Mayor Miro Weinberger went on the offensive today against Progressive Steve Goodkind during the first mayoral debate of the season.
Standing in WVMT-AM’s small, poster-plastered studio, the Democratic incumbent and his challenger traded barbs on everything from sidewalks to fighter jets on the boisterous “Charlie + Ernie + Lisa Show.”
Though Weinberger is the incumbent, Goodkind, the city’s former public works director, spent more time defending his record. The other two candidates, independent Greg Guma and Libertarian Loyal Ploof, were not on the show.
The mayor was most acerbic on the subject of the Champlain Parkway, a four-decades-in-the-making road project intended to alleviate traffic in the city’s South End. With a legal dispute resolved and an Act 250 permit in hand, Weinberger plans to reboot the long-stalled project.
Goodkind, who oversaw the project as public works director, has said he’d ditch most of it and would fix traffic problems through other means.
Weinberger called his opponent’s proposal “fairly breathtaking” (in a bad way), “just shocking” and “not a fully baked plan.” Among his criticisms: It would waste the $7 million in federal and state funding already spent on the project, and it amounts to an about-face for the man who once oversaw the plan. Goodkind acknowledged that he’d had an “epiphany” about the parkway. But he also said he had expressed concerns while he was public works director, and was forced to adhere to the direction set by the administration.
Citing “seven-figure deficits” in two public-works funds, Weinberger also accused Goodkind of “struggling to manage the finances of the single department he was in charge of” and contributing to the downgrades in Burlington’s credit rating attributed to Bob Kiss’ tenure as mayor.
The candidate, who had served briefly under Weinberger before retiring, also told the mayor, “When you had to balance your first budget you came to me. I balanced it.”
Though he was forced to spend much of his airtime responding to Weinberger’s criticisms, Goodkind did make the mayor defend his stance on downtown development, asking him, “Why do you think it’s appropriate to locate large student housing blocks downtown?”
Weinberger said he thinks building student housing in “strategic locations” downtown will reduce the number of students in surrounding neighborhoods, opening up units for other residents and cutting back on “quality-of-life conflicts.”
During a rapid-fire series of slightly more irreverent questions, Goodkind shared that his favorite food is meatloaf and his music of choice is “old-time banjo.” Weinberger prefers Bruce Springsteen and said “I’ve never met a french fry I didn’t like.”
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After the disaster the Progressives brought to the city under the incompetent and ruinous tenure of mayor Bob Kiss, I think any rational voter would think twice before voting for another Progressive mayor.
After the disaster the Progressives brought to the city under the incompetent and ruinous tenure of mayor Bob Kiss, I think any rational voter would think twice before voting for another Progressive mayor.
After seeing Weinberger sell out the city to various interests and looking ahead to what he has planned in continuing to do so, I think any rational voter would think twice before voting for another term for the current mayor.
After seeing Weinberger sell out the city to various interests and looking ahead to what he has planned in continuing to do so, I think any rational voter would think twice before voting for another term for the current mayor.
If you have any knowledge of any relevant facts to support your allegation, please enlighten us. Being in favor of housing development in a city that is in a bona fide housing crisis (and has been for years, thanks to the anti-development policies of the several Prog administrations) is not “selling out the city to various interests.” It is merely trying to address a crisis.
As is trying to pay off the pension debt that the Prog administrations racked up.
As is attempting to do something about an eyesore that the Prog administrations left on the waterfront known as the Moran Plant.
As is attempting to do something with the eyesore in the South End that the Progs did nothing about known as the Southern Connector.
As is attempting to deal with the debt racked up by the Prog administrations on Burlington Telecom, and the expensive lawsuits against the City that that debt caused.
Knowyourassumptions,
Don’t forget handing out liveable wage exemptions to preferred businesses, selling the airport to the military which creates undesirable noise for housing in an area in dire need of housing, selling the mall to some developer who will get our economy going with lots of parking lot attendant jobs, etc.
“Don’t forget handing out liveable wage exemptions to preferred businesses, selling the airport to the military which creates undesirable noise for housing in an area in dire need of housing, selling the mall to some developer who will get our economy going with lots of parking lot attendant jobs, etc.”
Wasn’t the exemption included in the original ordinance — cooked up by the Progs? And remind us how many exemptions Weinberger gave out — 1?
And you’re certainly entitled to your opinion on F35s at the airport, but that’s all it is — your opinion. Many other people applaud the mayor for not caving in to a minority of anti-military NIMBYists. And what’s all this sudden concern about housing around the airport when you’re obviously opposed to housing developments anywhere else.
And as for the mall, apparently you didn’t get the memo about private property. The mall was not the mayor’s to sell or not to sell. That was the prior owner’s decision. And if the redevelopment brings any new jobs to downtown, great.
“Standing in WVMT-AM’s small, poster-plastered studio, the Democratic incumbent and his challenger traded barbs on everything from sidewalks to fighter jets on the boisterous “Charlie + Ernie + Lisa Show.”
If discussing fighter jets occurred, why is there not one sentence in this entire article that relates these candidates responses to fighter jets?
Whereas the mall is private property, the new owner doesn’t buy it without support from the mayor in developing the area around it, which is not private property.
Housing around the airport is basically non-existent. Better utilizing that area would aid in an overall housing shortage and be a better proposal than building housing that only trust fund students can afford.
Handing out livable wage exemptions is just one example of how the current mayor is willing to the needs of one over the needs of many.
You are long on rhetoric and short on facts.
1. Exactly what area “around the mall” is the new owner going to develop that is not private property?
2. “Housing that only trust fund students can afford”? Where do you come up with that sh**? And if Burlington actually went on the massive housing development program that it desperately needs (and which the NIMBYists oppose), house and apartment prices would come down. It’s the chronic lack of supply that makes housing in this city unaffordable.
3. “Handing out livable wage exemptions is just one example of how the current mayor is willing to the needs of one over the needs of many.” Again, I ask you, how many has this Mayor given out? I’m aware of 1. Your dramatic rhetoric doesn’t match the facts. And that 1 exemption required the City Council’s approval, did it not?