The battle over local basing of the F-35 will soon return to a familiar arena — the Burlington city council. Last summer, councilors passed a resolution asking for more information about the planes without supporting or opposing the basing. But now F-35 opponents intend to introduce a resolution declaring the war plane unwelcome at the city-owned airport.
The four Progressives who plan to bring the resolution to a vote on October 7 face a difficult task. To win, they need to sway a majority of the 14 council members. Ward 7 councilor Tom Ayres, considered the most potentially persuadable of the seven council Democrats, said on the margins of a Wednesday press conference outside city hall that he will not vote for any resolution categorically rejecting the F-35. And that’s exactly what the Progs’ proposal would do.
But the plane’s opponents did wheel out a new political weapon on Wednesday. Three Democratic state legislators, including senate majority leader Philip Baruth (D-Chittenden, pictured), attended the anti-F-35 press event. Activists there argued that the Burlington city council has the power, as landlord of the airport, to prevent its tenant, the Vermont Air National Guard, from operating the aircraft on city property.
Baruth is the highest-ranking Democrat in the state to publicly oppose the local basing option. The Chittenden County senator has cracked the solid wall of Democratic-establishment support erected by Sen. Patrick Leahy, Gov. Peter Shumlin, Congressman Peter Welch and Mayor Miro Weinberger. Independent U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders also favors stationing the plane in Vermont, as do most local business leaders and thousands of Vermonters who have sent postcards to the Air Force urging the military to bring the F-35 to the Burlington airport.
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I wish these articles asked opposing questions…
Like to Mrs Siegal, do you really think it matters that its 236 x more likely to crash if the likely hood of it crashing is 1 in 100000000000?
Or asking Mrs Cole why she believes that the state should have a say in where a federal military jet is stationed?
Or asking what precedent allows for a lawsuit of $100 Million in damages against the City of Burlington for the placement of federal military fighter jets…Especially considering that GMP has violated the noise level restrictions put in place by the PSB multiple times without any penalty whatsoever.
This debate is getting old and tiresome. Leave it to a bunch of progs to keep beating a dead horse.
These are questions that most informed people would not ask. If you wish to garner any form of political support in this state all you need to do is the following: Run as a blue party, claim you’re in support of any environmental protection ( be it myth or truth, like the F-35 crapshow) and promise an increase to welfare / social programs. Boom, you have a voice.
For all other people who actually utilize logic and brainpower however, we’re in the minority.
I’m counting the days until I move out of here, can’t come fast enough.
I for one will quote the pope: “Never has the use of violence brought peace in its wake. War begets war, violence begets violence.†So said Pope Francis, addressing the crowd on Sunday in the Vatican City’s St. Peter’s Square. Live by war, die by war, live by peace, die happy. The f-35s are stupid, ridiculous and the federal government is consistently acting outside our constitution. WE should stand up to their insanity.
Kudos to Baruth for being a voice of reason for opposing the F-35’s coming to our area. They are a high powered, cumbersome, gas tanked war machine that has NO BUSINESS flying over our heavily populated residential neighborhoods, polluting our environment with noise, chemicals, and posing a potentially dangerous risk for crashes. And for Mr. Cioffi, the GBIC President, please think more about the people, families, schools and that this will negatively impact instead of lining your pockets with money. I always think it rather ironic that our “reps” (Shumlin, Welch, Leahy and Saunders) are the ones that live no where near to this area, yet STRONGLY support this machine….come live in our area and I wonder if you would think differently if it was yourself or your family what would have to hear these everyday or live in fear….