[B]URLINGTON — A group of city residents is putting together a campaign to draft city councilor Jane Knodell to run as an independent after Knodell lost re-nomination at the Progressive Party caucus earlier this month.
Knodell has been considering an independent run after community organizer Perri Freeman defeated her at the Progressive Party caucus in an 85-55 vote. She told VTDigger last week she would be making a decision in the next week or so.
Freeman’s upset win reflected the growing influence of an energized group of young Progressives in the city. But some Knodell allies and council colleagues say they would be sorry to see Knodell, known as a pragmatic, hardworking legislator, leave the council.
The “Committee to Draft Jane Knodell” includes former mayor Peter Clavelle, who served from 1989-93 and 1995-2006; former WCAX reporter Andy Potter; local artists Bonnie Acker and Jean Waltz; Burlington Associates co-founder John Davis; and community activist and former mayoral candidate Wanda Hines, among others.
Potter said that Knodell did not orchestrate the effort. He said she “serves as a counterweight to the mayor, not some kind of subservient toady as the younger, more partisan and radical Progressives have claimed.”
The central district seat Knodell currently holds represents the city’s Old North End. Freeman and Democrat Jared Carter are the two candidates currently in the race.
In a press release announcing its formation, the group said Knodell was the person best suited for the seat.
“We need a candidate who can unite the range of opinions of our diverse community and someone who has demonstrated an ability to find fair and reasoned progressive solutions to the challenges our community faces,” the statement said.
But some in the Progressive Party have said they hope Knodell does not run as an independent, including city councilor Max Tracy and Progressive Party executive director Josh Wronski.
“I think it would be unfortunate and divisive, since there is so much good work she’s done over the years,” Wronski told VTDigger last week. “I’d hope she would play a key role in mentoring Perri and supporting her in the City Council campaign.”
