Emma Mulvaney-Stanak officially became the Progressive Party’s candidate for Burlington mayor Wednesday evening.
Mulvaney-Stanak, a state representative and former city councilor, was the only mayoral candidate seeking the Progressive nomination, but the party’s window for voting continued through Wednesday. The results became official with an announcement from state Progressive Party executive director Joshua Wronski.
During remarks at the caucus on Monday, Mulvaney-Stanak echoed a theme that has emerged from all four candidates for mayor — that the challenges Burlington faces have “unraveled our sense of community.”
“We are at a critical turning point for what we do next,” Mulvaney-Stanak said. “It’s time for new leadership who can get things done and make progress for our neighbors in our entire city.”
A resident of the Old North End, Mulvaney-Stanak runs a consulting business with a focus on community organizing. A second-term state representative, she chairs the House Progressive Caucus. She previously served as chair of the state Progressive Party.
Mulvaney-Stanak was the first person to jump into the Burlington mayoral race in mid-October. The contest has garnered intense interest following Mayor Miro Weinberger’s decision to not seek a fifth term. Three other candidates have entered the race: CD Mattison, Karen Paul and Joan Shannon will all compete for the Democratic nomination during that party’s caucus on Dec. 10.
Thus far conversations about public safety have dominated the race. In her speech Monday night, Mulvaney-Stanak said the city’s current approach is “plainly not working.”
“We must make better use of proven community enforcement measures that include things like community policing, right-size staffing levels for police, social workers and mental health first responders and strategic use of city resources to address hot spots that are experiencing increased crime,” she said.
But she also added that those are short-term solutions, and to help address the problems in the long-term, the city should embrace “prevention and intervention” efforts such as overdose prevention centers and improving existing substance use recovery services.
In addition to the mayor’s race, the Progressives formally named six people to run for city council seats, although so far no Progressive has expressed interest in Wards 4 and 5. None of the council nominations were contested.
Carter Neubieser will run in Ward 1, after Zoraya Hightower opted not to run again. In Ward 2, Gene Bergman will seek reelection. In Ward 3, newcomer Joe Kane will run following Joe Magee’s decision not to run.
Initially during Monday night’s caucus, no one came forward to run in Ward 6, but later in the evening Will Anderson, who ran unsuccessfully last year in the South District seat, was nominated. Lee Morrigan will run in Ward 7 and will also be seeking the Democratic endorsement. In Ward 8, third-year University of Vermont student Marek Broderick was nominated.
Wronski said Monday night that 111 people had registered for the caucus virtually, with about 30 others showing up the night of the event.
