To be sure, it’s about as early as it gets in the race to serve as the next mayor of Burlington.
But just one day after Mayor Miro Weinberger announced he would not seek a fifth term, interest in succeeding him has already begun to stir.
And notably in a city that has never elected a woman to run City Hall, three people who told VTDigger on Friday that they’re considering a run are all women.
They are CD Mattison, a consultant and nonprofit board member; state Rep. Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, P/D-Burlington; and City Councilor Joan Shannon, D-South District. More potential candidates are certain to emerge given that this is the first time in a dozen years that the office has opened up.
Mulvaney-Stanak, who first noted her interest Thursday on social media, said the other names she’s heard floated as possible candidates for mayor were mostly women.
“There’s never been a mayor who has been a female-identified person in the history of the Queen City, which hurts my brain,” Mulvaney-Stanak told VTDigger on Friday. “So I’m excited that, regardless, it seems like there are some women out there thinking about it.”
Mulvaney-Stanak, who chairs the House Progressive Caucus, said that if she decided to run she would do so as a Progressive.
“That is where my values are. That is the policy work I’ve done,” she said.
Mulvaney-Stanak said she had been considering a possible bid for mayor for weeks and would likely come to a decision within the next week or two. She said she was already aware of Shannon’s interest. The two served together for a time on the City Council, and Mulvaney-Stanak called their potential matchup a “full-circle moment.”
Shannon, a long-time Democratic city councilor from the South End, confirmed her interest Friday in an interview with VTDigger.
“A lot of people are asking me to run and I’m just considering what Burlington needs, what I can deliver for Burlington,” Shannon said. “And I think that we’re at a pivotal point here, and we’ve got some pretty daunting problems to address, and if I run it’s because I think I am the best person to address those problems.”
Mattison, who prefers to go by her last name, previously served as Weinberger’s campaign treasurer but subsequently distanced herself from the mayor. She said she was “in exploration of all options” and was “in the midst of a lot of conversations with people who’ve been doing the work for the city, people who are committed to this town, and I’m gonna continue to do that.”
If elected, Mattison would also be the first person of color elected mayor of Burlington. She said that she would run as a Democrat if she entered the race.
Max Tracy, a former city council president and Progressive mayoral candidate who came within 129 votes of defeating Weinberger in 2021, told VTDigger he would not run.
“I’m excited that Emma is thinking of running and will support her if she decides to jump in,” Tracy said in a text message.
Current City Council President Karen Paul, D-Ward 6, declined to discuss her plans, saying she preferred to focus on Weinberger’s tenure.
“I appreciate and thank the mayor for 12 years of service. I look forward to the next few months of continuing to work with him, particularly in my role as council president,” Paul said. “And, for me at least, it’s a little bit too soon for me to have a full discussion about … what lies ahead for March.”
Other candidates are bound to emerge as the political parties hold caucuses later in the year to nominate contenders not only for the mayoral contest but also eight City Council seats.
Carter Neubieser, co-chair of the Burlington Progressives, said the party was speaking with several possible mayoral candidates, including Mulvaney-Stanak.
“I know other folks have expressed interest, but I’m not sure where they are in their thinking,” Neubieser said.
Adam Roof, chair of the Burlington Democratic Party, said on Thursday that with Weinberger stepping aside, he expected an earlier start to the race.
“If the incumbent is running, usually the campaign cycle will start a little bit late,” Roof said. “I fully expect that campaigns for mayor will be up and active sooner than most of the city council races.”
Christopher Aaron Felker, chair of the Burlington Republican Party, said on Friday that “the Burlington GOP is actively recruiting and vetting potential candidates” for mayor and City Council.
The last Republican to serve on the City Council and a former mayoral candidate, Kurt Wright, ruled out running this time around. He said on Friday that with ranked-choice voting now in place for the next mayoral race, there could be an opportunity for a Republican to be on the ballot and not “drain votes away from another candidate.”
However, he said, “the likelihood of there being a Republican next mayor of Burlington is extremely thin.”
No matter who winds up on the ballot, Wright stressed the importance of the upcoming election.
“I think it’s one of the most important mayor’s race(s) we’ve had in a long time because of where we are in the city.”
Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled the name of Emma Mulvaney-Stanak.
