In less than a month Burlington, Vermont will swear in its first female mayor. Progressive Emma Mulvaney-Stanak won the Town Meeting Day contest over three opponents on Tuesday.
The two frontrunners in the race to become Burlington’s next mayor were women: Progressive Emma Mulvaney-Stanak and Democrat Joan Shannon. Two independents were also in the race after incumbent Democrat Miro Weinberger decided not to seek a fifth three-year term.
Mulvaney-Stanak, a state Representative, received 51 percent of the vote to Shannon’s 45 percent.
Mulvaney-Stanak says she felt a surge in energy from the voters as Town Meeting Day approached.
“I am a little taken aback by the margin because I did think it was going to be close,” Mulvaney-Stanak said. “I thought it would be much closer frankly. And that’s all to say that it’s really hard to run for mayor and I am really appreciative especially to city councilor Shannon. She put in so much hard work. This is not for the faint of heart and I really think it shows that we both have a deep love of Burlington and both of us worked really hard to turn out the vote.”
The mayor-elect thinks voters turned to her for a number of reasons.
“I think that what really probably resonated was my unique set of skills as both a state legislator right now and as a former city councilor,” Mulvaney-Stanak posed. “My unique skills as being a former labor and community organizer where the skill is all about bringing people together to solve complex challenges in a spirit of collaboration. I also think frankly people were really excited about a fresh perspective, one that knows that how we’ve been doing things has not frankly been working and has the courage to say so and then move us really into a different direction that really brings people together and puts all that divisiveness to the side.”
In her concession speech, city councilor Shannon congratulated her opponent.
“I value and respect the ideas that Emma brought to the table, the comraderie that we maintained through difficult debates and her love and commitment for Burlington,” Shannon said. “I look forward to continuing to work with Emma to advance the many areas where we have agreement and to address the issues we face as a city. I talked with Emma earlier tonight. We had a great conversation. She was so gracious and I look forward to continuing to work with Emma.”
Shannon’s term on the city council representing the South District does not expire until the end of 2025. Her loss surprised many who considered her the frontrunner due to position on public safety.
“I was surprised. We always know this is a possibility. I was disappointed. But, you know, we will move forward.”
Outgoing Mayor Weinberger said it was an exciting night for the city.
“The city’s just elected our first woman as mayor in the city’s history, the first openly queer mayor,” noted Weinberger. “I’ve talked to Emma Mulvaney-Stanak and congratulated her on her historic wins. These are important milestones for the community and a remarkable accomplishment. I also think Joan (Shannon) ran a very solid race. It’s a very impressive result as well. It’s not an easy town for Democrats to get elected mayor and Joan came close to doing it and I applaud her for that. Again, congratulations to Emma. She’s accomplished something very significant.”
The Vermont Constitution allows Mulvaney-Stanak to hold both her House seat and the mayor’s position. She is considering her options.
“I plan to see out my role through March and then see where things land in April,” said Mulvaney-Stanak. “But I also know that there’s some very important bills going through the legislature. I want to make sure that I’m there to help with veto overrides when necessary. One of the most important things I’m looking at is to make sure that the overdose prevention pilot bill passes and that’s a critical need for Vermont, but specifically Burlington. And if that means holding onto my seat and figuring out how to do a hybrid approach until we’re through the session then I will do that work and then after that make a decision from there.”
The Vermont House targets adjournment in early May.
Mulvaney-Stanak will be sworn in as mayor of Burlington on April 1st. Democrats maintained a majority on the city council.
