Two Progressive Burlington city councilors have announced they won’t seek reelection next year, kicking off an election season in which eight of 12 council seats will be on the ballot.
Councilors Zoraya Hightower, P-Ward 1, and Joe Magee, P-Ward 3, said their current terms will be their last on the council, as Seven Days first reported.
Those representing Burlington’s eight wards will be up for reelection on Town Meeting Day in March (though not those representing the city’s four larger districts). Incumbents in half of the wards told VTDigger on Thursday that they would seek another term: Councilors Gene Bergman, P-Ward 2; Sarah Carpenter, D-Ward 4; Ben Traverse, D-Ward 5; and Hannah King, D-Ward 8.
Councilor Ali Dieng, I-Ward 7, could not be reached Thursday but told Seven Days last month that he was considering leaving the council. Two candidates plan to run for Dieng’s seat: Lee Morrigan, a New North End resident and parks commission member, who told VTDigger they will seek the endorsements of both parties in December; and Evan Litwin, a member of the housing board of review, who said he would run as a Democrat in that race.
Council President Karen Paul, D-Ward 6, having jumped into the mayoral race last month, also plans to vacate her seat on the council. Paul is running against fellow Councilor Joan Shannon, D-South District, who announced her own mayoral bid last week. CD Mattison, a Democrat and nonprofit director, has been mulling a run for mayor as well, and recently teased an event set for Monday on her Instagram page. State Rep. Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, P-Burlington, is so far the only Progressive to join the mayoral race. No Republicans have announced.
Hightower was first elected in 2020 after earning the Progressive nod over longtime incumbent Sharon Bushor and is in her second term on the council. Hightower said in an interview on Thursday that serving on the council “has always been a little more work for me than maybe the average councilor,” specifically when it comes to fighting for Progressive issues. Still, she said, she is proud of her time in the role.
“We’re really lucky to live in a city that, with my election, really only has Progressives, Democrats and independents, because I think that gives us a lot of opportunity to do really cool stuff if we can set the politics aside,” Hightower said.
Carter Neubieser, who has served as co-chair of the Burlington Progressive Party alongside Hightower, announced in an email that he will formally kick off his campaign for the Ward 1 seat this Sunday in Schmanska Park.
Magee won a special election to represent Ward 3 in 2021. Magee said in an interview on Thursday that “it wasn’t an easy choice” to opt against seeking reelection.
Magee said the time commitment was difficult and added that they live in an expensive rental market and may have to move away from Ward 3.
“And, you know, honestly, the divisiveness I think we’re seeing nationally is also present here in Burlington, and so that becomes harder and harder to shoulder when trying to push for what some might call radical changes,” Magee said.
Hightower and Magee both said they had no plans to run for mayor. Hightower, however, did mention she could see a state legislative bid as a possibility in the future.
Vermont Progressive Party executive director Josh Wronski praised Hightower and Magee as “really strong city councilors” but also said, “I don’t think any elected position should be something that people stay in forever.” Wronski said the Progressives are actively recruiting candidates for all council races. Burlington Progressives are expected to hold their caucus on Dec. 7.
Adam Roof, chair of the Burlington Democratic Party, said its goal is to compete in all council races. Recalling last Town Meeting Day, when Democrats won a plurality of council seats, Roof said that “our goal for this coming Town Meeting Day is to extend that majority.” The Democrats’ caucus is scheduled for Dec. 10.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated Josh Wronski’s role with the Vermont Progressive Party.
