Tuesday, January 5, 2021
Cpl. Tyler Badeau, president of the Burlington Police Officers’ Association, said he signed up to speak during Monday night’s council meeting, before councilors failed to overturn a mayoral veto of a proposal to bolster citizen oversight of police.
He had intended to read a statement from the union in support of Mayor Miro Weinberger’s veto of the Progressive-backed plan, which sought to create a new “community control board” to investigate and discipline cops for misconduct. Despite signing up five hours before the meeting started, Badeau said that Tracy never called on him.
"If [Progressive councilors] were truly interested in governing correctly, they would allow equal time during the public forum for all voices, and they're not," Badeau said. "Max isn’t interested in governing. He’s interested in his agenda."
Tags: Burlington Police , public forum , Max Tracy , Burlington City Council , Web Only , Image
The 7-5 tally was one vote short of the eight needed to overturn the mayoral decision. The result was identical to last month's council vote on the original proposal, with Councilor Ali Dieng (I-Ward 7) joining all six council Progressives in support of an override.
None of the five Democrats flipped, despite pleas from dozens of callers during public forum who urged them to reconsider.
"Even for those of us who are going to be voting to sustain the veto, it's with a very heavy heart," Councilor Chip Mason (D-Ward 5) said during the virtual council meeting. "I think everyone that I'm seeing on the screen right now supports a civilian oversight body."
Tags: veto , Mayor Miro Weinberger , Burlington City Council , police oversight , charter change , Burlington Police Department , Web Only , Image
Friday, January 1, 2021
The proposal sought to form an "independent community control board" with the authority to investigate and discipline cops for misconduct. The council passed the resolution on a 7-5 vote on December 14, intending to send the charter change to the Town Meeting Day ballot in March.
Instead, Weinberger kicked the measure back to the council without his approval. In a three-page memo issued on New Year's Eve, the mayor wrote that the proposal would dismantle the city's police department and "compromise the City’s ability to ensure public safety."
"I veto the Charter Change with great reluctance, because I agree that the current charter is problematic and there is urgency to amend it," Weinberger wrote. "If we cannot find consensus now and my veto is sustained, we must find other ways to make near term progress on the issue of police discipline."
Tags: Burlington , Mayor Miro Weinberger , veto , police oversight , Burlington Police Department , Web Only , Image
Monday, December 7, 2020
Sitting in front of a wall of campaign signs bearing the slogan "Transparency, Unity, Action," Dieng promised to be a collaborative leader who will address "the critical problems of our time."
"Our city needs a trustworthy leader with an inclusive vision geared toward bringing people together and transforming Vermont's largest city into the best small city in North America," he said.
Tags: mayoral election , Ali Dieng , Max Tracy , Miro Weinberger , Burlington , elections , Town Meeting Day , Web Only , Image
Friday, March 6, 2020
In the only contested Burlington School Board race Tuesday night, newcomer Aden Haji knocked off Keith Pillsbury, the incumbent who'd served 23 nonconsecutive years on the board since 1987.
Haji, 25, earned about 58 percent of the votes (533) to Pillsbury's 41 percent (371) en route to winning the Ward 8 seat.
“I know everybody brings something new to the table, but I felt like my voice was really needed due to the experience that I’ve had,” Haji said.
Pillsbury, a retired Essex middle school teacher, said he's offered to help Haji in any way he can. While the loss is bittersweet, Pillsbury said serving on the board is a big time commitment, and he was looking forward to having more time to himself.
"I have done my community service," Pillsbury said. "Aden is a success story of the Burlington school system. I wish him all the best."
Tags: Town Meeting Day , Aden Haji , New American , Somali Bantu , election , Web Only , Image
Wednesday, March 4, 2020
After losing by only 74 votes Tuesday, South Burlington City Council candidate Matt Cota has successfully sought a recount in his race against incumbent Meaghan Emery.
She won with 3,940 votes compared to 3,866 for Cota, which equates to 50.47 percent of the total vote to Cota's 49.52 percent. That outcome easily meets the statutory requirement that allows for a recount when the margin of victory is less than five percent.
Cota said he requested the recount Wednesday morning not only because the results were so close, but also because the city was swamped with a much higher turnout than normal on Town Meeting Day. The city ran out of ballots and had to make copies, which meant officials had to hand count a portion of them.
"Given these sort of odd circumstances where we ran out of ballots, this will ensure that we have a final tally that reflects every vote," Cota said. He added: "I would fully expect that anyone in my position, including my opponent, would do the same thing."
Tags: South Burlington , Town Meeting Day , recount , Meaghan Emery , Matt Cota , city council , election , Web Only , Image
Emery earned 3,940 votes — just 74 more than Cota's 3,866. That's 50.47 percent for Emery to 49.52 percent for Cota.
Reached by phone around midnight Tuesday, Cota said the results were "disappointing, but we'll pick back up tomorrow and see what happens." He was unsure if he'd request a recount.
"I'm just really proud of the way we ran our campaign," Cota said. "This was my first campaign, and it tells me that people in South Burlington really wanted a change."
He added: "It's been an experience of a lifetime. I had so many people come out and work so hard for this."
Meanwhile, South Burlington voters overwhelmingly rejected a proposed $209 million bond for a new middle and high school facility. About 79 percent of voters — 6,514 — cast ballots against the bond. About 20.8 percent — 1,712 — voted in favor.
The sentiment spilled over into voting on the school budget, which residents also rejected. About 57 percent — 4,711 people — voted against the $55.8 million budget.
Tags: Town Meeting Day , education , South Burlington , Meaghan Emery , Matt Cota , bond , school , budget , Web Only , Image
Tuesday, March 3, 2020
Driving a green Subaru Forester, Sanders and his wife, Jane O'Meara Sanders, arrived at the Robert Miller Community and Recreation Center in Burlington's New North End around 10:30 a.m. They were met by a media scrum of dozens of reporters and camera crews who had traveled to Vermont ahead of Sanders' election night rally in Essex.
"Welcome to the state of Vermont. You've increased the GDP by 16 percent," Sanders quipped.
Tags: Bernie Sanders , Democratic presidential primary , Election , Election 2020 , primary 2020 , Senator , Super Tuesday , Town Meeting Day , Town Meeting Day 2020 , Vermont , Web Only , Image
Thursday, February 27, 2020
"All three of us are actively door knocking and engaging with constituents and voters. There's a lot of energy and electricity in the ward," said incumbent Sharon Bushor, an independent who has served on the city council for 32 years.
Bushor, a 73-year-old retired medical technician, has often aligned with the Progressive Party but was snubbed in December when it endorsed her challenger — Zoraya Hightower, a 29-year-old environmental and development professional who serves on the city Development Review Board but has never held elected office in Burlington. The third candidate, Democrat Jillian Scannell, is a 22-year-old senior at UVM who is president of the university's Student Government Association.
Each says she is best suited to represent the ward roughly bounded by Willard Street, Main Street, Centennial Woods and the Winooski River. It is home to many student renters, as well as longtime homeowners and renters.
Tags: Town Meeting Day , Sharon Bushor , Zoraya Hightower , Jillian Scannell , housing , University of Vermont , Ward 1 , election , Burlington City Council , Web Only , Image
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
The defeat by fewer than 200 votes was a disappointment, Town Manager Aaron Frank said Tuesday night.
"The selectboard will have to take a pause, do some reflection and figure out where do we go from here,” Frank said.
Inadequate private septic systems at homes and camps along the bay can leak human waste into the water, a problem the proposed sewer line was intended to mitigate. But critics said it was an expensive project that wouldn't actually solve complex pollution problems in the scenic and heavily used bay. They also worried the sewer line would accelerate development.
Tags: Colchester , Malletts Bay , sewer line , boats , septic system , Aaron Frank , Image , Web Only