The Burlington Democratic caucus on Thursday included an alliance with a Progressive — and featured a fiery speech of support from the mayor — as party members picked their slate of four city council candidates ahead of Town Meeting Day.
Central District voters endorsed Progressive City Council President Jane Knodell, while voters in the city’s North District backed independent Councilor Dave Hartnett for that seat. Party members also unanimously selected Councilor Joan Shannon to run for the South District seat and nominated newcomer Richard Deane to take a shot at winning the East District.
One decision came with its fair share of detractors. Applause waned and at least one person booed when Mayor Miro Weinberger asked party members to nominate the incumbent Knodell for the Central District seat after no Democrat volunteered to run for the post.
“In the face of a hijacking of her party, she has stood firm in the belief that expanding economic opportunity [leads to] expanding equity,” he told the crowd, which included 2016 Democratic gubernatorial nominee Sue Minter, Vermont Democratic Party executive director Conor Casey and state representatives.
At other points in his speech, Weinberger lambasted city Progressives for nominating candidates “from a reactionary fringe that is opposed to much of what we are trying to achieve.”
Though never explicitly named, Weinberger’s remarks appeared to take aim at those who vocally opposed the Burlington mall redevelopment and other development projects supported by the administration. Charles Simpson, a Progressive who opposed the mall redevelopment plan, is competing with Shannon for the South District seat, while Genese Grill, another outspoken mall opponent, will run against Knodell as an independent.
Knodell also faced a challenge at the Progressive caucus last month from Tony Redington, yet another mall opponent.
“There is a struggle going on for the soul of the party of Sanders, Clavelle and Knodell,” Weinberger said of the Progressives.
The local Progressive Party chapter opposed the mall redevelopment proposal, but Knodell was an outspoken proponent of the project.
“I’m thankful to Jane for all she did in breaking with her party to support the town center,” Weinberger told Central District voters.
Knodell did not attend the caucus at Edmunds Middle School, but Weinberger said she agreed to accept the Democratic nomination if she won it.
Voters acquiesced to Weinberger’s request, but not without opposition. Several voted “no” in a voice vote and former Democratic state lawmaker Alan Bjerke called the move “dangerous for the party.”
The Democrats welcomed independent Dave Hartnett back into the fold after the party nominated another candidate at the caucus two years ago. Hartnett then ran and won the 2015 election as an independent — but willingly accepted the Democratic nomination this time around. “I’m like the mother-in-law you can’t get rid of,” he said with a laugh.
“It’s a big party and I believe all views should be welcome,” he said, adding that his views often fall to the right of the party center.
Deane works as an architect for TruexCullins, a career that he says sets him up well to serve on the council. “My training is to evaluate what I see, come up with ideas for clients to meet their future needs and put together a plan to make it happen,” he said.
As chair of the Burlington Business Association, Deane testified in support of the mall redevelopment before the city council last year. He decided to run recently, he said, at the urging of Weinberger and Shannon, whom he calls friends.
The East District is wide open after Selene Colburn, a Progressive, won a seat in the Vermont House and announced that she would resign from the council. Deane will face Charles Winkleman, chair of the Progressive Party, in the March election.
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I understand why he wants to create a narrative of a Progressive Party in disarray. He and his handlers are ambitious and cutthroat political operatives. It will be easier for him to get his various development projects through (and the private profits that will come for a few) if there is no one questioning them, a number of which will be announced very shortly.
Weinberger-developer, Joan Shannon-real estate agent, this new guy Richard Deane they want on City Council? architect… notice any pattern here. It’s vested interest that will be sold as “expertise.”
One more reason not to like Mayor Weinberger. His arrogance grows and grows. It’s bad enough that he’s generally trying to transform the town into a playground for the affluent. But when you question any stance he has, you are branded as some sort of fringe reactionary. Many who questioned the Sinex Plan were questioning the Sinex Plan and its underlying assumptions and the perhaps overly rosy future outcomes on which it was based and sold to the public; not development in general. But there he goes again trying to paint anybody who disagrees with him with a broad brush. Such inflammatory and derogatory language towards a large number of Burlington’s citizens who voted No to the Sinex Plan and the 22 million that is going to help pay for it is uncivil. He should apologize publicly. I have always thought he was a bit of twerp. My thoughts have been confirmed.
video of the caucus available: https://www.cctv.org/watch-tv/programs/burlington-democratic-party-caucus-0
Real public input is community-based. Ideas come directly from the community in the form of visions and needs. It’s more than making a drawing of ideas or answering questions like “what makes you smile.” While these may be fun exercises they do not set the tone of digging deep to understand community values. In Burlington the “input process” typically jumps from these surface level activities to an outside-consultant provided set of plans for the community to react to. Lost in that process is an earnest determination to represent the interests of the community not a pre-determined agenda or agreement with a developer. Also lost are the kind of creative ideas Burlingtonians are capable of. Public input is more than just giving people a change to speak their mind – public input involves listening and adapting to public views. Nearly half the voters voted against the zoning change to allow 14-story buildings. How will our leaders integrate these views?
Go Genese and Charles! Time for a change in City Hall!
It seems to me that Miro Weinberger just effectively called half of Burlington’s voters a “reactionary fringe”. The massive Don Sinex Mall proposal went down in Wards 2 and 3, and only narrowly won City-wide approval in the recent election.
Aggressive comments like this should be a major concern for the residents of Burlington. It means that if you try to have your voice heard or stand in the way of anything the Mayor wants to do, he will call you derogatory terms and marginalize you.
It does appear the Major is the one afraid of change. Knodell has been on the Council for decades. Why not let someone new step up?
The mayor’s definition of the word “reactionary” is as confused as his definition of the word “progress”. A reactionary is someone who hearkens back to older, more politically-conservative processes, like limiting public engagement or ruling in an autocratic way. Progress is something that should mean doing things in new ways that are sustainable and visionary, not just pushing through business-as-usual agendas that damage neighborhoods, our environment, and our democratic processes. He is the reactionary, as Michael Long says.
To paint Progressives who oppose his pro-business agenda as opponents of affordable housing and equity is flagrant Orwellian doublespeak. No one with any sense will buy it.
All the parties are now irrelevant. There are those who support the 1% neo-liberal capitalist exploitation and takeover of our commons like Weinberger, Knodell, Shannon and Hartnett and those that oppose it. Whether you have an R,D,P or I next to your name is a distinction without a difference. Build the resistance to restore the people’s republic of Burlington.
Weinberger + Knodell + Shannon + Hartnett = Trumpism without the inflammatory rhetoric
Mr. Weinberger is confused about the meaning of “reactionary” or has redefined it to mean “anyone in disagreement with Miro.” As it turns out the reactionary is him. Reactionaries fall on the right of the political spectrum. As we see clearly in our current politics, they regularly use name calling and disparaging labels and language to vilify people they see as the enemy. That’s what Weinberger seems to have done at this caucus.
Our Mayor Miro Weinberger and Councilor Jane Knodell, have forged a new alliance. This alliance is based on the radical idea that being a progressive means actually achieving progressive goals.
The so called Coalition that opposes them claims to be Progressives, but in reality their actions have shown them to have no values whatsoever. They oppose actually building affordable housing, they oppose stormwater infrastructure improvements, and they even oppose plans to re-build city hall park because they do not like the farmers market.
They will tell you they are environmentalists, they will tell you they are affordable housing advocates, they will tell you they are homelessness advocates, but in reality they oppose taking any sort of action which would help anyone.They will also come to dozens of public forums on the same topic, speak at each one, then complain at the end that there has been no time for public input.
The Mayor was right, they are a reactionary fringe with no interest in governing. Their interest is only in yelling and stirring up resentment.
The Mayor is young and has yet to learn that an important attribute the position is humility, not arrogance.
I am a member of the “radical fringe” which opposes the Mayor’s monstrosity on the marketplace and am helping the opponents in their legal and regulatory challenges. a founding member of the progressive movement in Burlington. I stated my hijacking of the Progressive Party back on halloween Night in 1980 when Bernie decided 1980 to run for Mayor against Gordon Paquette in the 1981election I served under both Mayor Sanders and Mayor Clavelle in the City Attorney’s Office and then worked with Bernie in Washington during his first term in Congress.
But despite my deep disagreement with Jane on the BTC development issue, I am supporting her. She is along time friend, colleague, client, and committed Progressive.
Sorry Mr. Mayor. What I am is a longtime socialist and proud of it.
You will come to learn that trash talk usually does not end well.
– John Franco
Burlington