Burlington’s political parties will pick their mayoral nominees this month. So how does that work anyway?

Downtown Burlington on Feb. 28, 2019. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger

The last time there was a wide-open race for Burlington mayor was the 2012 election. Months earlier, in November 2011, more than 1,000 Burlington Democrats packed Memorial Auditorium to, among other things, choose their candidate for mayor.

Four initially vied for the nomination, but two dropped out after early voting rounds, setting up a runoff between then-state Sen. Tim Ashe and Miro Weinberger, who was an airport commissioner and relative political novice.

That’s where things got interesting. Confident that a winner would emerge with only two candidates left, party chair Steve Howard told participants they could go home. When the next round of voting was counted, Ashe led Weinberger by one vote — 541 to 540. But three ballots were determined to be spoiled. Unclear about how to proceed, party leaders consulted Ashe and Weinberger, who opted for a recount — and then reportedly pulled out their cell phones to call people back to the auditorium. 

The recount revealed that the vote was tied, but by then the number of participants had dwindled, and the party decided to call for another caucus in December. Weinberger went on to win the nomination and, in March 2012, the general election.

Because the political parties set their own rules on how to choose nominees, caucuses can be difficult to understand and can take unpredictable turns, as illustrated by the events of the 2011 Democratic caucus. With another open race for mayor this year and eight available seats on the City Council, the caucuses scheduled for December are sure to be busy. 

Burlington Progressives will meet Monday, Dec. 4, at 5:45 p.m. at the Old North End Community Center. The Democrats’ caucus is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 10, at 1 p.m. It is a virtual event, but there are limited exceptions for in-person participation at Edmunds Middle School. Burlington Republicans are set to caucus on Dec. 19 at a location to be determined.

The following is a guide to how the process works for the two most viable parties in Burlington.

Who is eligible to participate?

Both the Progressives and Democrats in Burlington require that participants are registered voters and residents of the city. Separate from voter registration, participants must also register for the caucus ahead of the event — more on that later. 

Burlington Democrats state in their rules that participants should “Affirm that you have not voted in another political party’s caucus for the 2024 Town Meeting Day Election,” as well as that they aren’t a member of another party’s committee.

Progressives share similar language, saying the caucus is open to members of the Progressive Party, which it defines as “those who support the Progressive Party Statement of Principles and desire to be a member,” according to its rules.

The Progressives’ rules document also notes that the party agreed to share its caucus list with the Democrats “to ensure there is no double caucusing.”

How to register

Burlington Progressives require that registration is completed on the party’s website before 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 3. The party then checks the registrants against a voter checklist. If a newly registered voter wants to participate in the caucus, they still can by submitting a copy of a confirmation email from the Vermont Secretary of State’s Office.

The Democrats’ rules require that the caucus registration, also on its website, be completed by Dec. 9, at 5 p.m., but in-person registration is open on Dec. 10, from 12 to 1 p.m., at Edmunds Middle School.

The candidates

Vermont Progressive Party executive director Joshua Wronski said that the party’s bylaws don’t allow a filing deadline for candidates, meaning a participant can announce their intention to run at the event itself, either by nominating themselves or being nominated by someone else.

The Democrats do have a candidate deadline, which was Nov. 30. A full list of candidates is expected to be published on its website. As of Friday afternoon, that list had not been posted.

At both events, candidates will have opportunities to speak. The Democrats said mayoral candidates will address the audience in random order, while city council races will go in order of the ward number. Progressive candidates can also submit a letter to discuss their intentions in running for office, to be distributed by the party.

Candidates can actually seek the endorsement of multiple parties, something that occurs regularly between the Progressives and Democrats. If a person succeeds in gaining both endorsements, that allows them to proceed in the general election with two party affiliations under their name.

Who’s running?

Due to the Progressive Party’s rules allowing candidates to jump in at the caucus itself, there could still be additional candidates to come forward. But so far, state Rep. Emma Mulvaney-Stanak is the sole Progressive seeking the nod for mayor. 

For city council races, Carter Neubieser is running for the Ward 1 seat that is being vacated by Progressive Councilor Zoraya Hightower. Incumbent Councilor Gene Bergman intends to seek reelection in Ward 2. In Ward 7, Lee Morrigan is seeking endorsements from both Progressives and Democrats. Marek Broderick is running for the Ward 8 seat.

On the Democratic side, the mayor’s race is the most active, with CD Mattison and Councilors Karen Paul and Joan Shannon all vying for the Democratic endorsement. 

For city council, Burlington Democratic Party chair Adam Roof said Friday that Ward 1 has two people who met the deadline, but the potential candidates are discussing which of them will proceed. 

Malik Mines will run in Ward 3; Sarah Carpenter and Ben Traverse are seeking reelection in Wards 4 and 5, respectively; Romeo Von Hermann and Becca Brown are both running for the Ward 6 seat left open by Paul’s run for mayor. Morrigan will seek the Democrats’ endorsement in Ward 7, competing with Evan Litwin. Hannah King will seek reelection in Ward 8.

Voting

Both Progressives and Democrats will conduct virtual voting, with ballots emailed to participants. Both parties will also allow in-person voting for those who may need accommodation.

The Democrats’ rules state that voting starts following the candidates’ speeches and will run for two hours. Runoffs can take place should no one win a majority. This year’s rules from the Democrats state that the agenda allows time for one runoff and only those who voted on the first ballot can participate in it. In the event of continued runoffs, as in 2011, a later date can be scheduled. The Progressives rules document does not address runoff scenarios.

Results of the Democrats’ voting will be announced “as soon as possible,” depending on whether there are multiple rounds of voting, according to their rules.

Progressive voters have until 7 p.m. on Dec. 6 to return ballots. Results are expected to be announced the following day.

What’s next?

Once the parties have their nominees, the next phase of the race begins. Vermont’s Town Meeting Day next year falls on March 5. It is also Vermont’s 2024 presidential primary election.

According to state law, candidates have until Jan. 29, 2024 to file their nomination with the city clerk’s office, so independent candidates could yet emerge.

Polling places for Burlington’s Town Meeting Day may have changed due to recent redistricting. All city offices on the ballot in March, including the mayoral race, will be run with ranked-choice voting, meaning voters can choose multiple candidates in order of preference. Instant runoffs automatically take place until one candidate achieves a majority.

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