2024 Burlington, Vermont mayoral election

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2024 Burlington mayoral election
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  Emma Mulvaney-Stanak at Education Funding Policy Discussion (cropped).jpg JoanShannon.jpg
Nominee Emma Mulvaney-Stanak Joan Shannon
Party Progressive Democratic
Popular vote7,6126,696
Percentage51.4%45.2%
Burlington Mayor 2024.svg
Results by ward
Mulvaney-Stanak:     60–70%     70–80%
Shannon:     50–60%     60–70%
Mayor before election

Miro Weinberger
Democratic

Elected mayor

Emma Mulvaney-Stanak
Progressive

The 2024 Burlington mayoral election was held on March 5, 2024. It elected the mayor of Burlington, Vermont. Incumbent Democratic mayor Miro Weinberger declined to seek re-election.

Contents

City councilor Joan Shannon defeated CD Mattison and Karen Paul for the Democratic nomination. The Vermont Progressive Party nominated state representative Emma Mulvaney-Stanak.

In the general election, Mulvaney-Stanak prevailed, defeating Shannon and two independent candidates. Mulvaney-Stanak became Burlington's first female and first openly LGBT mayor, as well as being the first Progressive to serve as mayor of Burlington since Bob Kiss left office in 2012. [1]

Background

Miro Weinberger's victory in the 2012 mayoral election made him the first Democrat to serve as Burlington's mayor since Gordon Paquette lost re-election to Bernie Sanders in the 1981 election. [2] Weinberger was re-elected in 2015, 2018, and 2021. Weinberger is the longest serving consecutive mayor in Burlington history and second-longest serving overall after Peter Clavelle. [3]

The Democrats won a majority on the city council in the 2023 elections; previously, the Progressive Party held a plurality of seats on the council. [4]

This was the first Burlington mayoral election to use ranked-choice voting since the 2009 mayoral election. Voters approved a referendum to re-adopt the system for mayoral races in the 2023 election, despite opposition from Weinberger. [5] Kurt Wright, the last Republican to serve on the Burlington city council and a former mayoral candidate, argued that the use of ranked-choice voting would help Republicans, as it meant a Republican could run for mayor and not "drain votes away from another candidate." [6]

Democratic caucus

On September 28, 2023, Weinberger announced that he would not seek reelection. [3] The Democratic caucus was held on December 10. [7]

Nominee

Eliminated at caucus

Declined

Endorsements

Karen Paul

Statewide officials

State legislators

Local officials

  • Sarah Carpenter, Burlington city councilor [11]
Joan Shannon

Local officials

  • Dave Hartnett, former Burlington city councilor [12]
  • Jane Knodell, former Burlington city councilor (Progressive) [12]

Labor unions

  • Burlington Firefighters Association (IAFF Local 1552) [8]
  • Burlington Police Officers’ Association [8]

Results

Democratic caucus results [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Joan Shannon 1,689 50.68
Democratic Karen Paul1,17335.19
Democratic CD Mattison47114.13
Total votes3,333 100.00

Progressive caucus

The Progressive caucus was held on December 7, 2023. [7]

Nominee

Declined

Endorsements

Emma Mulvaney-Stanak

Local officials

  • Max Tracy, former city council president and nominee for mayor in 2021 [14]

Republican caucus

The Republican caucus was held on December 19, 2023. [15] No candidate was nominated for the mayoral race.

Declined

Independents

Declared

General election

Endorsements

Endorsements in bold were made after the caucuses.

Joan Shannon (D)

Local officials

  • Dave Hartnett, former city councilor [12]
  • Jane Knodell, former city councilor (Progressive) [12]
  • Adam Roof, chair of the Burlington Democratic Party and former city councilor [17]

Labor unions

Emma Mulvaney-Stanak (P)

State legislators

Local officials

  • Ali Dieng, city councilor (Independent) [19]
  • Max Tracy, former city council president [14]

Individuals

  • CD Mattison, former vice chair of the Burlington Democratic Party and former 2023 mayoral candidate (Democratic) [18]

Labor unions

Organizations

Fundraising

Shannon raised $132,124 from 651 donors, spending around $60,000. Donors to her campaign include former Vermont Governor Howard Dean and former state Attorney General T.J. Donovan. Mulvaney-Stanak raised $67,052 from 514 donors, spending roughly $35,000. Donors included state Attorney General Charity Clark, city councilor Zoraya Hightower, and former city councilors Vince Brennan and Max Tracy. [23]

Results

Voter turnout rose from 39% in 2021, to 47% in 2024, with every ward seeing its turnout rise. Mulvaney-Stanak's victory made her the first women and openly LGBT person to be mayor. [24]

Shannon performed poorly ward 5, which she represented on the city council, winning it 1,185 to 1,075. Progressive councilor Gene Bergman stated that Mulvaney-Stanak's performance in ward 5 "speaks to the fact that we ran a campaign that reached those folks". Mulvaney-Stanak performed better than the Progressive candidates in every ward that elected a Democratic councilor. Jane Knodell, who worked as Shannon's treasurer, stated that Shannon lost due to discontent under Weinberger's tenure and Democrats holding the mayoralty for 12 years. [24]

2024 Burlington mayoral election
PartyCandidateVotes%
Progressive Emma Mulvaney-Stanak 7,612 51.4%
Democratic Joan Shannon6,69645.2%
Independent Will Emmons2731.8%
Independent Chris Haessly2051.4%
Total votes14,786 100.00%
Progressive gain from Democratic

Notes

  1. ↑ City of Burlington Municipal Employees
  2. ↑ Howard Center Union

References

  1. ↑ "Mulvaney-Stanak wins Burlington mayor's race". WCAX-TV . March 5, 2024. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  2. ↑ Elletson, Grace (November 27, 2020). "Burlington Dems to 'play defense' in 2021 races, only one council seat is contested". VTDigger . Archived from the original on May 22, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 Lamdin, Courtney (September 28, 2023). "Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger Won't Seek Reelection". Seven Days . Archived from the original on January 16, 2024.
  4. ↑ Lamdin, Courtney (March 7, 2023). "Burlington Dems Cruise to Victory on Town Meeting Day". Seven Days . Archived from the original on September 30, 2023.
  5. ↑ Lamdin, Courtney (May 29, 2023). "Scott Vetoes Noncitizen Voting in Burlington, Allows Ranked-Choice Voting to Become Law". Seven Days . Archived from the original on October 1, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 Crowley, Patrick (September 29, 2023). "Burlington has never had a woman as mayor. Will that change in 2024?". VTDigger . Archived from the original on September 30, 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Crowley, Patrick (November 9, 2023). "Election season begins for Burlington City Council with two Progressive incumbents opting out". VTDigger . Archived from the original on January 16, 2024.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Crowley, Patrick (December 10, 2023). "Joan Shannon wins Democratic nomination for Burlington mayor". VTDigger . Archived from the original on January 16, 2024.
  9. ↑ Crowley, Patrick (November 13, 2023). "CD Mattison latest to join Burlington mayor's race". VTDigger . Archived from the original on January 16, 2024.
  10. ↑ Cusanelli, Michael (October 24, 2023). "Burlington City Council President Karen Paul announces run for mayor". WPTZ . Archived from the original on January 16, 2024. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  11. 1 2 3 Crowley, Patrick (October 26, 2023). "Karen Paul launches campaign for Burlington mayor". VTDigger . Archived from the original on January 16, 2024.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Crowley, Patrick (November 2, 2023). "Joan Shannon latest to join Burlington mayoral race". VTDigger . Archived from the original on January 16, 2024.
  13. ↑ Lamdin, Courtney (December 4, 2023). "Emma Mulvaney-Stanak Is the Prog's Pick for Burlington Mayor". Seven Days . Archived from the original on January 16, 2024.
  14. 1 2 3 Lamdin, Courtney (October 4, 2023). "There Are Plenty of Potential Successors to Outgoing Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger". Seven Days . Archived from the original on October 5, 2023.
  15. ↑ Lamdin, Courtney (January 4, 2023). "Joan Shannon Wins Democratic Nomination in Burlington Mayor's Race". Seven Days . Archived from the original on January 16, 2024.
  16. 1 2 Lamdin, Courtney (February 1, 2024). "Two More Candidates Join the Race for Burlington Mayor". Seven Days . Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  17. 1 2 3 4 Boronski, Tyler (February 15, 2024). "'Dems for Emma' unity event highlights Democrats support for Progressive Burlington mayoral candidate Emma Mulvaney-Stanak". WPTZ . Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  18. 1 2 Crowley, Patrick (February 13, 2024). "In a race dominated by public safety, where do Burlington's mayoral candidates differ?". VTDigger . Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  19. ↑ Robinson, Shaun (March 8, 2024). "How did Emma Mulvaney-Stanak win Burlington — and how will she govern?". VTDigger . Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  20. ↑ Keith, Jarod. "LGBTQ+ Victory Fund Endorses 57 More Out Candidates for 2024 Races". LGBTQ+ Victory Fund. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  21. ↑ "LPAC December 2023 Endorsements". LPAC . January 4, 2023. Archived from the original on January 16, 2024.
  22. ↑ "Vote Mama Candidates". Vote Mama . January 4, 2023. Archived from the original on January 16, 2024.
  23. ↑ Lamdin, Courtney (February 5, 2024). "Shannon Raises Nearly Twice as Much as Mulvaney-Stanak in Burlington Mayor's Race". Seven Days . Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  24. 1 2 Robinson 2024.

Works cited

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