2015 Burlington mayoral election

The 2015 Burlington mayoral election was held March 3, 2015. Incumbent mayor Miro Weinberger, a Democrat, was re-elected for a second 3-year term with 68.27% of the vote. The Progressive nominee, Steven Goodkind, came in a second distant place with 22.35% of the vote. Weinberger was also challenged by independent Greg Guma and Libertarian Loyal Ploof.

Burlington mayoral election

← 2012 March 3, 2015 2018 →
Turnout25.2%
 
Nominee Miro Weinberger Steven Goodkind Greg Guma
Party Democratic Progressive Independent
Popular vote 5,241 1,716 508
Percentage 68.27% 22.35% 6.62%

Results by ward
Weinberger:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Mayor before election

Miro Weinberger
Democratic

Elected mayor

Miro Weinberger
Democratic

Background

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Miro Weinberg was elected mayor of Burlington in 2012, becoming the first Democrat to do so since 1981, when independent Bernie Sanders became mayor.[1] Weinberg's first term was mainly focused on the need to balance the city's finances after Progressive Bob Kiss' mayorship. He reached a settlement with Citibank, that was suing the city for over $33 million over the mismanagement of Burlington Telecom, and in 2014 the city was in the black for the first time since 2009.[2] However his plans to change zoning regulations in order revitalize Burlington's downtown faced criticism from progressives. They feared it would lead to gentrification as residents and business-owners could be priced-out. Weinberg eliminated the requirement for developments downtown to be half commercial and proposed to eliminate parking minimums, a decision ultimately rejected by city council.[2]

Campaign

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The campaign was mainly focused on the mayor's plan to change various zoning and housing regulations in order to revitalize Burlington's downtown. Both Steven Goodkind (Progressive) and Greg Guma (Independent) warned that such policies could lead to gentrification and were worried that no enough was being done to guarantee affordable housing.[2]

For his part, Weinberger criticized Goodkind's record as the former public works director and claimed that his views "represent a return to the failed leadership of the past".[2][3] He defended his plans for downtown claiming that he has the will of the people behind him and that his past profession as a developer makes him best suited to "defend and promote the interest of Burlingtonians when we are working with other sophisticated financial parties."[2]

Election results

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Burlington mayoral election, 2015[4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Miro Weinberger 5,241 68.27%
Progressive Steven Goodkind 1,716 22.35%
Independent Greg Guma 508 6.62%
Libertarian Loyal Ploof 162 2.11%
Write-in 50 0.65%
Total valid votes 7,677 100%
Invalid or blank votes 188
Turnout 7,865 25.2%
Registered electors 31,195
Democratic hold

By ward

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Ward Weinberger (D) Goodkind (P) Guma (I) Ploof (L) Write-ins Blank/invalid Turnout
Ward 1 69.1% 472 22.1% 151 7.3% 50 1.2% 8 0.3% 2 14 697 18.2%
Ward 2 51.6% 265 31.7% 163 15.0% 77 1.4% 7 0.4% 2 11 525 13.0%
Ward 3 52.7% 472 33.7% 302 11.1% 99 1.8% 16 0.7% 6 18 913 21.4%
Ward 4 74.0% 1,249 18.9% 319 4.0% 67 2.6% 44 0.6% 10 33 1,722 44.1%
Ward 5 70.3% 906 20.8% 268 6.2% 80 1.8% 23 0.9% 11 20 1,308 31.0%
Ward 6 76.2% 693 16.2% 147 5.8% 53 1.3% 12 0.4% 4 11 920 23.3%
Ward 7 73.6% 1,047 18.3% 260 4.2% 60 2.8% 40 1.1% 15 33 1,455 40.5%
Ward 8 49.5% 137 38.3% 106 7.9% 22 4.3% 12 - 0 48 325 9.6%
Citywide 68.3% 5,241 22.4% 1,716 6.6% 508 2.1% 162 0.7% 50 188 7,865 25.2%

References

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  1. ^ BAIRD, JOEL BANNER. "Clear winner: Weinberger re-elected BTV mayor". Burlington Free Press. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  2. ^ a b c d e Freese, Alicia. "The Queen City Mayor's Race Is a Referendum on Development". Seven Days. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  3. ^ Walsh, Molly. "Goodkind confident he can win". Burlington Free Press. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  4. ^ "March 3, 2015 City Election Statement of Votes Cast - Unofficial (All Wards)" (PDF). City of Burlington. Retrieved 2024-03-03.