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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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
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.
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.
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
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.
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?
Go Genese and Charles! Time for a change in City Hall!
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?
video of the caucus available: https://www.cctv.org/watch-tv/programs/burlington-democratic-party-caucus-0
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.
After having watched the mayor’s speech (link above thanks to CCTV), I am appalled by his tactics. The mayor says that Progressives who opposed his hi-jacking of public process and community zoning are against the environment, against seniors, against the homeless, and against equity. His logic is as twisted as his methods. He somehow managed to convince organizations like the Conservation Law Firm, the AARP, COTS, and The Champlain Housing Trust to endorse the mall project, so now anyone who was against that project is against the things these organizations claim to defend! Wild. The real question we all should be asking is: Why did these organizations support this project?
CLF and VNRC lobbied and endorsed the Sinex project because Noelle MacKay, Burlington CEDO Director, lobbied HEAVILY her former friends in these organizations. Noelle worked for VNRC under the former Smartgrowth Vermont banner, which merged with VNRC about 10 years ago.
Many current CLF employees in VT formerly worked at VNRC, and are close friends with Noelle MacKay, as well.
Local Motion endorsed the Sinex project because Chapin Spencer, founder and long-time Director of Local Motion is now the Burlington Public Works Director.
There you have it. Miro’s behind-the-scenes arm-twisting at work, and his long reach. Unlikely the Sinex proposal would have passed without these endorsements, and Miro knew it. For these organizations to come out in favor of an individual development proposal that goes from the allowed 10-stories to 14-stories, and bypasses current zoning, is so bizarre.
And for these membership-based organizations to endorse this project WITHOUT polling their own members is practically a crime. They should have stayed out of it.
Anti-everything Progressives don’t get their way, losing influence, lash out. This group ruled the city council using machine tactics in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s, now complain about others who outmaneuver them. Weinberger’s remarks right on target.
After months of dialogue and city council speeches, those who opposed a zoning change to allow 14-story buildings are reduced to sound bites of “no growth”, anti-growth” and in this forum, “anti-everything”. There is an unwillingness to listen and acknowledge the voices of nearly half the voters. Growth is good when thoughtful, and it follows true public process – when it takes the most vulnerable citizens into account along with a changing climate. PlanBTV, our guiding public document was ignored when it came to a handshake with a developer to re-zone the city center. That pre-development agreement was essentially unchanged by public opposition. Now the mayor demonstrates further misunderstanding of citizens. The “fringe” he talks of, are all the hard working people in Burlington who have trouble affording market rate housing and living on less than livable wages. I’m delighted that independent thinkers have stepped up to represent the citizens and provide an alternative to Miro cronyism.
Prior to the Coalition for a Livable City’s(CLC) challenge to Wall Street multi-millionaire Don Sinex’s zoning ordinance-busting 14-story Mall, Miro could easily count on his city council minions like Knodell, Shannon, Hartnett, et,al to coalesce around his pro-1% gentrification agenda. His narrow citywide victory (except Wards 2/3) is now being challenged in the courts by the CLC. This unraveling of his plans is what’s at the heart of his outrageous smearing and, as previous poster correctly stated, “Orwellian doublespeak”. This desperation is a sign of weakness. People now smell his blood in the water. We all have two challenges: One, defeat Knodell and Shannon and Deane at the polls on March 7. Two, build the grassroots campaign to overturn his gentrification plans for City Hall Park, Memorial Auditorium and the Champlain Parkway. Fight neo-liberal capitalism while we fight Trump’s neo-fascism
Oh, Mr. Petrarca, you are a genius! Your inspired parody of tired, old American socialist radicals is priceless! I remember reading about these deluded old-time activists in history class in college! “Reds,” they were called. And “Wobblies.” They were so nave! They actually fell for their own slogans! But as we know the world moved on! I love your creative use of propaganda terms like “pro 1% gentrification agenda,” “Orwellian doublespeak,” “build the grassroots campaign,” “Fight neo-liberal capitalism,” and “fight neo-fascism.” Genius, I say! Pure genius! Please, keep us laughing! Thanks!
FYI, the person posting as “Sud End” is Genese Grill- the person running against Jane Knodell! Why doesn’t she use her real name here, instead of trolling as a “commenter” with negative things to say about the other side?! Please, if you’re going to run a negative campaign, at least own it, instead of hiding under a pseudonym!
Is that seb8085 hiding behind a pseudonym????!
Hypocritical? Negative? Credible?
SEB8085 isn’t commenting pseudonymously on an article about himself or herself!
What’s even more amazing is that Grill’s second comment here (8:36) pm shows that she criticized the Mayor’s speech before she had even seen it.
Excuse me, ” Know Your Assumptions,” my Sud End name happens to be connected to an old Facebook account which has since been changed to my real name. But it comes up this way on the comments…I don’t know why. As anyone who knows me knows, I am happy to express my criticisms, have done so on my campaign page, in the newspaper, and openly at city meetings, and have been doing so for years. My first comment came after reading about the Mayor’s speech. I was reacting to quotes in the newspaper. The second came after watching the speech. Have a nice day.
Also: who is it running a negative campaign here? We are not the ones calling people who voted yes on the mall vote anti-environmental, anti-senior, anti-labor, anti-affordable housing. We are not the ones calling almost half of the citizens of the city a “reactionary fringe”. Criticism where criticism is due is a duty of all citizens. Negative smear campaigns are something else.
Headline: “Politician Critiques Mayor’s Speech Before Seeing Or Hearing It. Then Lashes Out At Critics”
BTW, who has been engaging in a “negative smear campaign”? The smears were thrown by CLC, the anti-Mall allies, and the Weinberger haters. Just look at Comrade Petrarca’s and others’ name-calling on this thread alone:
Capitalist exploitation
Weinberger=Trumpist
Developer
Cutthroat
Twerp
Multi-millionaire
Gentrification agenda
Neo-fascist
If that isn’t smearing people just because they have different ideas from you, I don’t know what is. The fact is that the Mayor has put up with this name-calling for months and months without responding. Now your mad that the guy you’ve been smearing for months is mad? Really?
Genese Grill got caught trying to run a dirty campaign and stir up negativity against her opponent by impersonating an anonymous commenter online, and her defense is that she’s been using her real name on her campaign page? I would certainly hope so! If she *really* wanted to use her own name, surely she could easily find the account info button at the top of this very page?
However, this appears similar to her usual modus operandi of relentlessly spamming the Front Porch Forum with anti-mall material, which many believe led to that campaign’s failure because people were put off by her long-winded posts there, often exceeding 10-15 pages daily. This abuse of public forums is quite in keeping with the political strategies of a post-Trump era. Grill also tried to sabotage Bernie’s campaign by smearing his wife during the election because of a personal grudge over being unceremoniously fired from her last academic post, years ago. She didn’t care if Bernie, whom she supported, lost; her only small-minded and petty goal was to keep Jane Sanders out of the White House as First Lady (see http://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/jane-says-sanders-secret-weapon-or-a-political-liability/Content?oid=2670992).
However, if she doesn’t get her way, we may expect to see this city council hopeful collapsing on the floor of the police station in tears again, which is where she was observed last summer after another failed campaign to stop the air show. Burlington, please dig deeper and ask yourselves who you really want having access to city government?
Wow! I haven’t been here in a while. This is great – several dozen people have committed time to disliking everything concerning Genese. This is a powerful tactic. BUT, if you (you) look into all the facts, you will find that the Mayor’s projects are not so good for the city. If the “progressives” have rallied around these comments, calling names and such, I guess we (the CLC) will have to do so – but without the name-calling. Yes, we have a few exasperated comments, but seriously – did someone call the Mayor a twerp? What a pity – but it wasn’t much of an insult. “The Mayor was right, they are a reactionary fringe with no interest in governing. Their interest is only in yelling and stirring up resentment.” I would call that a more serious insult. How can our interest be only in yelling, when we haven’t been yelling? Unless the points we make are considered, I don’t think they should be judged – and certainly not so harshly. Wanting to keep the city attractive is not anti-progress. Progress would better be served by planting 100 trees than it would be by putting up a skyscraper. Okay, boys, have at it. Thank you.
Oh yes – forgot to mention – the “affordable housing” in the Sinex project was close to $1000 a month, and consisted of a two-room place with one window on an airshaft – hardly livable. There are reasons we opposed the project – it is not that we oppose all projects.
Mayor Weinberger is a twerp. That’s funny because it’s true.
The twerp comment is just silly. I do see that “vivaONE” is not keeping comments classy, though Wonder who it really is?!
I am really disappointed by the so called progressives who have put forth this bizarre mall project , claiming that it will help with housing and somehow bring renewal to the downtown. This does not seem to align with the already dead mall space and the rise of online shopping. It’s outdated and not at all progressive. We will end up paying this off for years to come. Genese is looking at a truly progressive plan to revitalize the city with the actual needs of the people who live here and work here and create here. We need this kind of vision going forward. People with true vision will often be attacked by those trying to hold onto the old power system. I can see that happening in this thread and it is sad.