Yes, Bailey Osborne did have feedback for Miro Weinberger, she said, when the Burlington mayor came knocking on a January afternoon in the city’s South End Lakeside neighborhood.
She suggested the mayor come inside and take a seat.
Osborne, a single mother and a paraeducator in Burlington schools, said she felt as though officials in city hall weren’t listening to “people like me.”
“It’s, like, really big things you’re doing,” Osborne said, praising Weinberger for his work on the redevelopment of the Burlington Town Center mall and with the University of Vermont on student housing. “I just want to know that people in the political realm will look out for the workers,” she said, meaning the city’s working-class residents.
Perched on the couch in a jacket and wind pants, Weinberger listened for nearly 25 minutes, interjecting occasionally to ask for clarification and once to mount a defense of his work on affordable housing and attracting jobs.
It was “a little painful” to hear the criticism, Weinberger conceded, and he did ask Osborne what she would like him to do differently.
“I can’t think of anything right now,” she replied.
In the end, the 47-year-old Democrat handed Osborne a glossy campaign flyer and asked for her support.
Osborne told Weinberger she’d voted for him in 2012 and 2015, “but,” she added, “you’re going to have to work for it this time.”
Weinberger is doing just that.
The two-term incumbent is facing his first credible challenger in independent Carina Driscoll, a native Burlingtonian. The former city councilor, school board member and legislator also has the advantage of being the stepdaughter of Vermont’s greatest political success story: U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
Driscoll, who once worked for Weinberger, is portraying her former boss as an out-of-touch elitist administrator who may be able to balance a budget but isn’t governing effectively on behalf of a majority of Burlingtonians.
One of her slogans — “Burlington is not for sale” — is vintage Sanders.
She criticizes the current mayor for catering to business and development interests and maintaining a top-down approach to government that precludes real citizen involvement. “There is a hunger for engagement in Burlington right now,” Driscoll said.
Similarly, and even further to the left, Infinite Culcleasure is running a campaign that is light on policy and heavy on idealism: He’s calling for an inclusive, collaborative form of government that would give disenfranchised communities a voice.
Who’s backing whom? Former mayor Peter Clavelle, who once worked for Sanders, is supporting Weinberger. Pro-development City Council President Jane Knodell (P-Central District) is in the Driscoll camp. And Genese Grill, a fierce critic of the downtown mall redevelopment project, supports Culcleasure.
If Culcleasure and Driscoll split the opposition, Weinberger will surely win. But if they combine forces — which both have hinted may be a possibility — and mobilize reluctant voters, their shared vision could give the mayor a run for his money.
Both challengers have pushed Weinberger to defend not only his record on city finances and development projects but also the ways in which working-class residents have benefited from his tenure. His fate on March 6 may depend on his response to the Bailey Osbornes of the city — those who feel they’re being squeezed out of a rapidly changing Burlington.
Hardworking Mayor
Weinberger was a political novice when he became Burlington’s 42nd mayor in 2012. His only previous public service experience was serving on the Burlington Airport Commission.
To make up for that deficit, he’s devoted himself to mastering the ins and outs of municipal bureaucracy, according to advisers and elected officials.
In the beginning, he used to bring home the city charter for after-hours reading, said Mike Kanarick, a friend of Weinberger’s who also served as his chief of staff from 2012 to 2015.
“He’s a policy wonk,” said Kanarick. “He wants to be fluent in every way on every issue … He has a tremendous command of how the city works.”
One example: Weinberger said he spent a week regularly checking RouteShout, the Green Mountain Transit bus tracking app, on his phone after a constituent complained that it wasn’t working properly.
Weinberger said he thrives on the nitty-gritty tasks of the office. “I like the day-to-day role of being mayor because it’s about making tangible, positive changes in the community,” he said.
By many measures, the Ivy League-educated real estate developer has been successful.
With diligence and discipline, Weinberger has kept the city’s spending within its budget and lobbied for successful passage of a fiscal stability bond to refinance its debt. Burlington’s credit rating has risen from Baa3, almost junk bond status, to A2, with Weinberger celebrating each upgrade with a news release.
“If we don’t stay focused on the finances, we’ll quickly fall back to where we were six years ago,” he told reporters at the city’s Democratic Caucus in early January. “I’m not going to stop talking about that.”
During his six years in office, Weinberger has invested in infrastructure, and he likes to brag that he has tripled the miles of sidewalk repaired each year. He’s launched data initiatives to better measure his government’s effectiveness and improved local opiate treatment options. Although he’s not a natural public speaker, Weinberger has improved at the podium. He’s spoken out against federal immigration policy and President Donald Trump, making Burlington a de facto “sanctuary city.”
All 17 of the ballot items he has put to voters have passed.
Burlington native Marty Lafayette is sold. “The Progressives stole our money,” said the New North End resident, who stopped by his neighborhood Jolley convenience store to talk politics with owner Dave Hartnett (D-North District), a city councilor. Lafayette is still rankled by former Progressive mayor Bob Kiss’ administration, which secretly diverted $17 million in city funds to a failing Burlington Telecom. When Kiss left office in 2012, the city’s finances were in shambles and public trust had dropped to an all-time low.
“We can’t go back,” agreed Hartnett, a Weinberger supporter.
Getting Burlington’s finances in order has enabled the city to borrow money for street and sewer upgrades, bike path improvements, and long-stalled building projects such as the downtown bus station.
Weinberger has personally worked with developers to pave the way for new housing in the city and to redevelop the downtown mall into the 14-story City Place Burlington that is currently under construction.
Council President Knodell described Weinberger’s relentless work to advocate for a public “yes” vote on that project as the “high point” of his last six years. “He worked hard; he was really a maniac on it,” Knodell said.
Her views reflect the prevailing opinion of Burlington business owners that the city needs to grow — up.
In the Lakeside neighborhood, 95-year-old Cliff Allis wants it all to happen faster. He recalled a neighbor who decades ago was concerned that the Champlain Parkway would endanger her children. “The kids they were worrying about? They’ve got kids and grandkids,” he told the mayor with a chuckle. The Champlain Parkway proposal has been on the table since 1974 — nearly 44 years.
“If I get another three years, you will see that highway built,” Weinberger promised the old man, who agreed to vote for Weinberger and posed for a Facebook photo with him.
Burlingtonians are deeply divided on development — the issue Weinberger is most identified with — and there’s no shortage of passion on the “anti” side.
“I don’t really trust the mayor. He’s too corporate,” said John MacLean in a conversation at Barrio Bakery & Café in the Old North End. MacLean pointed to the development of market-rate housing and lack of support for the co-op Keep BT Local as reasons he did not plan to vote for Weinberger in March.
“I want to see Miro defeated,” said Barbara Wynroth, a member of the Coalition for a Livable City, a group that battled for months, and even filed a lawsuit, against the mall redevelopment.
Wynroth also advocated against a proposed redesign of City Hall Park. She called the development process “undemocratic”; Weinberger “blocked us out every inch of the way.”
Such dissent is inevitable, said Clavelle, a Progressive who has served as an unpaid adviser to Weinberger on some of the city’s large development projects.
He listed a few of the controversies during Weinberger’s tenure: the Moran plant, Burlington Telecom, the New North End bike lanes, the mall.
“The longer you’ve been in office,” Clavelle said, “the more people you’re going to piss off.”
The Challengers
Driscoll and Culcleasure are crafting their respective messages to reach and motivate the discontented.
There were no suits and ties at Culcleasure’s first organizing party at North End Studios — the candidate has no formal campaign headquarters. The event attracted a crowd of people sporting jean jackets, body piercings and scruffy beards.
The 44-year-old, who has a master’s degree in urban policy analysis and management, told the roughly three dozen supporters gathered that he aimed to use his campaign to elevate marginalized voices, including the homeless, the trans community and people of color. “I don’t think our government is ever going to get it right until there’s a real, authentic bottom-up type of approach,” he said. “That includes everything from how the city hires to the F-35s.”
Culcleasure supporter Grill, who fought the mall redevelopment project and challenged Knodell for a city council seat last year, said she grew frustrated with the “conflicts of interest, the influence of money, the charades of ‘public process,’ the lack of transparency” in city government.
Culcleasure “walks this walk” of democratic involvement, Grill said, pointing to his work as project manager of Parents and Youth for Change, a nonprofit that does organizing and advocacy in Burlington and Winooski schools.
In contrast to his opponents, Culcleasure described himself as a man of the people who has struggled to pay the rent on his Old North End apartment.
He also fessed up to run-ins with police as a young adult, when he was convicted of two felonies. The crowd laughed with him when he said, jokingly, “I don’t mean to overembellish my street cred.”
Meanwhile, Driscoll has been working a different crowd. At a house party in mid-January, she made her pitch to about 15 attendees — mostly longtime Progressives —at Burlington Co-housing East Village.
As they sipped cider in armchairs, she expounded on increasing affordable housing, improving access to childcare and creating more senior housing to provide for those most in need. In between, she aimed not-so-subtle jabs at Weinberger.
“The current policy is, if we build more market-rate condos and more high-end condos for rent or sale … we’ll magically have affordable housing,” she said to chuckles from her audience. “I’ll tell you, it’s not working.”
The vagueness of the message was strategic. Driscoll must cast a wide net for voters if she wants to win, according to Knodell.
“She needs to run her campaign from a center-left position, put together different groups that are unhappy with the mayor and convince voters that she can run the business of government well,” Knodell said.
So when an attendee asked about Driscoll’s stance on banning F-35 fighter jets from being based at Burlington International Airport, the candidate hedged, saying she keeps “a very open mind.”
She supports a referendum on the issue, Driscoll said cautiously: “Having good public process engagement should always be a ‘yes.'”
“It’s time for our city to have a mayor who will return power to the people of Burlington” is how she put it in her campaign announcement.
It’s not a coincidence that much of Driscoll’s language harks back to the days when her stepdad ran Burlington City Hall.
“So many people see Carina having a good shot of reasserting the Progressive Party as a pretty strong force” in Burlington politics, said Josh Wronski, executive director of the Vermont Progressive Party. She’s already earned an endorsement from Our Revolution, an organization launched by Sanders.
Knodell’s hope: “I think she’ll bring a new take on what it means to be a Progressive city in the 21st century, but it will be very much informed by what Progressives have done over the last 30 years.”
Driscoll grew up in Burlington — at age 11, she moved from the South End to the Old North End, and she later spent her high school years living in the New North End. In the early 2000s, she won a seat in the Statehouse and then represented the Old North End for one term as a city councilor.
Former Democratic rep Mark Larson served alongside Driscoll for the two years she was in Montpelier. Now he’s her volunteer campaign treasurer.
Driscoll has “the ability to bring folks together and empower people to be part of city government,” Larson said.
Door-knocking in the New North End, she worked all of her connections. Driscoll asked some longtime residents when they graduated in hopes that they shared mutual high school acquaintances. At one door, she informed the current occupant, a potential supporter, that her childhood friend had once lived there.
In 2015, 7,600 Burlingtonians cast ballots in the mayoral election. By her own calculations, Driscoll needs to get 10,000 to the polls on March 6 — and earn the support of 5,001, she said.
Emphasizing her “ground game,” Driscoll said she’s reaching out to residents in their homes and has trained volunteers to help her do so. She’s hoping to fill 500 three-hour door-knocking shifts before the election.
Driscoll will have to make inroads in the South End, traditionally a Weinberger stronghold, as well as get substantial support in the New North End, which has the highest voter turnout.
Culcleasure is expected to do best in the traditionally progressive Old North End. He acknowledged he would have to “hit the lottery” to win the election but offered his own assessment: “In the last mayoral election, 23,000 people didn’t vote,” he told supporters at his organizing party. “Who’s splitting that vote?”
Driscoll is hoping she and Culcleasure “can come together before the election and merge energies,” she said in an interview in her North Street campaign office.
Culcleasure hasn’t ruled out that possibility, but he told Seven Days later that the final decision about whether to join ranks with Driscoll would be made in conjunction with his campaign team and supporters.
All Opposed
Has Weinberger alienated enough antidevelopment types and Bernie-era Progressives that they could unite and vote him out of office?
As Clavelle pointed out, having a record can be a liability.
Jim Holway, a longtime community organizer from the New North End, turned against Weinberger after Holway organized a citywide public meeting last September to discuss the future of the derelict Memorial Auditorium.
Weinberger refused to help facilitate a conversation around the building and, in one conversation, raised his voice, saying that the city “didn’t have the resources,” according to Holway.
“Back since Bernie’s day, I’ve been working on public issues. I’ve never seen a mayor who’s sort of anti … public voice,” he said.
Weinberger disputed Holway’s characterization of the conversation, saying that he reassured Holway that the city would soon prioritize the project.
Nonetheless, it was the last straw for Holway: He resigned from his ward’s Democratic organizing committee and, on a Thursday in mid-January, showed up at Driscoll’s office to start volunteering for her campaign.
“I see, in many corners of the city, a similar sentiment growing as once-Miro supporters take the time to set aside partisan politics, meet with Carina, and see a different and more positive civic partnership in city hall’s future,” Holway wrote in a follow-up email to Seven Days.
More recently, the sale of Burlington Telecom — with its convoluted narrative of spurned bidders, multiple delays, councilors behaving badly and a final decision made at 2 a.m. — didn’t put Weinberger in the best light.
He lobbied hard for his choice — a Canadian telecom company called Tucows — but the contract went to Schurz Communications.
Some councilors, including Knodell and Kurt Wright (R-Ward 4), recalled a Sunday night meeting in late October, when they met with Weinberger, Hartnett and Chip Mason (D-Ward 5) to discuss what would happen if the council reached a tie vote.
Wright and Knodell both said Weinberger raised his voice and refused to discuss the possibility that Tucows wouldn’t be selected. After 10 minutes, they walked out with Hartnett.
“Miro didn’t want to hear what we had to say,” Wright said.
“It was not a good meeting,” Knodell agreed. Rather than helping the council find a path to consensus, “he took the approach of basically trying to … berate me into submission.”
Driscoll has taken note. “Nothing illustrates better the need for new leadership than the division that has come out of the Burlington Telecom sale,” she said in her campaign launch speech.
Wright, who ran against Weinberger for mayor in 2012, said he hasn’t endorsed any of the candidates. He voted for Weinberger in 2015 and often aligns with him on policy but said more recently that he has had “major differences” with the mayor.
So do councilors on the other end of the political spectrum.
“What we continue to see is a Miro-knows-best way of doing business,” said Max Tracy (P-Ward 2), noting a lack of transparency, accessibility, civic engagement and open process “within the BT conversation, the mall conversation … I don’t think that’s the best way for getting the results for the community.”
Clavelle noted that a lack of transparency is a perpetual concern in Burlington politics and called the accusation “unfair.” Queen City residents have “an insatiable appetite to be involved and be engaged,” he said.
And the third race can be difficult, Clavelle acknowledged. The seven-term mayor of Burlington lost his third bid, in 1994, because he had pushed the city to cover health insurance for domestic partners, including gay and lesbian couples, before same-sex marriage was legal. “The quite significant opposition turnout” surprised most people, he said — including his opponent, Peter Brownell.
Clavelle won back the mayor’s seat from Brownell in the next election but said the history lesson may prove valuable for Weinberger. “You can’t become complacent; your supporters cannot become complacent; you can’t take voters’ support for granted,” he advised. “Miro needs to be out there, and I know that he is, knocking on hundreds, if not thousands, of doors.”
Incumbent Advantage?
Weinberger supporters assert that he is well positioned to win a third term in Burlington City Hall.
The city is growing, there are no major financial issues and, in spite of a few stumbles on development, the mayor has had no precipitous falls.
“This election cycle is going to be moving forward in a city that’s doing well,” said Andy Montroll, who serves on the city Planning Commission and was a Democratic city councilor from 1994 to 2009. “At the surface level, it does favor the incumbent — and rightly so.” Even though Montroll headed up the effort to get Keep BT Local to buy Burlington Telecom, he said he’d still cast his ballot for Weinberger. “I don’t look at just an isolated issue; I try to look at the whole scope of it,” he said.
Weinberger is “still clearly the favorite,” opined Wright. “I think he’ll leave no stone unturned in his push to get reelected.”
That was evident during a week in January when the incumbent hopped from event to event, highlighting his accomplishments in a speech to the Burlington Business Association, making his pitch for the endorsement of UVM College Democrats (they eventually backed him), knocking on doors in his spare time, and handing out campaign literature at every turn.
“He’s a workhorse,” said City Councilor Adam Roof (I-Ward 8), a Weinberger supporter. “He works his ass off.”
Weinberger also knows how to get supporters to open their wallets. He spent more than $90,000 in his last race, raising money from local and Washington, D.C.-based friends.
He expects to spend a similar sum this time around, he said as he sat in his College Street campaign office at a table piled with papers and leftover pastries from a recent phone-banking session. In one weekend in mid-January, he raised $10,000 through an email campaign to supporters. Last weekend, former United Nations ambassador Samantha Power, who was Weinberger’s college radio talk-show cohost at Yale University, headlined a fundraiser at Nectar’s.
A shift in Weinberger’s rhetoric suggests he isn’t taking anything for granted.
He’s adopted more Progressive-type talking points, referring to his work preventing Burlington from becoming “a boutique city” and “protecting the city’s most vulnerable residents.”
Knodell said she had heard Weinberger speak more about “equity and inclusion” than ever before — because “Carina is very strong on equity and inclusion,” she guessed.
“It’s hard to say that equity and inclusion have been a big part of what he’s been about in six years,” Knodell said.
The typically reserved Weinberger has also started allowing voters glimpses into his personal life — no doubt to humanize the candidate often characterized as a developer.
At the Democratic Caucus, his wife, Stacy, offered the nomination speech and told the story of how the couple met at a daycare where she was working.
When door-knocking, the mayor mentioned his 11-year-old daughter Li Lin’s transition into middle school, and he’s taken to dropping references to the challenges of juggling work-family balance. On Martin Luther King Day he framed his work on equity and inclusion, in part, in terms of raising two adopted daughters of color.
For the most part, Weinberger is sticking to his message and promising more of the same: moving forward on his plans to make Burlington a net-zero energy city, continuing housing development, and advancing public projects such as City Hall Park and Memorial Auditorium.
According to Councilor Roof, the election boils down to whether or not voters align with his vision for the city’s future.
“Nostalgia can be seductive,” Roof said. “That is not Miro’s promise … He’s promising a future. Whether or not you agree with that future and all its detail and scope, well, that’s a decision that each individual Burlingtonian will have to make.”
Driscoll, meanwhile, has five weeks to make the case for her alternate vision.
On a Sunday in mid-January, she tromped purposefully along a sidewalk in the New North End in an effort to get to as many doors as she could between morning meetings and her afternoon house party. She’s attended up to four such gatherings per weekend.
Driscoll got Dan Mintzer’s vote before she could say a word. As Mintzer got out of his car in front of his ranch-style home, he announced that Weinberger had made “one too many backdoor deals,” referencing a livable wage exemption at the airport and a lack of intervention in the school budget — which is not the mayor’s purview.
Driscoll hit all her talking points, detailing the need to “bring people to the table” before plunging into a nuanced description of her plan to divert payment in lieu of taxes to after-school programs. She learned that Mintzer’s son, who fidgeted nearby, attended school with her nephew.
Driscoll was on the way to the next house when Mintzer called after her, asking for a yard sign.
Correction, February 3, 2018: A previous version of this story misrepresented Culcleasure’s criminal history.
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This article appears in Jan 31 – Feb 6, 2018.
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I really wish there was a viable candidate in this race.
“He’s adopted more Progressive-type talking points, referring to his work preventing Burlington from becoming ‘a boutique city’ and ‘protecting the city’s most vulnerable residents.'”
Sorry, Miro, actions speak louder than words. Merely repeating someone else’s talking points isn’t going to earn you Progressive cred. Voters can, and do, actually see through this pathetic tactic. Talk to us about ‘protecting the city’s most vulnerable residents’ when you actually DO something to address the AFFORDABLE housing crisis.
We’re waiting …
If Culcleasure and Driscoll are the alternative, Weinberger has absolutely nothing to worry about .
A plea to all Burlington voters:
If you love and support the ideas of Bernie Sanders, please do not vote for Carina Driscoll. Bernie never took jobs or payola from his mother, he put his money where his mouth is.
If you hate and do not support the ideas of Bernie Sanders, please do not vote for Carina Driscoll. An accomplished person of integrity is the minimum qualifications one should have to run for mayor.
If you could care less about Bernie Sanders, please do not vote for Carina Driscoll. Voting for grasping relatives of famous people is antithetical to everything a healthy democracy demands in order to thrive.
We keep hearing this mantra “Progressive”, “Progressive”, “Progressive”. Is anyone else sick of it yet? Do the “Progressives” have any realistic and practical solutions to anything? Anything at all? Sure, free healthcare, free college, free this, free that, living wage, low income housing, tax sensitivity, taking care of the most vulnerable – it all sounds great. Who wouldn’t want such things? But as all thinking people know, free is not really free. Someone has to pay for all of these things and the only solutions that Progressives are able to muster is to tax the wealthy and corporations. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for everyone paying their fair share but its when you try and define “fair share” that things get a bit fuzzy. When I’ve heard Progressives speak about their tax schemes, they seem to be punitive rather than fair. Further, the middle class are always the ones who, proportionally speaking, get stuck with most of the bill.
I know several “progressives”. Mostly, they don’t make enough money to have to worry about tax increases or have so much money that a bit of an increase doesn’t much matter to them. The progressives that I know are anti-development too, so I’ve never been able to discern where they expect all this tax money from businesses to come from or where all of this low income housing to come from. Its a mystery.
Weinberger isnt perfect, no one is, but at least he is trying to come up with realistic and practical answers for dragging Burlington into the current century and put her on firm financial footing.
Vermont’s greatest political success story: U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).???? Are you kidding??? Maybe the greatest Vermont sellout/paid off in history. One of Vermont’s greatest liar, crook, and bum in history, Never drew a paycheck till he became mayor at 40 yo in Burlington. Wife and step-daughter are just as crooked as him.
How could the Mayor, with his extensive knowledge of the city charter, support the rewording of the F-35 ballot question? The charter forbids it. (This happened Very recently. Two days ago.) I am glad the council, following a public forum, voted that the original wording be restored. Thank you, councilors.
I think Miros opponents only offer these vague idealistic notions because they havent done the hard work to understand the details. And the notion that Miros administraton has lacked transparency and inclusion are fiction. Miro has gone out of his way to provide transparency, such as SeeClickFix app that collects and tracks DPW tasks, and the BTVdata open data system.
And when we say inclusion, what is more inclusive and democratic than ballot initiatives – 17! And voters passed them all.
And if they took the time to really understand how cities work, theyd understand that in order to deliver and expand programs that address affordability or childcare, it requires Miros level of focus and understanding of the financial side. That is the problem that led to the mess he inherited. He and his team worked hard and have turned that completely around, as he pledged he would. We need to see this work through to then allow us to afford these additional things instead of a simplistic tax the rich approach.
Roy asked “Do the “Progressives” have any realistic and practical solutions to anything?”
I guess you either weren’t here or have forgotten your history. Progressive administrations (with help from some Dems & Republicans) did the following:
1) Helped found and support the Burlington Community Land Trust (now the CHT), which created thousands of affordable housing units
2) Got the state to approve a local option rooms & meals tax that raises money from tourists and helps keep property taxes down
3) Adopted various franchise fees that raise money from entities that don’t pay property taxes (e.g., UVM and FAHC), which also helps keep property taxes down
4) Transformed the Waterfront from a dump to what it is today
5) Supported the transformation of Pine Street from a faded pre-war light industrial zone to a thriving commercial and arts neighborhood
6) Supported huge investments in energy efficiency that has saved businesses and residents millions in energy costs
And so on. Forward-thinking Vermonters have been solving problems for decades. You may not want to believe it, but it’s true.
Doug Hoffer- increased taxation is not a form of a solution to any problem other than overspending.
and as our state auditor I must ask- why did you not catch the massive Eb 5 fraud that occurred with the Jay peak project?
It seems its your job to catch such fraudulent activities
Certainly from what we now know- it should have been obvious to a man such as yourself
why did you fail Vermont?
And what steps are you taking to ensure you will not fail the Vermont people again?
Oh- and when will shumlin, Leahy, Quiros, and Stenger be going to prison?
they did steal tens of millions of dollars don’t cha know…
$90K more to stay in office?!?! Wow. That tells you everything you need to know.
$90K more (more mind you) to stay in office. That’s all you need to know.
Many things I don’t like about Weinberger. At end of day, however, he shows fiscal responsibility, seeking to broaden tax base to support schools and overdue infrastructure needs. This is no mean feat. If you are Burlington taxpayer; if you have children in Burlington schools; drive or bike on Burlington roads & bike path; enjoy parks, etc., you benefit. Like Obama trying to clean up mess he inherited from Bush; or Phil Scott dealing with Democratic legislature that created well-intentioned but disastrous Brigham/Act 60 school financing regime, Weinberger is playing cards he was dealt from Bob Kiss administration that was in over its head. Kiss was nice guy but people forget huge hole Burlington taxpayers were in at end of Kiss years.
I find Miro’s F-35 support unconscionable. Also his support for Tall Mall and not honoring PlanBTV. Requiring ballot initiative to provide zoning exemption. But ballot initiative passed. I respect the will of the voters.
Flip side of the coin to things that bother me about Mayor is these same policies probably improve fiscal responsibility. F-35 hurts Winooski & South Burlington neighborhoods but simultaneously brings federal tax subsidies to airport that Burlington tax payers would otherwise have to pay. Increased development, whether Tall Mall; Grove Street project; Catholic Diocese project will all bring tax revenue to broaden tax base. Most have affordable housing component.
Driscoll and Culcleasure sound OK but have said little in way of specifics. Is there viable strategy for overruling Leahy’s dirty deal that pressured Air Force on F-35; and if so, what is strategy to replace lost revenue to airport?
Weinberger deserves recognition for making some very tough decisions that likely strengthen Burlington. No place is perfect. Mayor deserves credit for what he’s done.
$90k is nothing compared to what Carina Sanders, I mean Driscoll, is going to get by flogging her relationship with Senator Grumpy, as she just did on Facebook.
After saying that she was going to do this on her own . . .
Sad, sad coattail hanger.
Miro, like Trump, proves the point that narcissistic real estate developers should NEVER be in power and should be removed ASAP. Miro is just another Wall Street/Clinton Democrat who only wants one type of person living in Burlington: white collar professionals. He will knock down Memorial Auditorium, in fact, he wants the entire block including the firehouse. The idea that BTC is just a one time thing is fantasy. This is just the start of the decline of the city. Look at any big city and one thing is the same: the higher the buildings go the lower the standard of life for the poorer residents. Ward 2 will be purged of poor folks to make way for the desired type of citizen: the Brie and Chablis crowd.
Ah, Burlington, the little college town who fell in love with it’s own reflection in the mirror and was seduced by a couple of slick talking vaudevillians. Such are the times we live in . . .
Snow Creek, your accusations against Auditor Hoffer and the EB-5 program are completely off base. Hoffer was publicly critical of EB-5 from the begining, and consistently called for greater oversight. He was the first statewide public official to raise concerns about the EB-5 program, and did so before anyone knew it was even under investigation.
Another example of elected Progressives leading the way.
“In a March 2012 interview with Seven Days, most of which was never published, Hoffer questioned the programs moral underpinnings, its economic utility and its oversight structure. At the time, he called EB-5 offensive on some levels because it allows those with means to bypass the nations restrictive immigration procedures.”
https://m.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/archi…
I note Miro is now going to visit “safe” locals to address the issue of his failure to listen to the people. I find it entertaining that he was told he would have to earn the vote of this constituent. He hasn’t shown any interest is listening to his constituents unless they already agree with him in his years as mayor, and the city’s livability is paying the price. I should add that Peter Clavelle is a traitor to the Burlington he once succored if he thinks Miro is the best we can do. I have had my differences with Jane Knodell over the years, but I’m with her 100% on this one.
The Mayor has turned the city from a financial mess into a better rated system that has saved the tax payers millions of interest payments. He has worked to allow development, which is necessary to move forward. The candidates want affordable housing but the only way that happens is with development. Houses don’t just grow or spring up out of no where. For some of the developers, the down town, grove street and the north ave development are all bringing needed housing and increasing the tax base. The city hasn’t had a real tax increase in years, unlike the school system that is trying to tax people out of their homes. The Mayor has my vote and the city can keep moving in the right direction.
Driscoll’s remark early on about the Mayor selling the Aud and the Moran plant was a all out lie and shows me that she is not well informed and is willing to stoop to lies to achieve her goal. NOT MY VOTE.
The arrogance and condescension of some of Weinberger’s supporters is astounding. But well connected elites and pols with talking points are like that. They assume us lowly people can’t understand an issue, question their assumptions, or come to a conclusion that contradicts them.
All three candidates seem fine to me, but I am definitely voting for Miro. He seems like the only candidate who really has specific ideas and a proven record of working until they’re done.
Driscoll seems competent, especially as a communicator, but I don’t really know where she stands. I feel like she really is just being vague in an attempt not to offend anyone she needs to support her.
I would like the Mayor commit more to workforce specific housing and public outreach. He should take seriously the fact that community is demanding housing they can actually afford. In the end though has done more to improve Burlington than any Mayor since Bernie.
Also it doesn’t matter how much public discussion there is because the people who don’t get their way will just say the system was rigged. Shout out to you Coalition for a Livable City.
Discussion on Infinite is skimpy at best. It is to be expected that he is underestimated by most Democrats who lean more towards the middle. However, I did not expect such a skew towards Miro and Carina in a Seven Days article. All three candidates should be equally represented/discussed in an overview type article such as this one.
Expect to be hearing a rant from me soon!
Josh Wronski- Doug Hoffer WAS the oversight
why did he fail ?
and why is he trolling websites on the taxpayer dime?
Infinite Culclesure was arrested at the age of 24 in 1998 for distributing crack cocaine. He was sentence a year later…
this is in stark contrast to your description of events:
(Culcleasure described himself as a man of the people who has struggled to pay the rent on his Old North End apartment.
He also fessed up to a drug-related felony that dates back to his teenage years. The crowd laughed with him when he said, jokingly, “I don’t mean to overembellish my street cred.”)
Is journalism dead?
why was this conviction not mentioned? and why was this article embellished to go along with the propaganda Mr Culcleasure is spreading about his criminal record?
the information you have presented as the truth is completely FALSE
“He also fessed up to a drug-related felony that dates back to his teenage years.”
But the reporter claims the arrest was much more recent – when the candidate was 28.
The candidate has a problem with either his memory or telling the truth.
Why are Wright and Roof quoted in this story?
They add absolutely nothing.
Snow Creek asked “and why is [Hoffer] trolling websites on the taxpayer dime?”
First, the comment was posted at 6:15 PM. That’s my time.
Second, why are my comments “trolling” but your’s are just free speech?
Third, why don’t you post using your real name?
Doug Hoffer-
1- you have posted on several websites during working hours.
2- You are a public official who should not be sharing your biased opinions considering your position of power and ability to influence what goes on in this state both politically and professionally.
3- Being a public official with connections to the police using an assumed identity protects me a little in the face of repercussions. Considering your angry responses to social media comments- I would not put it beyond you to seek to punish me in some form using your power.
Since I answered your questions- Perhaps answer some of mine. The jay peak fraud is in my opinion a result of your incompetence or direct collusion with the players who have gotten away with stealing tens of millions of dollars. they never would have stolen so much money if they had been audited by the state auditer- you.
Why could you not catch an obvious fraud?
Why do you deserve to remain in your position considering your inability to catch what is the largest fraud in state history?
I would like to see some accountability. We put people away for crimes of minimal consequence. what occurred under your watch was absurdly criminal.
that said I don’t expect anything to happen – its politics after all- something you know well
You can find, on this site alone, a dozen comments by taxpayer funded Hoffer written during work hours.
You can also find multiple posts where he snidely asks why anyone who questions him, or who criticizes Progs, or who questions left wing opinions, doesnt use their real name, when he NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER asks anonymous left wing posters (there are two on this thread), the very same question, no matter how snarky, personal, or offensive THEIR comments may be.
“you have posted on several websites during working hours.”
you are wasting our time; stick to the issues; I never post during working hours unless I’m on vacation
really sad that that’s all you have
and your paranoia about my supposed connections to the police is just laughable
tell us who you are or just give it up
knowyourassumptions
your cowardice remains
who are you?
Re: Carina Driscoll, Bernie Sanders’ Stepdaughter, Announces Run for Burlington Mayor
knowyourassumptions is at it again
you said that “Progressive administrations…didn’t build any housing”
that is false and you know it
a recent report found that 188 affordable units were produced from 1990 – 2009, and that’s just what resulted from the (Progressive-initiated) inclusionary zoning ordinance, and doesn’t include activity from 2009 -2012, which was the end of the Bob Kiss era
https://www.burlingtonvt.gov/sites/default
not sure why you insist on knowingly posting false information.
29 likes, 44 dislikes
Posted by Doug Hoffer on 12/05/2017 at 4:05 PM
oh really Doug?
let me guess- all such posts were during “vacation” time…
and oh-perhaps address my questions?
I answered yours
Snow Creek said “You are a public official who should not be sharing your biased opinions”
I’m unclear as to why my “biased opinions” are less suitable for this site than yours. Where in my oath of office does it say that I relinquish my 1st Amendment rights? Your efforts to silence those who disagree with you are so Trumpian. Get over it. If you want to engage, do so honestly (with your real name) and on the facts. Your ad hominem attacks are just childish.
Doug Hoffer- You are a public official. You should act like one. Trolling websites is not what you should be spending your time on.
And again- perhaps answer some of my questions.
Perhaps if you spent more time doing your job and less time being an online troll the jay peak nonsense never would have gotten to the levels it did.
Doug Hoffer-
You have no problem saying others have “failed”
https://www.google.com/search?safe=off&source=hp&ei=XNBzWt-mIY7XzgLt6p6ACA&q=doug+hoffer+failed&oq=doug+hoffer+failed&gs_l=psy-ab.3..33i21k1.873.3399.0.3602.19.15.0.0.0.0.277.2036.0j7j4.11.0….0…1c.1.64.psy-ab..8.10.1847.0..0j46j0i131k1j0i46k1j0i10k1j0i3k1j0i22i30k1.0.yXwtF1ZRFO8
Yet no one has the power to say the same of you.. Go figure… Perhaps you should not live in a glass house if you feel like throwing stones…
Miro has been a great mayor for Burlington. Has everything been perfect? No, of course not. Has he done anything that has damaged Burlington as a city? No. Does he have a better grasp of managing a city, and improving it for the future, than either of his opponents? Unquestionably, yes. And – not for nothing – he’s not running on his relationship with a celebrity.
Doug Hoffer — most of the “Progressive” achievements you mention are development projects, an area where Miro excels. Today’s Burlington Progs are anti-development. They want the Burlington of 30 years ago to come back. The rest of us are happy to leave it in the past.
Let’s not forget all the Progs have actually admitted to doing for Vermont.
Terry Bouricious – Claimed mileage reimbursement he didn’t deserve
Dean Corren – Claimed mileage reimbursement he didn’t deserve
Leopold and Kiss – $17million siphoned off, leading to the loss of Burlington Telecom
Dean Corren take 2 – Violation of publicly funded campaign rules
Dave Zuckerman – Claimed mileage reimbursement he didn’t deserve
Mr. Lafayette has it exactly correct in his statement in the article; Progs steal.
It’s sad to see Burlington become the sad dirty city it has become and throwing life long residents to the curb for the newcomers. It’s now a city full of PC don’t get my hands dirty people. Maybe, just maybe someday a strong person will run and focus on the city and not view it as a stepping stone to something else.
Well, from the 3-way split–not to mention the kudos on these comments–looks like our golden boy is set to fend off all pretenders in time to still enjoy some decent cross-country skiing.
Only about a quarter [maybe a third if we are feeling generous] of registered voters in Burlington actually vote during these sketchy “Town Meeting Day” elections that are apparently geared only toward the real front-of-civics-class types in their antique pointy hats. I’d bet from my keen observations that close analysis of the voter registry (yep, they’ll tell you who voted) in Burlington would in fact reveal a demographic skewing toward age, education, parenthood and affluence… but above all property ownership.
So here we are in the information age but it feels like circa Enclosure Acts because the propertied class virtually alone chooses my political fate. Now before you go choking on that irony: rest assured that our delirious, deleterious, downright decadent refusal of our own political and economic rights here in good old Girlington USA ranks somewhere in the middle of the national votership by city (creepy data junkies can see for themselves – http://www.whovotesformayor.org/compare).
I wonder, if people stopped refusing their civics lessons and dared to dream for their city’s sake, what politics might emerge? And you, gentle reader, what claim will you stake in all of this? Or will you content with those bumper stickers?