Joe Magee has won the Progressive endorsement for Burlington’s Ward 3 special City Council election set for Aug. 17.
In the final round of the caucus’ ranked-choice voting process, Magee secured 50.3% of the vote while Julie Macuga followed close behind with 49.7%. A total of 169 people voted in the nominating caucus.
In ranked-choice voting, participants can rank candidates in order of preference. Through the tallying process, lower performing candidates are eliminated and votes are redistributed based on a voter’s ranked preference until one person receives 50% or more of the votes.
While Macuga received 61 votes in the first round of voting to Magee’s 55, he surpassed Macuga in the fourth round as candidates were eliminated and more votes were redistributed. Magee ended with 75 votes to Macuga’s 74.
Magee was up against a relatively large field for the Progressive Party’s endorsement in a ward that has been won by Progressive council members since 1981. Ryan Addario, Owen Milne and Chris Haessly were also vying for the nomination, in addition to Macuga.
Magee told VTDigger Saturday evening that he was “very grateful” for the other candidates who participated in the race. Magee, who formerly worked on presidential campaigns for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and as an associate with lobbying firm the Necrason Group, said he thinks his efforts to knock on doors and call Ward 3 voters helped him secure the nomination.
“We’re going to run a campaign that is robust, that is really fighting for Progressive values,” he said. “We have a strong message for a livable wage and fighting for working families at City Hall.”
In a press release issued after Magee’s win, Burlington Progressive co-chair Annie Schnieder said the party is “excited” to have a “strong candidate” like Magee.
“We are proud of the robust process we were able to put together on a tight timeline with a strong group of candidates,” Schneider said in the release. “It is clear that Ward 3 voters value a Progressive vision for our community.”
Magee will face off against Milne, who has secured the Democratic Party’s endorsement and is running as an independent, and Christopher-Aaron Felker, who won the Republican Party’s endorsement on Friday. Independents have until Monday to file as a candidate with the city clerk’s office.
Milne, the executive director of the Lake Champlain Community Sailing Center, views his approach to the Ward 3 race as party-neutral and as an extension of his commitment to public service. He serves on several community boards including the state Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities and the United Way of Northwest Vermont.
He previously told VTDigger he’s running as an independent because he thinks both parties currently represented on the council — Democrats and Progressives — have strong ideas that he wants to support equally.
Felker said at Friday’s Republican nominating caucus that he’s running in part because he has disagreed with current councilors’ decision-making, even though he thinks they are “caring” people, according to a report by Seven Days. He cited the council’s passage of a charter change that would allow the city to regulate carbon usage.
He added that he wants to “unite” the community and focus on improving housing, infrastructure and creating “positive policing policy,” the weekly paper reported.