Joan Shannon to Retire from Burlington City Council

After more than 20 years of service, Burlington City Councilor Joan Shannon (D-South District) will not run for reelection on Town Meeting Day in March.

The Burlington Democratic Party announced Shannon’s impending retirement earlier this week, calling the councilor “a steadfast voice of reason.” First elected in 2003, Shannon is the longest-tenured councilor and served as the body’s president for three years. She was also the Democratic candidate in last year’s mayoral election but lost to Progressive Emma Mulvaney-Stanak.

Shannon didn’t immediately return a request for comment.

Two Democrats will vie for Shannon’s seat at a nominating caucus on Sunday, January 5: Buddy Singh, a loan officer with Spruce Mortgage, and Romeo von Hermann, who supervises the Green Mountain Transit center in downtown Burlington. Progressives plan to nominate Jennifer Monroe Zakaras, who works remotely for the University of California, for the seat at the party caucus on January 11.

Shannon, who grew up in Westchester County, N.Y., first came to Burlington in 1985 to teach sailing. She loved the city so much that she stayed, delaying her college education.

In 2002, Shannon launched her first council campaign when her daughter, Julia, was just 7 months old. She defeated a Progressive incumbent and, in the ensuing years, handily fended off numerous challengers to her South District seat.

As a councilor, Shannon championed a landmark policy that banned smoking in bars and clubs, which was later expanded to public parks. She also worked to resolve the Burlington Telecom crisis after millions of taxpayer dollars were diverted to save the sinking utility.

Shannon is an outspoken supporter of Burlington police, most notably opposing the now-infamous 2020 resolution to reduce the ranks through attrition. She has voted against several efforts to bolster civilian oversight of police, including a charter change voters approved in November.

In the press release, Shannon thanked her constituents for both everyday conversations and the “invaluable lessons” they’ve taught her over the years.

“It has been an honor to serve the city I fell in love with when I first arrived as a college student,” she said, then added some last words of advice.

“To restore Burlington to its full potential,” Shannon said, “the City Council must laser-focus on tackling three critical issues: affordable housing, the drug crisis, and reversing the long-term consequences of intentionally diminishing our police department.”

Three other “district” seats, which represent two neighboring city wards each, are also up for election in March. In the Central District, incumbent Progressive Councilor Melo Grant is running for reelection against presumptive Dem nominee Andrew Gregg, a chaplain at the University of Vermont Medical Center.

Incumbent Councilor Mark Barlow, now an independent, will run as a Dem this year in the North District. Allie Schachter, the development director at the Flynn, will seek the Dems’ nomination for the East District seat, which has been vacant since late November when fellow Dem Tim Doherty stepped down after he was named a superior court judge.

“I am deeply grateful for those who have stepped up to run,” Burlington Democratic chair Andy Vota said in the press release. “We are focused on one goal: making things better for Burlingtonians.”

Josh Wronski, executive director of the Vermont Progressive Party, said the Progs will have candidates for all four seats but declined to name them ahead of the caucus.

“I’m really excited,” he said. “I think when the full slate goes public, folks will see it’s one of the strongest slates we’ve put forward.”