As Burlington continues to grapple with issues around crime, drug use and a beleaguered police department, city council Democrats shook up the Public Safety Committee by swapping out an established Progressive chair with a more business-minded replacement.
Earlier this month, during the annual reorganization that follows Town Meeting Day elections, Democratic Burlington Councilors attempted to remove Councilor Melo Grant (P-Central District) from the committee. After the Progs protested, they settled with replacing her as chair with Ranjit “Buddy” Singh (D-South District).
City Council President Ben Traverse (D-Ward 5), who makes the committee assignments, ultimately decided to keep her on while expanding what had been a three-person board, adding newcomer Councilor Laura Sanchez-Parkinson (P-Ward 3) and Councilor Evan Litwin (D-Ward 7), a vocal critic of both Grant and Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak.
The shake-up comes at a critical moment. Burlington is searching for a permanent police chief, and is also in the midst of an internal investigation into allegations of excessive force by city officers during the March 11 standoff between protestors and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in South Burlington.
Grant came up in local politics through her efforts to improve accountability at the Burlington Police Department following several high-profile use-of-force cases in 2018 and 2019 that resulted in legal settlements. Her accountability work sets her apart from Singh. He told Seven Days his approach to public safety was informed by the 18 years he served on the Church Street Marketplace Commission, a board of council-appointed boosters for businesses in the downtown pedestrian mall.
Singh’s priorities include speeding up the effort to replace interim Police Chief Shawn Burke and throwing the “kitchen sink” at recruiting more officers to fill the department’s ranks. As chair, he said, he’ll reconsider the idea of a “public safety hub,” a downtown feature intended to help foster a safe environment for Church Street businesses and shoppers. Councilor Litwin had suggested the strategy, which Grant refused to take up.
The failed effort to oust Grant outraged her and reinvigorated the deep divisions between majority Dems and the mayor-aligned Prog minority. Grant, a Black woman, argued that the Dems would not have attempted to kick a white man with her expertise off her off the committee.
“This work is so important to me, it is so important to my district,” said Grant, who represents downtown and Old North End. “I would not be able to look people in the face in my district if I wasn’t trying to get all these issues addressed.”
Traverse praised Grant’s experience and passion for public safety issues, and said that being a committee member instead of its chair would ultimately allow her more freedom to speak her mind.
Other Dems were not so conciliatory. Councilor Becca Brown-McKnight (D-Ward 6) sought to boot her off the committee altogether, citing “many, many … examples of problematic interactions with residents across email and social media.”
She also asserted that Grant had supported an alleged threat of violence against Litwin. Last September, Brown-McKnight noted that Grant had “liked” an Instagram post of a cartoon depicting Litwin sticking his tongue out as another figure fumbles with a knife. In an email exchange with Grant, Brown-McKnight threatened to “release a statement condemning violence, or the suggestion of violence, against elected officials.”
“I don’t believe it’s aligned with the goals of the committee or Burlington residents’ values to put leaders who are comfortable with suggestions of violence against their colleagues in charge of public safety decisions,” McKnight told Seven Days.
Grant dismissed the allegations as overblown and shot back that McKnight and other Dems had encouraged violence against Progs when they compared their wearing of kefiyahs, a symbol of solidarity with Palestinians amid the War on Gaza, to supporting terrorism.
Grant alleged in an interview that Brown-McKnight’s animosity actually stems from a conflict last spring over an effort to move the free lunches served up by Food Not Cops out of the Marketplace Parking Garage. Grant raised questions about the legitimacy of data Brown-McKnight cited while advocating for the move, which turned out to be based on anecdotal observations from the Chittenden County sheriff.
Grant defended her time on the Public Safety Commission, which she has served on since being first elected in 2023. She pushed the city to address the serious drug problems gripping the neighborhoods she represented that year, she said, and she never shied from criticizing the Burlington Police Department, particularly former Burlington Police Chief John Murad.
“Democrats were so far up Murad’s ass that they couldn’t see the light of day,” Grant said. “Speaking out against the police chief was just something you’re not supposed to do.”
Litwin said that councilors should not openly criticize police. Following the lead of activist groups such as Migrant Justice, Grant accused Burlington police of violating Vermont’s Fair and Impartial Policing Policy during the March standoff in South Burlington between protesters and ICE.
“That doesn’t grow trust in the police department with the Public Safety Committee, which in my opinion needs to be in lockstep,” said Litwin.
Litwin wants to address crime and drug use in Burlington’s downtown, drawing on anecdotes about shoplifting and violence downtown.
Grant believes the Dems focus on the complaints of downtown business owners at the expense of residents. “Any time that they’re talking about downtown, it’s always about the businesses. They only care about their donor class. They never talk about residents,” she said.
“We all use our downtown, and everyone needs to feel safe downtown,” Litwin pushed back.
Traverse has explained his committee assignments as business as usual, but had to defend his intentions in email exchanges with the Prog caucus. The Progs warned Traverse that this is a “critical and sensitive” moment for public safety and further alleged that removing Grant was a “clear example of racism and sexism.”
Traverse pushed back vigorously on the accusations, but the festering dispute has spilled into the public view.
At the April 13 council meeting, Grant took the unusual step of speaking out during a portion of the meeting dedicated to comments from members of the public. She aired her grievances about losing the chairmanship, drawing attention to the behind-the-scenes machinations of the council.
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