 Good afternoon everyone. I want to thank you for joining us for an exciting announcement. I am pleased to be joined today by Dan Richardson, who I am appointing to be the next city attorney for the city of Burlington. Joining Dan today is his family and we have here his wife, Britt. There she is as well as his children, Vaughn and Emery. There's Vaughn and even Dan's mother-in-law Julie is here as well all the way from Florida which is great that she could join us. Dan brings almost two decades of experience to the city team and is really frankly one of the most highly qualified attorneys in the entire state of Vermont for this appointment. Most recently Dan has been serving as a partner at Tarrant Gillies Richardson and Shems and as an adjunct professor at the Vermont Law School where he created the school's first municipal law course which I really think speaks to the municipal explicit municipal law experience that Dan has that very few other attorneys have in the state. Dan graduated from Vermont Law School in 2003 and he was also the editor-in-chief of the Vermont law review during his years there. Dan clerked for the honorable Matthew Katz and the honorable Richard Norton and the Chittenden Superior Court another connection to this area and he began as an associate in his firm Tarrant Gillies Richardson and Shems in 2005 and became partner in 2009. There he has practiced civil litigation municipal land use act 250 zoning energy law real estate law and has represented over 20 municipalities across Vermont. Dan has also had a number of community important community service positions including for the Vermont Superior Court since 2003 he's served in several roles including the acting judge of Washington County small claims court since 2011 and impressively to me he has served as both the president he's approved the president of both the Vermont Bar Association and the Vermont Bar Foundation. Dan even and I'm thinking I'm hoping this is something Burlington City Councilor's like he's even had the experience of serving as a city councilor as he has been on the Montpelier City Council since 2020. That is a position that so there's no question about divided municipal loyalties Dan will be stepping down from that position if and when he is approved by the city council confirmed by the city council for this position which I'm asking them to do this coming Monday. Dan has met with a number of the city counselors we've been in communication with them and we're asking them to appoint this critical appointment this coming Monday. You know I think Dan's vast experience makes him an outstanding candidate for this critical position of city attorney. Dan we don't have like baseball caps here when we ask people to join the team but we do have happy to say as we have these city flagpins and so welcome aboard thank you for your willingness to serve the people of Burlington I know that your municipal law knowledge your skills and litigation and mediation your professional integrity and superior work ethic will make you an outstanding leader for the city attorney's office. I know that the assistant city attorneys here in city hall feel similarly a number of them have joined us including our acting city attorney Justin and I want to thank Justin for being willing to serve again in this acting role and I know how eager you are to see it it ends so I want to thank the whole city attorney crew that has been really pulling together to help us through this transition understaffed at a very busy time and thank you all for being here today and being part of this announcement. With that Dan I'm pleased to welcome you to the city team and I know that Burlingtonians will benefit greatly from your work and podium is yours to share a few words if you'd like. Thank you so much thank you. I'll keep my remarks short but I first of all want to thank Mayor Weinberger for this incredible honor. If you practice municipal law in Vermont this is the pinnacle of practicing the municipal law here in Burlington. It is an amazing city it is an amazing legal department I've said many times to both the staff and anyone who's asked me that this is probably second to the AG's office the most impressive public sector legal team in the state of Vermont and I'm just incredibly awed to have the opportunity to join it. I began my legal career right across Caddy Corner at Chittenden Superior Court and it I can say honestly that Burlington shaped me into the lawyer I became and it is been 16 years that I have sought to come back to this city to practice law. I thought it would be sooner I'm sorry the street crossing took a little bit longer but I am more than happy to be here I'm more than excited to be here. It is a fantastic opportunity and I'm just tickled to have to be here standing here with this flag pin on my lapel today and I'm looking forward to serving the the people and citizens of the city of Burlington as their city attorney thank you. Awesome thank you Dan we'd be happy to answer questions if there are any. I'm curious if you could speak a little bit about what your philosophies are approaching this work on the municipal level how are you going to approach this work? A public records question if I ever heard one. So my philosophy at least in representing municipalities is oftentimes the city attorney is the risk manager for the city so a lot of times I see myself as giving advice as far as you know what is the law what are the parameters when there are policy questions or issues trying to give sort of a full full flavor of the legal options available and if if a city wants to move in a particular direction you know at some point in time that slips into advocacy and you know representing the city it is both counsel and advocacy in these positions now as far as transparency goes you know I'm a big believer in the public records law and you know I certainly think that it has an important function in making sure that what we do as a city is transparent but there are exemptions and you know we live with those and we work within those and part of my role as city attorney is to you know essentially act as an umpire to say you know this is something that's allowable in the public realm and this is something that isn't and I often try and explain you know if for example you can't have a public record because of exemption why and to work with either the requester or the agency and so you know I like to make sure that I see my job is making sure that the laws explain and understood and not just simply dictated. Any specific goals or ambitions for the position? Well I mean my first goal is to get appointed fully confirmed but I would say that you know I think there's a lot of ambitious ideas in the city of Burlington a lot of challenges that the city is facing and so part of what my my goal is to make sure that the the city's goals are carried forward in a late way that's consistent with the law. Any anyone else have any questions? Okay sure well you know there are always when you represent a client especially of municipality there are the goals that you come with come in with thinking and then there are goals that are presented to you because of necessity obviously the city's facing a you know a series of challenges that have um you know been in in the papers but a lot of them have been resolved and I'm very fortunate I think Eileen Blackwood whose whose shoes I step into here and I can only hope to fill the very large shoes because of her incredible work it has resolved a number of them but I fully expect that you know there's there's always something new that that comes up and you know it will be embracing both of those you know the city attorney's position is kind of interesting in that you know it's not my it's not my place to set policy but it is my my role to help make sure that the policy that the elected officials do seek to implement is done so in a manner it's consistent with both state federal and local laws great so thank you for being here appreciate you coming out and uh Charlie thank you for channel 17 being here anything you want to ask good thank you and uh we'll see everybody monday big city council meeting so thank you all