Battle for Burlington City Council President develops

Yahoo

03-04-2025

BURLINGTON, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) – Less than one week before Burlington City Council's annual Organization Day, a battle for City Council President suddenly developed Wednesday afternoon.
Carter Neubieser, a Progressive Councilor from Ward 1, announced in City Hall that he is hoping to take the role from current President Ben Traverse, a Democrat from Ward 5 who's held it for the past year. Traverse was widely expected to keep the presidency uncontested going into next Monday's Organization Day meeting, but the last-minute challenge from Neubieser turns that surefire reappointment into something the council will have to vote on.
'Today, I'm incredibly excited to announce my intent to seek the position of City Council President this year,' Neubieser said in Contois Auditorium Wednesday afternoon. 'If given the chance to serve in this role, I'd be laser focused on decreasing the partisanship and personal attacks and increasing the collaboration on council.'
Organization Day marks the first meeting of the new Burlington City Council, and a big part of the night will also be the swearing in of newly-elected councilors who won their races on Town Meeting Day. This year, two new councilors will be sworn in: Allie Schachter, a Democrat from Burlington's East District, and Ranjit 'Buddy' Singh, a Democrat from the city's South District.
Once the two new Democrats are appointed, the council split will be seven Democrats to five Progressives. That means Neubieser will need to get at least two Democrats to flip and vote for him to have any chance at winning the presidency.
That fact is giving current President Traverse confidence that he will get a second term.
'I will say that I too am seeking reelection to the council presidency,' Traverse said in an interview Wednesday afternoon. 'I can also tell you that I have the support of the majority of the city council, and will be reelected as council president at the meeting on Monday. That said, I respect any councilor throwing their hat in the ring.'
Traverse added that although he respects Neubieser and his right to run, he questions his decision to create a race for the presidency now if decreasing partisanship truly is one of his goals.
'If the stated reason for throwing his hat in the ring is building more collaboration and collegiality, I question whether or not teeing up this political fight right out of the gate at our first meeting is the best way to do that,' Traverse said.
Other councilors from both parties are weighing in ahead of the vote as well, including veteran Progressive Melo Grant from Burlington's Central District. She shared strong words against Traverse Wednesday afternoon, writing in part in a statement: 'It is regrettable to say, but Council President Traverse has shown an epic failure in leadership. Despite the same concerns being brought to his attention multiple times, he failed to make improvements that would help … Personal attacks and interruptions have occurred too often under Councilor Traverse's leadership. As the only black councilor, this is a huge concern for me, as it also shows disrespect for my constituents.'
Evan Litwin, a Democratic Councilor from Ward 7, also weighed in Wednesday afternoon, questioning what Neubieser offers that Traverse doesn't already. Litwin wrote: 'Carter and I haven't had the opportunity to speak yet, and so I'd need to hear more about his vision for our collective body and what he believes he brings to the table that President Traverse is not providing. With that said, I've grown to like working with Carter on committee and on council, and value his approach to the work and his collegiality. I also think President Traverse does an excellent job in a challenging role.'
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