BURLINGTON — Democratic Mayor Miro Weinberger won his party’s backing for a third term Sunday. He had no challenger for the endorsement but faces two independent candidates in March.
In what amounted to his first major campaign speech of the race, he promised that if re-elected he would continue fiscal stability, invest in city assets, create more affordable housing and fight back against the administration of President Donald Trump.
Weinberger took Democrats back six years to when he first came into office, reminding them that Burlington’s financial position was dire at the time.
“The city was downgraded to the edge of junk bond status two months after I started,” he said. “Our wonderful airport had the lowest airport credit rating in the continental United States. Our water, sewer and traffic funds were all in the red.”
One of Weinberger’s hallmark campaign promises was righting the city’s fiscal ship, as he put it, and even as city finances improve, he said he is not backing down from that promise.
“We will continue to put financial responsibility first because, without that base, nothing else is possible,” he said.
Weinberger is running against independents Carina Driscoll, a former city councilor and state representative, and Infinite Culcleasure, a longtime community activist. Driscoll won the Progressive Party’s endorsement last month.
Burlington Democratic Chairwoman Stephanie Young said only Weinberger filed paperwork with the party required to seek the endorsement, and neither Driscoll nor Culcleasure wrote to the party seeking support.
During his speech Sunday, Weinberger hit back at a common refrain of Driscoll’s: that “Burlington is not for sale.” He said that suggested Burlington Democrats are recklessly selling off city assets. “Nothing could be further from the truth. We aren’t selling Burlington,” Weinberger said.
Voters go to the polls on Town Meeting Day in March to pick a mayor and city councilors from all eight Burlington wards. Council members Adam Roof, I-Ward 8, Karen Paul, D-Ward 6, Chip Mason, D-Ward 5, and Ali Dieng, D/P-Ward 7, are all up for re-election, and all won Democratic endorsements Sunday evening. Except for Dieng, those incumbents all have Progressive challengers.
There were no Democratic candidates from wards 1, 2 or 4.
Dieng won the endorsement by a vote of 46-16 over Chris Trombly, who lost to Dieng during a special election to replace outgoing Councilor Tom Ayres. Dieng also won the support of Burlington Progressives during their caucus last month. He chalked up his win to hard work organizing and bringing supporters out, along with his work on the council already.
“I asked them to show up for me, and to vote for me, and that exactly, they did,” he said.
Ward 3 was the only contest that saw two new candidates vying for the endorsement Sunday. Democrat Lizzie Haskell, a recent University of Vermont graduate, prevailed 16-10 over independent Jim Lockridge, executive director of the music incubator Big Heavy World.
Haskell said she supports increasing the city’s affordable housing stock, creating more needle exchange points and banning evictions in the winter.
“I find it unconscionable, as I imagine that many of you do, that Burlington police can be called to evict a family when the weather doesn’t even reach zero degrees,” Haskell told Democrats on Sunday.
Lockridge said he wants to increase engagement in city politics and take on the city’s affordability crisis. He said that if the Democrats endorsed him, he would caucus with other Democrats on the council.
Ever since the closure of the youth music venue and longtime punk music hub 242 Main, which was housed under Burlington’s now-condemned Memorial Auditorium, Lockridge has been involved in efforts to revive the venue.
“I know from personal interaction with many of the people, multiple generations who have benefited from that as a program of the city, that it has changed and saved lives,” Lockridge said.
He lost the Progressive endorsement to former Progressive City Councilor Brian Pine last month. However, the two recently produced a joint campaign video promoting civic engagement in the ward. Pine told VTDigger last week he intended to seek the Democratic endorsement but didn’t get the paperwork in by the deadline.
Party officials estimated about 250 people attended the caucus at Burlington High School Sunday evening.