Why are you running?
To end the trend of working people and families being priced out of Burlington, transform public safety, address lake/climate health, and build economic resiliency.
tell us about yourself
As a twelve year Burlington renter, nine year City Councilor for Ward 2, and current City Council President, I am deeply invested in Burlington as my home. On Council and as a UVMMC union organizer, I have led with principled consistency, putting forth progressive yet pragmatic solutions that uplift all.
What have you done to increase housing stock at every price level?
Housing, and specifically the lack of affordable housing, is one of our biggest challenges as a city. The City has seen significant growth of market rate units, but certainly not enough units that are within reach for low and moderate income individuals. In response, I have proposed amendments to add additional affordable housing units in the context of the CityPlace project. I have also supported the removal of parking minimums for new developments in order to remove that obstacle and prevent further car based infrastructure from being built. Finally, I have supported zoning changes to facilitate the development of accessory dwelling units throughout our City.
What can Burlington do to support the creation of more
well-paying jobs in Burlington?
Wages have not kept pace with basic costs of living in this area, causing tremendous challenges for so many. We must expand and strengthen the City’s livable wage ordinance to ensure that workers are paid enough to afford basic living expenses. Similarly, I believe that the City should adopt a responsible contractor ordinance to ensure that all contractors pay prevailing wages and provide strong benefits. The City should also use its power to advocate for union labor to be used to build private developments as well. For instance, I believe that the City Place project should be built with union labor, which would ensure decent wages and apprenticeship opportunities. Another key element of our economic development approach should include stabilizing and expanding the Community and Economic Development Office. This will mean expanding the number of positions focused on small business support and development with a specific focus on business support for people of color. I would want these roles to focus on creating a commercial land trust and cooperative business models to lower barriers to entry. By bringing together more proactive policies aimed at increasing wages and refocusing CEDO, we can better address the significant wealth divide in our community.