 Hello everyone and welcome. My name is Adam Roof and thank you for joining me tonight for this presentation by the Burlington Democratic Party. Tonight we'll be joined by Owen Milne, who is seeking the Ward 3 City Council seat in the August 17th special election. Before we jump into that conversation, I wanted to share a quick reminder from the party about our nominating process coming up at the end of this week. We'll be holding our vote this Friday, which is June 18th at 12pm via Zoom, and the link to that meeting will be shared widely on our social media pages by email and on our website, which is BurlingtonDemocrats.com. With that, I'd love to get started. We've got Owen Milne with us tonight. For viewers, please know that you can call in. The phone number will be on the screen throughout the show. It's also 802-862-3966. And we look forward to taking your calls throughout the show. Owen, welcome. How are you doing this evening? Great. Thanks, Adam, for having me here. Good. I'm glad you're here. You and I have known each other for a few years, so I'm really excited to give you this opportunity to talk more broadly with the Burlington community, those that are viewing here tonight. We'll also save this recording and share it throughout the rest of the week. Let's jump right in. Owen, could you share with us why are you hoping to run? Why are you running? Thanks for that audience and I'm excited about the opportunity to serve Burlington. The reason I'm running is because I've really had the benefit of working closely with Brian Pine over the past few years. I live and work in Ward 3. I'm the executive director at the community sailing center. And over that period of time, Brian has been really helpful to me on things related to traffic in the city and parking, things related to our lease at the sailing center. But his service to the community was no more apparent than when he really helped out Ice Cream Bob. I don't know how many of you have met Ice Cream Bob before, but he owns that little creamy stand right down in the waterfront. Next to the Echo Center. He's been there for 18 years. And I'm part of a group of waterfront, you know, organization leaders and business owners. And, and he had informed us at one of our meetings that he was going to lose his business because of Amtrak coming into downtown. And despite his efforts to, you know, try and engage with City Hall in kind of a collaborative and constructive manner. He got some notification about 60 days before his building was to be demolished by the railroad. And he said to us he said hey guys, this is it. My business is closed as we my last meeting. And I said to Bob in the meeting I said, don't, don't hang up. Don't quit just yet let let's give Brian a call. Brian has worked really hard for me before let's see, you know what he can do. And you know, Ice Cream Bob was like, okay, I'll give it a little more shot. And he, I called Brian I told him about what was going on and Brian said this is unconscionable. We cannot let, you know, this be the precedent for how you engage with the city of Burlington. He's been collaborative and constructive and nice. And Brian said to me oh and let me see what I can do. I don't know what magic he worked. I don't. I'm guessing he probably called, you know, other members of city council I'm sure there was probably a few phone calls to parks and rec. You know public works I'm sure had to get involved. But Brian worked, you know, the type of magic that a city counselor does. And I get a phone call from Ice Cream Bob about a week or two later. And, and he calls me he said oh and you'll never believe it. Brian found me a new spot. I can live out the last couple of years of my business on the waterfront. And he said, the new spot is actually even better than where I was before. And, you know, I don't have to close down my business and I get to live it out. He said, and honestly one of the things that worried me the most was telling the high school kids that I employ that they wouldn't be able to have a job this summer. And so he said and so oh and you've got ice cream for life. And he said as long as I'm alive maybe that's better way to put it. And I said ice cream Bob, you know, you can give my share to Brian. Brian did all the work. I made one phone call. And, but I tell that story because in my opinion, that's the job of city council, if you answer the call, you listen intently, you ask the right questions you understand the root of the problem, and then you roll up your sleeves and you act. You know, sometimes people consider that to be the part of the job is that's, you know, less interesting or less glamorous, but in my opinion, that's the part of that I love the most. And, and that's the kind of servant leadership I would be bringing the Burlington. That's such a great story and I also had a chance to work with Brian for a number of years. Great counselor and he's going to be great Ceto as well. You know, looking forward towards the, the special election which will be on August 17. We still have to get through the nominating processes. The, the Democrats will be having our process on Friday as I mentioned, other nomination processes will be wrapped up by the end of this week. I don't know who else will be in the race, but you have an idea of at least a few who are interested. Did you talk a little bit at this point, what do you see so far as the things that differentiate you from the other folks who are either committed or thinking about seeking election in August. Yeah, that's, that's a good question. I, I've spent the better part of my career focused on community leadership. So, you know, I, I would say my political, my, my time spent in politics is actually very little other than when I kind of engage with community leaders and things that intersect with the government. But, you know, what that how that has translated is has been into both community service at the local level, as well as some other level service at the at the statewide level. So, you know, I served on the boards of serve or the commissioner for serve Vermont that oversees AmeriCorps in the state of Vermont. Many of those AmeriCorps programs are are here in Burlington served on the governor's committee for employment for people with disabilities. And that's those are both governor appointed positions at that at the statewide level. I have served on the, the Lake Champlain Chamber of Commerce leadership Champlain generator Burlington, which is the maker space in Burlington. Recently, elected the board of directors for Vermont State employees credit union. I think one of the things that I'm most proud of in that community leadership has been at spectrum family services, where I worked to create detail works, which was a job skills program that work for youth and transition to give them job skills in a in a safe environment. And that is one of the greatest challenges that a lot of that underprivileged youth in our community end up running into. So, as I've kind of interacted and learn more about the other people that have shown interest I think the one. That's the one thing that I have seen come out. Most often that I, I feel kind of proud talking about is that that area of community leadership. And I would say one of the biggest distinctions between me and others. Sure. Thank you for that answer to get a little more specific here. I'm interested for you know to hear more about your passions. We know why you want to run for office. We understand a little bit now more about what differentiates you and the others who are thinking about running. I'm just focused. What are you most passionate about and how will those passions help you focus on certain policies if in, if you're able to secure the seat and serve Ward three as a city counselor. Yeah, so, you know, I tell that story of servant leadership and Brian, because it that really serves at a sort of an underpinning of how I would approach the, the work of city council on issues. So, so often, you know, people will have things that that they happen to be passionate about personally and then just run with it straight to city hall. The way that I think servant leadership is different is that I'm going to be actively engaged with the people in Ward three to inquire on things like instead of, you know, posting on front porch form about, you know, what I want to do and get on the board. A lot of the what you'll hear from me will be asking people, what are the things that keep you up at night and keep you from being able to put food on a table, and, and then taking those stories to city hall and and sharing with other counselors about the other things that are trouble spots for the people that are my neighbors. So, but I know that for the purposes of this, you know, it's important that I also work to identify what those issues are, because sometimes the things that are really interesting like let's talk about the pit in the in the center of Burlington doesn't really impact people's daily lives. So, I've been making a lot of phone calls and Adam and, you know, I, you know, probably in hundreds of calls I made over the past couple of weeks. A couple of the things that I keep hearing coming up are housing affordability is a huge issue in Burlington I keep hearing it time and time again. I asked that question of, you know, what keeps you from being able to put food on the table that is absolutely one of them. It is, it is not okay that some people are paying, you know, 40 or 50% of their income on their rent. So, I would say that that's certainly one. The other one that I hear regularly is issues related to substance abuse and mental health. You have to understand Ward three is the downtown of Burlington, and most of the old north end. That's really in the what keeps somebody up at night conversation because a lot of the issues that that we see out on our streets are directly related to substance abuse and mental health. I think the city have spent a lot of time and energy on on on certain projects in Burlington and I think it's time to start shifting some of that attention towards what we can be doing for selling for that issue. And then, you know, the other one that I see in here about as well as accessibility in Burlington I happen to see and hear about that one as well. And interestingly, that that issue usually comes up when I'm having a conversation with somebody face to face they bring that up whether that's an issue for them not sure but but those are three things that I hear about actually with with some regularity. So, that's what I'm hearing about so far. I would imagine that that those things will change over time as I as I start engaging deeper with people on board three. And those are good examples you brought up housing substance abuse and mental health as well as accessibility. I'd like just to follow up a little bit to talk a little bit more specifics about about housing in Burlington, you know from the calls that you've done from the long time of being a living in Burlington working and living in Burlington. What do you see as some of the biggest inhibitors for biggest challenges that we as a community are facing to create new not just affordable but quality housing as well. Yeah, so there is there. I think that on both sides of this both the progressive and Democratic side that there are really good kernels of ideas that I think that need to be sussed out more. And this is one of the reasons why I'm actually seeking both party nominations is because quite often one of the things that I see happen is that there is a good idea that's arising on one side of the aisle. And, and some of the the bias and the challenges, you know, kind of impede that from getting fully baked. And, and again this is part of the legacy of Brian that I want to carry forward is that idea of taking some of the kernels of those ideas and then, you know, moving them to the process. And one of those examples that I would say is, you know, things like short term rentals. I, I, you know, short term rentals have an impact to the overall volume of housing volume of housing impacts the price. And, and I think that we need to be taking a very good, you know, close look at regulating that short term housing. But the one of the things that trips us up us up the most in moving through a regulation of short term rentals is some of those definitions and those issues around, you know, who's going to help move, move something forward. And this is where I feel like, you know, my approach in, in seeking both nominations will send a strong signal to the rest of my counselors that there is someone here. I want to get that get things through and completed and done. You know, one thing you once has been, you know, on the front of everyone's mind, a lot has been on the front of our minds these days has been not just a pandemic and we had a big announcement this week that the restrictions from the governor's office will be lifted. So focus on what the economic recovery will look like. You know, with your work at the sailing center you see a whole breadth of different types of people, not just in the downtown and waterfront but throughout the city. What in your perspective, so would the priorities be of the city and if you are on the city council for our journey towards an economic recovery as we come out of this pandemic. Yeah, that's a great question. You know. So, you know, as we look at, you know, economic development in Burlington. I would say that, you know, one of the barriers that that we run into while this may not necessarily seem like an economic development issue. I want to tell you that a lot of the things that I hear from people within the business community is that, you know, the, the intersection between social issues and economic recovery are really tight, meaning that people if we don't address the substance abuse and mental health issues, that it actually impedes the willingness to for businesses to want to be able to move into an expanded Burlington. I actually consider and see investment in mental health and substance abuse as an economic recovery investment that finding a way for us to solve for those and that's investment both in the private sector, but then also in collaboration in looking at public private partnerships within the existing social services sector to actually identify ways to do that. I used to serve on the board at Spectrum and I can tell you that they're right now trying to find real estate in order to, you know, open expand counseling for teens and young adults is one of the things that's a big impediment right now to expansion of those services in Burlington. Can you imagine what it'd be like if you're taking some of this economic recovery act in the city of Burlington being able to invest and support things on that ground level to help solve for some of those issues. I served on the board of the United Way and oversaw on the Community Investment Committee some of the, the ways that the United Way was investing and also some of the needs that we were seeing on the ground in Burlington. And I can tell you firsthand that that a little bit of money and investment in those social services in Burlington will go a long way to addressing some of those issues. And I see that as being one of the easiest ways for us to recover from some of those problems. And one on that answer of economic recovery. I tend to agree that there is an intersection between economic and community development. In fact, we have in Burlington, a whole department dedicated just to working on that intersection. You know, another, another piece that's really important that I wanted to make sure we elevated and center tonight is our conversation about public safety and more specifically policing. I know you've thought about this quite a bit over the years. You talk a little bit about your philosophy on how to be looking forward on public safety and policing. Yeah, so I would say that I am very eager, like I'm sure we all are to see the results of the, the work that the consultant comes to brings back. That shed some light on how we use those public safety services in the city of Burlington. You know, I have been getting asked the question, do you, do you believe in cutting defunding the police or sometimes they'll, you know, the question will be, would you cut the budget by 50%. And the answer that I often find myself giving is I don't know yet. And, and the reason I say that is because having come from a consulting background, I did work in a workplace consulting entity that actually helped drive transformational organizational change for for businesses and large, large organizations. I can tell you that having the information available on on how resources are used is is the tool that everybody uses in order to cut through the emotional dissonance that gets in the way of getting towards where you ultimately want to go. Do we need people armed officers making traffic stops. Do we need armed officers attending, you know, to fender benders in Burlington. Do you know what I would say is that oftentimes what we're doing is we're using one individual and and having them try and do a cadre of different different activities. I think the information from the report will help us glean is to identify what does our future public safety department look like, and actually have us better align the resources that we have to the needs that we have the community. You wouldn't send a SWAT team and every single time somebody has a car accident. It doesn't make sense to have resources misused in that way. I would be the counselor who would be taking a deep dive into that information, because I'm comfortable in that space of really looking at what the numbers are, looking at how the resources are used, and then making sure that they're matched. I do it every day at the sailing center in leadership in that position. I'd be doing it the same thing in Burlington as well. I'm glad that we get to talk about some specific issues and including not just housing but public safety, economic recovery and the intersections that happen with that and social service side of things as well, including substance abuse. With about five or so minutes left I wanted to give you an opportunity to share anything else that you wanted to talk about. Maybe talk a little bit more because I know that I find your work at the sailing center fascinating. I know a lot of folks sometimes don't know all the work that goes on at the sailing center. So I'll give you a few minutes and I'll tee you up nicely with maybe an opportunity to talk about all the awesome programming that's been going on at the sailing center under your leadership. Well, you know, you have to be careful never to let an executive director of a nonprofit talk about their own organization because that will just take up every minute of time that, you know, that you could possibly have. I think one of the things that I'm really just left so you can take up your time. Yeah, so, so I'll talk about the thing that I'm most proud of doing this year. So our board identified that we have to address diversity inclusion and belonging at the sailing center. We've addressed issues around accessibility and and differently abled individuals getting out of the water. We've addressed issues of financial ability to pay and afford and participate. And we've, you know, reduce gender challenges to participation in the sport, but we've never really tackled things related to BIPOC families in our community. So we, I, we partnered with the trusted community voices a group within CEDO to actually design what a scholarship would look like to provide support to break down those barriers of access to BIPOC families in the community. The lesson that I learned is that if Adam, if, if I tried to do it with our team at the sailing center without engaging the trusted community voices, we would have failed miserably because we just don't have a truly deep understanding of what that's like. So, and I would say that, you know, as it relates to the way I would approach things in Burlington moving forward is that we shouldn't be having conversations about race and BIPOC programs and services without actually having people like that at the table but that's an aside. So, we worked with them they helped us understand how to break down the issues around transportation encouraged us on our marketing materials to make sure we were including a variety of different languages. We were, we made it a long term for plus year program rather than just being a one year scholarship. And that families know that if my kids loves this how am I going to pay for it four years from now, where this is a long term approach. It's the first of its kind in the the sailing industry. And as a result, normally we might have five or six kids a year come from BIPOC families and in Burlington. So, this year, it looks like we might be getting up to 17 or 18 in one year. So that's going from six to 18 in one year, and then the program is designed so that we'll actually pick up another 18 next year. So in two years, we'll be going from six to 36. So three year programs who might pick another 18 the next year, if we're able to keep the retention which we're hoping that we can. We would be looking at having one of the most diverse sailing programs in the country. Even though the population of Burlington is being, you know, roughly 15% BIPOC. So, you know that that is one of the. The most diverse sailing programs in the country. And that's what we're going to be looking at this year. And yeah, and I guess that gives some insight on to how I might approach things in city council. Sure. Well, thank you for that answer. We are approaching the end of our time. Oh, and I know you were chatting right before we came on here that you are active and in the process of setting up your Facebook page and website and all of those ways for people to get in touch with you. Oh, maybe. Oh, and Mel and you can get in touch with him and find his website and more information. Again, a reminder, we will be having the Democratic Party is nomination process happening at noon this Friday the 18th. I encourage y'all to sign in we'll also be hearing a little bit more from Owen at that time. Oh, and thank you so much for joining and I look forward to talking some more. And good luck with the next couple of weeks. Thank you. Look forward to more. Have a good night. Thanks for watching everybody. All right.