number of things that he is passionate about. But I do not think he is the right choice for mayor at this time. There are three reasons why.
The first is about inclusiveness.
Max is a proud hard-line Progressive. From what I’ve seen over the years, he does not yet have much patience for non-Progressive stances on core issues. But there are still a lot of people in this city who have more of a middle-of-the-road perspective — they haven’t all moved to Colchester and Milton — and it’s important that people with a wide range of opinions and political leanings know that the mayor is committed to being a mayor for everyone. I worry that a fair number of people who don’t identify as “Progressive” would give up on Burlington if Max were mayor.
The second is about demonstrated competence.
Being mayor is a really hard job even in the best of times. In my opinion, Miro has done a solid job leading the city through hugely difficult issues that do not lend themselves to easy answers. It’s easy to criticize and second-guess — especially in the areas where Miro has fallen short — but I honestly don’t think Max or any of the other candidates would have had a better batting average overall.
I appreciate and value how hard Miro has worked through the crisis not only to keep our city’s basic functions intact, but also to respond creatively and forcefully to the crisis itself. From the Covid-19 Resource and Recovery Center to the “Plant for the People” initiative to crowdsourced production of masks to easy and fast Covid testing, Burlington’s city government has shone under Miro’s crisis leadership.
And the third is about respect.
While the leading candidates have both run largely respectful campaigns, I really don’t like Max’s campaign slogan of “Principled Leadership.” It’s a not-so-subtle dig at Miro’s longstanding slogan of “Proven Leadership.” The implication that Miro is unprincipled — that he’s in it only for power and personal gain — is laughable and more than a little offensive. While there are certainly unprincipled politicians out there, Miro is not one of them. And framing political disagreement as lack of principles is a dangerous and slippery slope in a democracy whose basic functioning depends on our ability to agree to disagree.
Max has taken a strong, principled stand in support of Burlingtonians who are struggling. So has Miro, who cares deeply about using city government to move us toward a more just community (though via different methods than Max would).
But principles are not enough. Inclusive, competent, respectful leadership is essential — more so than ever in this crisis. My take is that, at this point in time, Miro scores higher on these fronts than Max does. That’s why he has my vote.
