Five Progressives are running for Burlington City Council seats in the upcoming March elections--the largest slate of Council candidates fielded by Progressives in their 30 year history in Burlington politics.  Burlington Party Co-Chair John Franco said: “It is encouraging to see this next generation of Progressives running for office.  These fabulous five bring a diversity of perspective and experience that will help to end the squabbling on the Council and continue to build Burlington into the best city to live in.”

Miles Dougherty is running for the Ward 1 Council seat.  Dougherty said: “I’m excited about this opportunity to help serve my city. Ward 1 can be best served by someone who is willing to think critically, but also work cooperatively and constructively with other members of the council.”

Jonathan Leavitt and Max Tracy are running for the two Ward 2 seats.  Leavitt, a long-time community organizer, said: “After a decade of living and community organizing in Ward 2, I look forward to advocating for the underserved residents of the Old North End. Our neighborhood desperately needs affordable housing and quality jobs.” Tracy, a recent UVM graduate active in labor issues, stated: “I will work for the residents of the Old North End on issues of affordable housing, livable wages, and small business development.”

Emma Mulvaney-Stanak is running for the Ward 3 seat currently held by Clarence Davis.  Davis is not seeking re-election; Mulvaney-Stanak served previously on the Council.  Davis said: “I am glad to support Emma’s bid to return to the Council.  She is a strong voice for the Old North End.”






Community activist Abigail Russell is running in Ward 5.  Russell said: “The Queen City has a great legacy. I look forward to representing Ward 5 on the Council, and to helping the Council again focus on the work of the city.”

Two Ward Two residents announced they are running for seats on the Burlington City Council in the upcoming March election.

Jonathan Leavitt is seeking a two year term on the Council. As a community organizer, Jonny has fought for affordable housing in Burlington, the preservation of vital statewide services, health care for all Vermonters, and a green and just local Burlington economy. He works through the Howard Center's Child Family and Youth Services division in Chittenden County schools.

In his announcement, Jonny said, "I will give new visibility on the city council to schools and the needs of average Burlingtonians struggling in the midst of a recession. My priorities for city council are creating affordable housing, supporting our local small businesses, making streets safer for bicyclists and pedestrians, and making city government more efficient."

UVM labor activist Maxwell Tracy is running for the one-year term on the Council. Max, a recent UVM graduate, has a background in campus organizing, including as a lead organizer for the Student Labor Action Project's livable wage campaign, in Students Stand Up's anti-budget cut protests last spring, and as President of the UVM Campus Progressives. He is an admissions councilor at UVM.

Max stated, "If elected, I will fight tirelessly to make Burlington a livable city for all residents, focusing on affordable housing, creating good paying, local jobs, and supporting quality neighborhood schools."

Vermont’s Labor community hosts a conference this weekend at UVM’s Davis center on the themes of “Building Democratic, Fighting Unions” and “Defending Public Services in Hard Economic Times.” Recent layoffs and concessions are compounding the biggest crisis facing working Vermonters in decades.

Labor Notes’ Mark Brenner opens the conference at 1:00 pm with the Plenary Session: “Understanding the Crisis, Fighting the Cuts: The Stakes for Vermont Workers.”

Afternoon presentations, panels and break-out sessions will focus on understanding the roots of this emergency and develop creative strategies to fight back. How do we defend jobs, health care, retirement, higher education and public services? How do we lay the groundwork to fight for: livable wages, genuine health care, well-funded schools, strong safety nets, and colleges Vermonters can afford?

Pre-conference workshops related to single-payer healthcare, the Fairpoint bankruptcy, and building strong unions begin at 10:00 am.

The conference is hosted by Labor Notes, the Vermont Workers’ Center, and labor activists across the state. Registration begins at 12:30. The event is free, with voluntary donations accepted. More information is available through the Vermont Workers’ Center web site or on facebook.

As many of you know, the efforts for federal reform have been hijacked by the healthcare insurance industry, and Progressives have been long arguing that waiting for the US Congress to solve the healthcare crisis is a losing strategy.

Single payer healthcare is a major issues for Progressives, and was the main topic of discussion during the morning of our recent Convention.  The speech given by former AHS Secretary Con Hogan is available online at vtdigger.

The Vermont Workers' Center tabled there, and have been busy holding “People's Forums on Healthcare” across the state with Vermont legislators.  At these events, local residents have demanded that legislators take up S.88 and H.100, the only healthcare bills that make that moral commitment.

This summer, the VWC began collecting postcards from thousands of Vermonters calling for action on these bills.  They will deliver the postcards to the Statehouse on the first day of the legislative session, at 12 noon on January 6th.

If you haven’t yet signed a postcard, please do so online, by clicking here. Click the "save/share" button at the lower right hand corner of that website to share on email, Facebook, twitter and other social networks.
And if you can give more time to the effort, please e-mail Kate or James to help: gather postcards; submit a letter of support to your local paper; outreach efforts to area faith communities and medical professionals; organize People’s Forums in Addison, Chittenden, Essex, Lamoille, and Orleans counties.

And mark your calendar now for the January 6th Statehouse event.

Over 120 Progressives met at the Old Labor Hall in Barre for the Progressive Party Annual Convention. Former Vermont Health and Human Services Commissioner Con Hogan, anti-nuclear activist Ray Shadis, and several Progressive legislators addressed topics such as the single-payer healthcare bills in the house and senate, the current budget climate and the impact on working Vermonters, and the future of Vermont Yankee.

Vtdigger has posted video clips of several of the speakers on their site.

Immediately following the convention, the newly reorganized state committee elected the following party officers: Martha Abbott of Underhill, Chair; Lee Madden of Brattleboro, Vice Chair; Mike Bayer of Monkton, Treasurer; Ross Laffan of Rochester, Assistant Treasurer; and Peggy Sapphire of Craftsbury, Secretary. Additional At-large Coordinating Committee members elected were: Jessica Falker of Pittsford; Richard Kemp of Burlington; Traven Leyshon of Middlesex; Chris Pearson of Burlington; Cindy Weed of Enosburg; and Eli Yoder of Plainfield.