Tuesday, June 22, 2021
The 40 people who gathered in Battery Park cheered when he vowed to help the city “unite as a community” and “build a better Burlington together.”
But some city residents say Felker hasn’t been practicing what he’s now preaching. Shortly after Seven Days published a story about Felker’s candidacy last week, Twitter-users called him out for his transphobic social media posts — some of which were directed at the very people he now wants to represent.
He has since deleted his Twitter account, @UrOrwellianLife, and his Facebook profile, but Seven Days used the Internet Archive, a nonprofit that catalogues old versions of websites, to dig up Felker’s old tweets.
Tags: Christopher-Aaron Felker , Burlington GOP , Republican , Ward 3 , city council , Burlington City Council , special election , Web Only , Image
Saturday, June 19, 2021
Dressed in sun hats and brightly-patterned clothing, revelers clapped and sang along to "We Have Come Into This House" as the Lake Champlain Mass Choir and Band performed under a white tent. One couple joined hands and danced near the city hall steps. Unmasked friends shared meals and hugs on the green surrounding the stage.
Such was the opening scene of the Queen City's first-ever celebration of Juneteenth. A portmanteau of June 19, the event marks the day in 1865 when enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, learned they were free, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. Earlier this week, President Joe Biden signed legislation making the day a federal holiday.
Burlington's daylong festival offered free music, food, panel discussions and more in locations all across the city. The city chipped in $100,000 toward the inaugural event, and private sponsors kicked in another $150,000.
Tags: Juneteenth , Tyeastia Green , Burlington , City Hall Park , festival , Web Only , Slideshow , Image
A total of 169 Progs cast ballots in the ranked-choice election, which lets voters rank candidates in order of preference. The lowest vote-getter is eliminated in each round until one candidate surpasses 50 percent.
Magee squeaked out 50.3 percent, or 75 votes, after four rounds, narrowly defeating Julie Macuga, who had 49.7 percent of votes, or 74 total, according to the party's official results.
"I'm very grateful to the candidates that ran in the caucus, and I'm looking forward to building a strong campaign for working families in Ward 3," Magee said. "It's just really great that we had such an impressive turnout in the caucus, and it speaks to the strength of the party in Ward 3 and definitely a strong start going into the special election."
Tags: Joe Magee , Progressive Party , election , Web Only , Image
Friday, June 18, 2021
About a dozen members of the Burlington GOP unanimously endorsed Felker, the party's only candidate, during a meeting on Zoom on Friday evening.
The vote comes just three days before candidate petitions are due for the August 17 contest. The special election was called when former Progressive councilor Brian Pine stepped down last month to run the city's Community & Economic Development Office.
Felker said he plans to make the most of the quick, two-month race.
"We have a solid ground campaign, and it's about working and building a better Burlington together, and we can do that," Felker said. "We're going to unite our community."
Tags: Burlington City Council , Burlington GOP , Ward 3 , special election , Republicans , caucus , election , Web Only , Image
Thursday, June 17, 2021
Elmwood Avenue resident July Sanders, who participated in last week's candidate forum, has dropped out of the race. Sanders told Seven Days that she has family commitments that require her to leave town often, and she realized it wasn't the best time to serve.
"Seeing just the great slate of candidates, I didn't feel that it was so bad that I step away," Sanders said.
Thursday evening, a new candidate had emerged in Chris Haessly, a College Street resident who volunteered himself for the seat at the party's nominating caucus.
"I wasn't really planning to be here today," Haessly told the small crowd gathered in the Sustainability Academy parking lot in the Old North End, noting that several residents encouraged him to run. "I've always considered myself a longtime, big P Progressive, so I figured I'd throw my hat in the ring."
Tags: Ward 3 , special election , Burlington City Council , Ryan Addario , Julie Macuga , Joe Magee , Chris Haessly , Owen Milne , Vermont Progressive Party , Web Only , Image
Tuesday, June 15, 2021
Milne was the only candidate to file by the party's deadline last week and is expected to earn the party's official endorsement at its caucus on Friday, according to party chair Adam Roof.
Milne, the executive director of the Lake Champlain Sailing Center in Burlington, described his leadership style in a virtual Q&A event on Tuesday evening, saying that he would aim to be a true public servant.
"That's the job of city council. You answer the call, you listen intently, you ask the right questions, you understand the root of the problem, and then you roll up your sleeves and you act," Milne said. "Sometimes people consider that to be the part of the job that is less interesting or less glamorous, but ... that's the part of the job that I love the most."
Tags: Ward 3 , special election , Burlington Democratic Committee , caucus , candidate forum , Owen Milne , Burlington City Council , policing , housing , F35 , Web Only , Image
Monday, June 14, 2021
Weinberger’s $87.3 million budget would restore city services that were curtailed during the coronavirus pandemic and invests in racial justice, public health and additional staffing. Only two of the 13 tax rates that comprise the city's municipal rate will go up substantially next year, making the overall property tax increase about 4.4 percent, according to chief administrative officer Katherine Schad.
"We have attempted to minimize property tax increases as much as possible, recognizing that this remains a challenging financial time for many Burlington individual households," Weinberger said.
Tags: budget , Burlington City Council , FY22 , fiscal year 2022 , CityPlace Burlington , taxes , Burlington , Mayor Miro Weinberger , Web Only , Image
Thursday, June 10, 2021
Redstone ramped up its opposition to the CityPlace Burlington project this week with two new lawsuits that challenge the project's legal standing.
The Burlington development firm filed cases in Vermont Superior Court’s civil division and in U.S. District Court. The filings name not only Redstone's rival developers as defendants but also city planning staff and members of the volunteer Development Review Board.
The federal suit claims that the city violated Redstone’s property rights because the project permit allows a new road to be built underneath its building at 100 Bank Street, which is adjacent to the CityPlace site.
The filing also claims that the Development Review Board could not objectively assess CityPlace’s development plan because the city would financially benefit from its approval.
“The City of Burlington cannot be a judge in its own case,” Matthew Byrne, the attorney representing Redstone partners Erik Hoekstra and Larry Williams, wrote in the filing.
Tags: CityPlace , Burlington , Mayor Miro Weinberger , Redstone , development , 100 Bank Street , lawsuit , Erik Hoekstra , Larry Williams , Web Only , Image
Wednesday, June 9, 2021
The declared contenders — Ryan Addario, Julie Macuga, Joe Magee, Owen Milne and July Sanders — appeared in a virtual candidate forum hosted by the Vermont Progressive Party on Wednesday night. All five said that if elected, they would support policies to transform public safety, increase the city’s affordable housing stock and uplift the voices of historically marginalized city residents.
The special election is needed after former Ward 3 councilor, Brian Pine, resigned his post last month to serve as the director of the city’s Community and Economic Development Office.
Progressives are eager to hold on to the ward — a Prog stronghold that covers a portion of the city's Old North End and downtown — to keep their plurality on the council. Before Pine left, the 12-member body was made up of six Progs, four Dems and two independents.
Wednesday’s forum comes about a week ahead of the party’s June 17 nominating caucus. Online voting will be open for two days, with a winner announced on June 19. Democrats will caucus June 18 and name a victor on June 20.
Tags: Ward 3 , election , special election , Brian Pine , Ryan Addario , Owen Milne , Joe Magee , Julie Macuga , July Sanders , Web Only , Image
Monday, June 7, 2021
City councilors voted unanimously to lift the city's mask mandate on Monday night. The move comes as the state announced that 79.2 percent of Vermonters age 12 and up have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. Gov. Phil Scott has pledged to lift any remaining COVID-19 restrictions once the state reaches the 80 percent vaccine threshold.
Mayor Miro Weinberger had sought to rescind the city's masking order in mid-May, after the state announced that fully vaccinated people could go mask-free in most situations. But a council majority voted to delay the action after some members raised concerns that younger retail workers may not be inoculated until June.
Tags: vaccinations , Vermont , Burlington , mask mandate , city council , coronavirus , Envision 89 , transportation , Web Only , Image