Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger intends to seize a possible opportunity to install his interim police chief to the post permanently.
It will be his second attempt — in February, the City Council, which at that time leaned Progressive, rejected Jon Murad, who has now been the acting chief for two and a half years.
But after a special election win by Maea Brandt, D-East District, the council’s balance now favors the Democrats, who occupy five seats. Progressives hold four, and independents hold two — although that’s subject to change again on Town Meeting Day in March, when five seats are up for election. Brandt has said she supports making Murad the permanent chief.
Samantha Sheehan, a spokesperson for Weinberger, said the mayor plans to propose the appointment in 2023, but did not provide a specific date. Sheehan said Weinberger sees appointing a permanent chief as a “critical step” toward “advancing progress on Burlington’s public safety challenges.”
“Chief Murad has accomplished a great deal as an acting chief through a very challenging period for the department and the city,” Weinberger said in an emailed statement. “That said, our police officers, recruits, other public safety personnel and our community deserve to have permanent, committed leadership for the Burlington Police Department.”
In an email on Thursday, Murad noted how long he’s been the acting chief, describing it as a “job interview” that has “extended 31 months.”
“I seek the position of chief of police because I love this city and her people, and this department and the men and women in it, and I know I can contribute to them all — and because, having served as the acting chief during crisis and tumult, I know I can fulfill the role better than anyone else,” Murad wrote.
The city hasn’t had a permanent police chief since Brandon del Pozo resigned in December 2019, following revelations that he used an anonymous Twitter account to troll a local activist.
Jennifer Morrison took over as interim chief after del Pozo’s departure, but announced in September 2020 that she would not return, citing family concerns and accusing the City Council of “mismanagement” of the department. Murad had taken over as acting chief earlier that summer when Morrison initially stepped away to address family matters.
Murad has held the interim job ever since. Earlier this year, Weinberger nominated Murad to the permanent job, but the City Council voted down the appointment on a 6-6 vote. All six Progressives voted against Murad. Since then, however, two Progressive councilors — Jack Hanson and Ali House — have resigned. Brandt won the seat vacated by Hanson; House’s seat will remain unfilled until the March election.
Acting City Attorney Kimberlee Sturtevant told VTDigger there are no legal obstacles preventing Weinberger from nominating Murad a second time.
In interviews this week, Joe Magee, P-Ward 3, and Zoraya Hightower, P-Ward 1, signaled that Progressive councilors plan to vote against Murad once again.
“I still think it would be a mistake for the mayor to make this appointment again, knowing that the concerns that were raised earlier this year have not been addressed,” Magee said.
Magee and Hightower listed similar reasons for their opposition to Murad’s appointment.
They want Murad to admit that racial bias is a problem within the city’s police force, and they want greater oversight of the department. Hightower noted that voters on Town Meeting Day will have a chance to weigh in on increasing civilian oversight of police, thanks to a successful petition campaign that circumvented the City Council.
Finally, the two Progressives said they want to see a commitment to “transformation” in the department, though the nuances of what that word meant varied slightly between them.
Magee wants the department to hire more community service officers and community service liaisons. “The department has had the resources to hire more of the civilian positions in the department, the CSOs and the CSLs,” Magee said. “We have not seen those numbers come up, even though they’ve had the resources since July for that.”
Hightower pointed to the “transformative” policies of Sarah George, the Chittenden County state’s attorney who is known for supporting progressive criminal justice reforms, and said she wanted the police chief to commit to working with George.
Both councilors said that the Progressive faction of the council is looking for a chief who would champion those policies.
“I think a reason to confirm the chief is how well he works with the officers and how much of their trust he has. But if he doesn’t use any of that trust to move the department forward, it’s not an asset,” Hightower said.
With the prospect of Murad’s nomination coming up following the December special City Council election, but before the March elections could again change the balance on the council, Hightower did not object to the timing.
“I think that the right thing to do was to wait at least until December, and (Weinberger) did that,” Hightower said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen in March.”
