Without a candidate of their own to succeed outgoing Mayor Bob Kiss, Burlington Progressives have been mum about whom they might support in next month’s mayor’s race.
But tomorrow, for the first time, a Progressive officeholder will formally endorse one of the candidates. And it might not be who you’d expect.
Progressive City Councilor Vince Brennan, who represents Ward 3, plans to throw his support behind Republican candidate Kurt Wright, with whom he serves on the council.
“The city is in need of a leader that will be able to guide us through the back side of these tough economic times — a leader that is seasoned in the atmosphere of Burlington politics,” Brennan said in a statement to Seven Days. “That is why I will be endorsing Kurt Wright for mayor.”
Brennan’s endorsement may carry some significance, in that it bolsters Wright’s central campaign argument: that he is the one candidate able to rise above party politics and unite the city. It also poses problems for Democratic candidate Miro Weinberger, who has been working to consolidate the support of Progressive voters since his narrow caucus victory over Sen. Tim Ashe (D/P), a darling of Burlington’s Prog crowd.
The Progressive Party has not formally endorsed any of the contenders, though it has continued to dangle the possibility ever since deciding not to field a candidate of its own. Party leaders met separately with Wright, Weinberger and independent candidate Wanda Hines a week ago in order to grill them on Progressive priorities. After the meeting, the party issued a statement saying, “In the coming days and weeks our steering committee will discuss the possibility of an endorsement,” adding that the party would primarily focus on electing its own candidates to the city council.
Wright’s campaign was enthusiastic about Brennan’s nod.
“I think it sends the message that Kurt is the only person in the race that has shown he can bring all parties together. I know we’re lacking in terms of big-name endorsements — we don’t have Washington, D.C.-type endorsements — but we certainly have Burlingtonian endorsements.”
Brennan’s fellow Progressive city councilor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak (Ward 3) said Tuesday she will not endorse, explaining, “I can’t really say I’m very enthusiastic about any of the candidates in the race.”
“They’re all great people, but in terms of the type of leader I’d be enthusiastic about, I don’t see any of them being the type of leader Burlington needs right now.”
One notable, heavy-hitting Burlington politician has thus far kept quiet about whom he might support: Sen. Bernie Sanders, a former Burlington mayor himself. Sanders last week told Seven Days’ Andy Bromage, “If I do endorse, I’ll be more specific. It’s a little bit early. It’s not so early! If I make an endorsement, it will be before the election, not after the election.”
Clock’s ticking, Bernie!
In case you missed them, which you probably did, here’s a roundup of recent endorsements and nonendorsements since we last covered the mayoral endorsement-a-thon:
(Double disclosure: I used to work for Congressman Welch; Seven Days publisher and co-editor Paula Routly is the domestic partner of Tim Ashe.)
Illustration of Kurt Wright by Marc Nadel
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