The 56-year-old political novice faces Democratic incumbent Karen Paul and Progressive candidate Charles Simpson in the Ward 6 race.
FitzGerald, a 20-year Burlington resident, decided to run after Paul, citing a last-minute conflict of interest, recused herself from a vote on the sale of Burlington Telecom in October.
“That was the final straw,” FitzGerald said. “We got no input, no feedback” on the recusal, he said. “We deserve more than that.”
Paul later quit her job in order to cast a vote, but she never revealed her conflict.
FitzGerald works as the athletic facilities operations manager for the University of Vermont and said if elected, he would work to attract businesses to Burlington and make sure they have financial incentives to stay longterm. He pointed to the impending Macy’s closure as a failure of city government.
He suggested providing tuition help for college students who find jobs in the area after graduation.
“In my everyday life, I’m a maintenance guy, and I just think the city needs a little maintenance,” he said.
As a Republican, FitzGerald appears to represent an increasingly endangered species in Burlington’s political landscape. He is the sole new Republican candidate to mount a challenge for any Burlington City Council seat; incumbent Kurt Wright (R-Ward 4) is running unopposed. And at the Republican Party caucus last Saturday, there weren’t enough attendees to achieve a quorum of ten committee members. The party has rescheduled for January 24.
Candidates have until the end of the month to file for a run with the city clerk’s office. Town Meeting Day is on March 6 this year.
FitzGerald characterized himself as a “very, very liberal Republican” and compared himself to former Vermont senator Jim Jeffords.
“In my view, it’s okay to be a Republican and vote across party lines,” FitzGerald said.
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Joel, the impending Macy’s closure has to do with a number of factors that all essentially go to supply and demand but include: the last few decades of online retail growth, Macy’s inability/unwillingness to keep up with price and shopping trends (both locally and online), consumers who are eco/local conscious, aging infrastructure and design without a longterm plan.
None of those are things the government should be involved in.
The government should spend its money on: roads, schools, social programs. Not trying to rebrand an aging department store so it meets the needs of a 21st century consumer.
“In my everyday life, Im a maintenance guy, and I just think the city needs a little maintenance,” he said.
I heard words and yet I learned nothing.
Jim Jeffords light! Wow another RINO! Burlington needs an influx of conservative thinking, not more of this progressive nonsense or the city and the state continue to fail.
Pro-business talk is one of the things that got the Progs involved in more races this year. Could Ward 6 be the testing ground for the final fight between the Growth at Any Cost movement and the Keep BTV a Local Commodity movement? Miro and Karen are the Democrats for the former, and I suspect a Republican will join them wholeheartedly. Vote Charles Simpson if you want this city to stay transparent and livable.