The Burlington City Council appointed three black men to the city’s police commission Monday night, ousting two incumbents from their positions after contentious debate.
Of four open positions on the seven-member commission, the council only returned vice chair Shireen Hart to her seat. Two other incumbents, Peter Bahrenburg and James Dunn, did not win reelection, while a third, Robert Simpson, did not reapply.
Newly appointed to serve three-year terms were black men Jabulani Gamache, a bartender; Yuol Herjok Yuol, a social worker; and Mark Hughes, a community activist.
The sea change comes after recent allegations of police brutality against people of color. Two Burlington police officers were recently sued for excessive use of force against black men, leading activists to call for greater oversight and cultural competency.
The police commission meets once a month and is tasked with reviewing police personnel matters, including officer discipline; citizen complaints; and the department’s social media policy, among other duties.
The council received 10 applications for the four open seats. Hart was unanimously reelected by the council as part of a slate of appointments to a variety of city boards and commissions.
But for the three remaining seats, each councilor was allowed to nominate an applicant. Each person to obtain seven votes, a majority, would land a spot. Mayor Miro Weinberger was allowed to cast a vote along with the 12 councilors.
Councilor Karen Paul (D-Ward 6) nominated Yuol, who received 10 votes, while Councilor Adam Roof (I-Ward 8) nominated Gamache, who earned eight. Councilor Franklin Paulino (D-North District) nominated Bahrenburg, though the council never voted on the incumbent.
The most debated appointment was for the last seat. Councilor Joan Shannon (D-South District) nominated incumbent Dunn, who was just finishing his third year on the commission.
Dunn is a retired lawyer who spent 42 years representing the Burlington Police Department in negotiations with the police union, according to his application for the commission post. Despite that work, Shannon said Dunn isn’t afraid to challenge Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo during commission deliberations.
“While we need new blood, we need some continuity,” she said.
Councilor Brian Pine (P-Ward 3) countered with a nomination for Hughes, the executive director for the nonprofit Justice for All. Pine said he was originally going to vote for Dunn but changed his mind, saying he supports Hughes because he’ll speak up against the racial divide in Burlington.
Council President Kurt Wright (R-Ward 4) chided his fellow councilors, saying that removing incumbents “for no apparent reason” discourages people from even applying for civic service.
“Yes, the police commission needs change, and we’re doing that,” Wright said. “We just added significant diversity [in Gamache and Yuol]. Really significant diversity.”
Councilor Perri Freeman (P-Central District) criticized Wright, saying his language “tokenized” the nonwhite applicants. She then cast her vote for Hughes, who was approved with eight votes compared to five for Dunn.
In his application, Hughes said his military experience equipped him with an understanding of a rigid structure such as that found in a police department. He said his goal is to “restore community trust to the department.”
Gamache, a bartender at Manhattan Pizza & Pub on the corner of Church and Main streets, said he frequently witnesses the challenges of policing in downtown Burlington.
“Lastly,” Gamache wrote, “as a 33-year-old black man, I have an understanding of the cultural and historical dynamics at play between the police and communities of color.”
Yuol’s application was concise: “I want to be the voice of the forgotten community,” he wrote.
Watch the full meeting below; video courtesy of Channel 17:
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I went to high school with Kurt Wright and he was always bragging how rich he was and acted like he was better than anyone else. He was also racist in school so I don’t know if he’s changed since then. That might explain his reluctance to vote for Hughes…
Mr. Cashman,
Thank you for knowing what you’re talking about. I don’t know about the document, but you sound okay.
Mr. Flipflopfly, if you can’t put your name behind it, your comment is not so trustworthy. I’d also suggest you put your opinions in a positive way, and not start “calling each other names.”
Most of what I know about the three most vocal commenters (flipflopfly, knowyourassumptions, and grownassman,) is that they dislike everyone else’s opinions.
Mr. Hughes is executive director of Justice For All, and likely a good choice, as are the other two men.
As far as continuity, I’m not sure if we need it or not. I’m interested to see how all this goes. It’s a good step.
“wealthy council”
Wow.
First of all, I echo Bradd’s question: what is “wealthy” and who on the Council is “wealthy”?
Second, please explain why a “wealthy” person is, by virtue of her income, incapable of carrying out oversight of the Police Department? Is there something in the leftist-dogma-talking-points rule book that says “wealthy” people can’t exercise oversight of police and must not be allowed to serve? Why not? Which rule is that in the book? Would a “wealthy” person of color be an exception to that rule? Would a really poor white person be better at police oversight than a “wealthy” white person?
Prejudiced against “wealthy” people (however you unilaterally define it), much? Chained to dogmatic stereotypes, much?
And speaking of white majority City Council, there were 4 council races in March. How many candidates of color did the Progs put up to run for those seats? Out of 4: one.
@BradD I was referring to the councilors, but sure. The commission chair has done an exceptionally poor job communicating with residents who bring complaints, also owns a $2 million dollar house. The vice-chair is a powerful lawyer and BBA vice-chair, who has done a much better job communicating, yet neither are able to show anything close to the transparency needed to bring trust back to this commission, as they both signed off on all the brutality and shenanigans going on under this chief.
Standing next to him during a press conference where they agreed with letting one officer off scott-free and the other with a 2-week suspension threw any credibility the two of them may have had out the window.
I hope the new folks on the commission publicly push for more oversight power, so this isn’t just a tokenizing act.
“I got buddies who died face down in the muck…” Oh, spare me the hyperventilating hyperbole. Mr. Hughes makes an issue of his military service, repeatedly. He uses very specific words that mean very specific things. For the sake of all who have served honorably the right thing to do is to request to see his DD-214, just as I do whenever I see anyone else using their service as a qualification. It isnt wrong to use service as a qualification and to be rightfully proud of honorable service, but if you do you should expect that reasonable people will want to see some proof of your claimed qualification. Doing so is infinately more respectful of Veterans than simply accepting at face value everyone who makes the claim as it serves to deter the cheats and liars and preserves the sanctity of the title of Veteran.
“His DD-214 would clear all this up.”
Dude, I got buddies who died face down in the muck so that you and I could enjoy this family newspaper!
Mercy sakes Mr. Cashman, there is no need to unleash your “Stolen Valor” paranoia on Mr. Hughes, and no dark, looming character issue that necessitates some sort of Double D’s documentation or whatever to “clear all this up”.
If you feel compelled to publicly comment, a respectful, albeit canned “Thank you for your service” acknowledgement of Mr. Hughes 15 years of military service would suffice. Or is that reserved only for white vets?
“Councilor Perri Freeman (P-Central District) criticized Wright, saying his language tokenized the non-white applicants.”
Riiiggghhhtttt…
From Mr. Hughes application for the commission spot: “How did you learn of the opportunity/opening to serve on a Board/Commission Answer: I was approached by the Progressives.” So who was it who tokenized the process and the applicants then, Perri?
Also it should be mentioned that since Mr. Hughes tends to make a lot of his military service it is perfectly appropriate to request to see his DD-214, and he should offer it eagerly. It is odd that he states he is a retired officer but has an Associates Degree.
When people hear officer they generally think Commissioned Officer which requires a Bachelors as a minimum. Mr. Hughes may have also been a Warrant Officer, but while Commissioned Officers are largely generalists WOs are usually very loud and proud of their roles as subject matter experts and would not refer to themselves as simply Officers unless someone was trying to be deliberately nebulous. Also his 15 years of service is odd in relation to his claim of being retired (meaning on the retired list). During the peace dividend drawdown the services did occasionally offer what was referred to as TERA which was a sort of early retirement, but the services also RIFed (Reduction In Force) a lot of people during the same time and it would be helpful to know which category Mr. Hughes falls into. His DD-214 would clear all this up.
For many reasons (both good and not-so-good), the council is indeed very “white” and probably quite “comfortable”. It’s hard to serve on any councils or commissions when you have to work to pay bills and you can’t afford childcare.
@cwinklem
Please tell us all what you definition of wealthy is. Also please inform us as to who the wealthy members of the board are.
Can’t wait for this!
As long as Michelle Asch is chair and the commission has zero authority to do much of anything, this is all window dressing.
The commission could be 100% non-white and it wont matter if oversight rests in the hands of a very high majority white and wealthy council + mayor.