2024 Burlington, Vermont mayoral election
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
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March 5, 2024
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 Results by ward Mulvaney-Stanak: 60–70% 70–80% Shannon: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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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
- Joan Shannon, city councilor and former council president[8]
Eliminated at caucus
Declined
- Miro Weinberger, incumbent mayor[3]
Endorsements
- Statewide officials
- Howard Dean, former governor of Vermont and former chair of the Democratic National Committee[11]
- State legislators
- Local officials
- Sarah Carpenter, Burlington city councilor[11]
Results
| 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
The Progressive caucus was held on December 7, 2023.[7]
Nominee
- Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, leader of the Progressive caucus in the Vermont House of Representatives, former Burlington city councilor, and former chair of the Vermont Progressive Party[13]
Declined
Endorsements
Republican caucus
The Republican caucus was held on December 19, 2023.[15] No candidate was nominated for the mayoral race.
Declined
- Kurt Wright, former state representative, former Burlington city council president, and nominee for mayor in 2009 and 2012[6]
Independents
Declared
- Will Emmons, former arbitration advocate for the American Postal Workers Union and candidate for mayor in 2021[16]
- Chris Haessly, former Burlington School Committee member[16]
General election
Endorsements
Endorsements in bold were made after the caucuses.
- State legislators
- Mark Larson, former state representative (Democratic)[17]
- Local officials
- 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 woman and openly LGBT person to be mayor.[24]
Despite representing it on the city council, Shannon carried Ward 5 by a slim 1,185 to 1,075 margin. Progressive councilor Gene Bergman argued 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]
| 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
- City of Burlington Municipal Employees
- Howard Center Union