2024 Burlington, Vermont, mayoral election

2024 Burlington mayoral election

← 2021 March 5, 2024 2027 →
 
Nominee Emma Mulvaney-Stanak Joan Shannon
Party Progressive Democratic
Popular vote 7,612 6,696
Percentage 51.4% 45.2%

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.

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

[edit]

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 will be 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

[edit]

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

Nominee

[edit]
  • Joan Shannon, city councilor and former council president[8]

Eliminated at caucus

[edit]
  • CD Mattison, nonprofit executive and former vice chair of the Burlington Democratic Party[9]
  • Karen Paul, city council president[10]

Declined

[edit]

Endorsements

[edit]
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

[edit]
Democratic caucus results[8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Joan Shannon 1,689 50.68
Democratic Karen Paul 1,173 35.19
Democratic CD Mattison 471 14.13
Total votes 3,333 100.00

Progressive caucus

[edit]

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

Nominee

[edit]

Declined

[edit]
  • Zoraya Hightower, city councilor[7]
  • Joe Magee, city councilor[7]
  • Max Tracy, former city council president and nominee for mayor in 2021[6] (endorsed Mulvaney-Stanak)[14]

Endorsements

[edit]
Emma Mulvaney-Stanak
Local officials
  • Max Tracy, former city council president and nominee for mayor in 2021[14]

Republican caucus

[edit]

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

Declined

[edit]
  • Kurt Wright, former state representative, former Burlington city council president, and nominee for mayor in 2009 and 2012[6]

Independents

[edit]

Declared

[edit]

General election

[edit]

Endorsements

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]
2024 Burlington mayoral election
Party Candidate Votes %
Progressive Emma Mulvaney-Stanak 7,612 51.4%
Democratic Joan Shannon 6,696 45.2%
Independent Will Emmons 273 1.8%
Independent Chris Haessly 205 1.4%
Total votes 14,786 100.00%
Progressive gain from Democratic

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ City of Burlington Municipal Employees
  2. ^ Howard Center Union

References

[edit]
  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. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b c d 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. ^ a b c d e f 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. ^ a b c Crowley, Patrick (October 26, 2023). "Karen Paul launches campaign for Burlington mayor". VTDigger. Archived from the original on January 16, 2024.
  12. ^ a b c d 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. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b Lamdin, Courtney (February 1, 2024). "Two More Candidates Join the Race for Burlington Mayor". Seven Days. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  17. ^ a b c d 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. ^ a b 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.
[edit]