Burlington Democrats on Thursday nominated five candidates for city council ahead of elections in March.
Like their Progressive counterparts, the Dems are making little effort to increase their power on the 12-seat council, setting the stage for a relatively uneventful Town Meeting Day.
All eight ward seats are up for reelection, but Progressives are only running candidates in the four areas they already control. Democrats, meantime, are only challenging one sitting Prog. They nominated Ryan Nick to run against Councilor Marek Broderick in Ward 8.
Unless any independents or Republicans enter the race, Ward 8 will be the only contested seat on the ballot. Burlington GOP chair Bill Oetjen didn’t immediately respond to an interview request about his party’s plans.
Burlington Democratic Party chair Ryan Addario said on Thursday that Nick has a good chance of winning Ward 8, a college-student heavy area that has flip-flopped between Prog and Dem control in recent years.
“He knows the neighborhood, he knows his neighbors, he knows the community,” Addario said. “We’re really excited to have him.”
Nick joins a slate of four Democratic incumbents, all of whom ran unopposed at the caucus. They include councilors Sarah Carpenter (Ward 4), Becca Brown McKnight (Ward 6), Evan Litwin (Ward 7) and City Council President Ben Traverse (Ward 5). The party also holds three of four district seats, giving them a majority on the council that they’re almost certain to maintain after March.
The party’s numbers mean Democrats will likely retain the council presidency, a role that Traverse has held since April 2024. Winning the Ward 8 seat would give Dems a veto-proof majority, though Progressive Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak has yet to issue one during nearly two years in office.
More than 200 people participated in the Democrats’ caucus, which was held both online and in person at a Church Street office building owned by Nick & Morrissey Development, a partnership that includes Nick’s father. The space is often used for Burlington Democrat events and was donated for the party’s use on Thursday, Addario said.
Nick, who works for J.L. Davis Realty, is already deeply involved in the community. A justice of the peace, he also serves on the city’s Planning Commission, the Ward 8 Neighborhood Planning Assembly steering committee and on boards for the Flynn, Burlington Young Professionals and Burlington Business Association. He made an unsuccessful bid for city council in 2021, losing to former Progressive councilor Max Tracy in Ward 2.
In his nominating speech, Nick said he’s concerned about high rents and scarce housing.
“We deserve a Burlington where students love where they live and can actually picture a future. I’m running because Ward 8 deserves better than the status quo,” he said. “When something isn’t working, the city should actually fix it.”
Broderick, Nick’s opponent, is a University of Vermont student running for a second term. A Democratic socialist, Broderick supports rent stabilization and wants to rezone city land for more housing — including at the privately owned Burlington Country Club, his website says. He also supports retaining the city’s recycling program, which was initially slated for the chopping block as part of Mulvaney-Stanak’s budget cuts this year. The council is still discussing the program’s future.
Broderick also recently sponsored a resolution to address living conditions at UVM after students reported leaks, pests and other concerns in dormitories.
Addario, the party chair, had initially hoped other candidates would line up to unseat Progressives. Thursday night, he said tensions in last year’s race — which stemmed from candidates’ positions on the war in Gaza — factored into some people’s decisions to not run for office. The party also wanted to ensure its candidates would be in it for the long haul, and Nick fits the bill, Addario said.
“He was unsure at first,” Addario said. “The fact that he was willing to do it means a lot to us, because I know that he knows what he’s getting into.”
The incumbent Democrats used their nominating speeches to preview their work ahead. Councilors Carpenter and Traverse alluded to tough conversations as the city contends with another multimillion-dollar budget gap. Public safety, including strengthening the police presence downtown, was another common theme.
Besides Broderick in Ward 8, Progressive incumbent councilors Carter Neubieser (Ward 1) and Gene Bergman (Ward 2) will also be on the ballot. Political newcomer Laura Sánchez-Parkinson is running in Ward 3, having defeated challenger Vikas Mangipudi at the Progs’ caucus in December. Incumbent Ward 3 councilor Joe Kane isn’t running for reelection.
There’s still time for others to join the race. Candidates not seeking party endorsements must file a petition to appear on the ballot by January 26.
