 When do you want him to use the middle of the end? No, no, no, you definitely want to do it. At Christmas. Thursday night and fly out. Hopefully those flights don't get canceled. How do you have? Oh, that's too bad. Yes, it's been a mess. But it's all scheduled now. It is, yeah. But I'm just interested in that flight Friday. Or you just couldn't get on. I just couldn't. Welcome. I'm Diane Meyerhoff, co-host for tonight's town meeting preview show. Tonight's show is being aired live on channel 17 and streamed live on the channel 17 website. We love your comments and questions. Please join the conversation at 862-3966. Tonight, I'm joined by Morgan True, a journalist formerly with Vermont Digger. Morgan, thank you so much for joining me tonight. Good to be here. Great. We have a fantastic show for you right now and later on tonight. So we hope you'll stay tuned to channel 17. We are going to give you an overview of the elections and the various by municipality. And then we're going to have some clips of voters as well. So it's going to be a good 525 show. So, Morgan, let's talk a little bit. Actually, let's jump right into Burlington. Okay. This is the mayor's race. Yeah. Yeah, that's definitely the top of the card. So three candidates. We have the incumbent Democrat, Miro Weinberger, running for a third term. And then the two challengers, Karina Driscoll, an independent who has the endorsement of the progressives. And another independent, infinite, cool pleasure, who is a first time mayoral candidate. And yeah, I think it's going to be an exciting race. I mean, I think the big question for, in a lot of folks minds is whether infinite and Karina can hold the mayor below that 40% threshold and force a runoff for one of them to take him on in a runoff election. And so I really do think that that's what the focus is on. I think they're all pretty strong candidates. The mayor has the benefits of incumbency. A lot of people are pleased with his performance. There are others who, to his left, voicing discontent, especially with process and an inclusive process. Something both of the other candidates are promising. And so, yeah, I mean, it's a referendum on Miro. And it is an interesting time politically in our country. A lot of people want to be involved and want to see change. But again, Miro has positioned himself well. So I think the big question is that 40% figure. Can he get it? And do you think this is some kind of a vote for growth and no growth in Burlington? I've heard this discussion that Miro supports the quicker, faster growth. Do you think it's a referendum on growth in Burlington? I think maybe in some sense it is because both of his opponents have offered a very different vision for how growth should happen and a different verdict on the growth that is happening currently. So I do think that that could be seen that way. And do you think any of this spills down into council races? Now, that's an interesting question and one I had not thought as much about. But to be honest, I don't accept that the benefits of incumbency trickled down. These incumbents, city councilors are tough to unseat. And again, with the current national political climate, we have seen two young progressives in Ward 8 and Ward 5 that are trying to maybe capitalize on some of the energy that there is nationally. And here in Burlington, the home of a lot of very progressive politics at its own progressive party. So it's possible that we can see them capitalize on that, but otherwise it's really hard to unseat incumbents. And especially when there's no, when the mayor is the highest, you know, there's no senate, there's no president, you know. So although I've heard that turnout is very good thus far. So that augurs well for challengers. Okay, great. And we will run through the council races quickly, but I think we're going to go to, Channel 17 staff was out at the polls today talking to voters. So here's what they had to say in Ward 6 in Burlington. So why are you out here voting today? Well, I feel like it's an important election, especially with the mayor's election, and there's, you know, important issues related to the school and with, and just kind of getting a finger on the pulse for like the F-35 or whatever it's called. And how do you feel that mayoral election is going or about the process leading up to today? As far as the process, I mean, I think, I mean, there's been lots of signs and so forth, but I think, I don't know, I kind of feel like it's time for a change. And so that's why I want people to turn out. Well, why did you decide to come out to vote today? I think it's one of the best ways to make sure the people that are elected listen to the people, which they don't seem to be doing locally in Burlington at least. So that's one of the main reasons why I came out today. Make sure our voices are heard. Any items on the ballot that you feel especially passionate about? Probably the F-35s. I don't think they should be here. I think there's other options. So that was one of the key things that got me out today. Great. Thank you. And I think we need a new mayor. Tobacco 21 for sure. I think that that's one of the number one things that we can do to reduce the burden of disease in the United States. I'm just happy with the way things are going in Burlington and want to keep the progress going. Are there any particular ballot items that you feel passionate about? I was glad to see the ballot item on climate change and just the vote from mayor. What are your thoughts on the mayoral race this year? I think it's been a really good race in terms of giving the electorate an opportunity for real choice. It's been significant and I think it's been good. You know, in general I'm a strong supporter of the mayor. I think he's done a really good job on a number of issues and so I'm here to support the mayor and Karen Paul, mainly. Are you excited to vote? How are you feeling about such a contested city council race in this war? I don't think it's really contested. I think there's been a lot of noise but I don't think it's actually going to be close. And so I think Karen will get another term and she's done a really good job of keeping people in touch with what she thinks. And how do you feel about the events or process leading up to today's election? There's been tons of information out there. I felt like I've had a great opportunity to learn about the candidates and the issues. So it's been great. Are there any ballot items that you're particularly passionate about? I spent a lot of time thinking about the F-35, the school budget as always. Those are probably the most important ones that I saw. It's a mayoral race and I feel like I am informed about that but I didn't know too much about the item about consolidating emergency services, the dispatch. Yeah, the basing of the F-35s. I don't think it makes a difference in terms of them coming or not but it's important to show our support for them. Do you feel that you've been given enough information about these issues to make an educated decision? Probably more than I want. How do you get this information? People come into your door, tons of leaflets, so the junk mail will get a little lower in the days to come. So why are you out here voting today? I think the right to vote is one of the best things about our democracy so I feel very privileged to do so. Are there any issues on the ballot that you feel particularly passionate about? Yeah, I think the advisory on climate change is important, affordable housing I think is a real issue in the city of Burlington and keeping the good momentum going in our city is also important. This year in particular, you know, both sides of issues were out in full force informing the public more so than I've seen in the past and so I feel like I was very informed about it. Thank you. From BHA, a register for the exit poll interviews. Great interviews. They were fantastic and that was from Ward 6 so we'll talk about Ward 6 council races first. Yeah, so that is an interesting word as you heard some of the voters there say. The incumbent is Karen Paul, a Democrat and trying to unseat her is Charles Simpson, a progressive. He's been an activist locally, regular presence at council meetings and definitely running to her left. And then Joel Fitzgerald, a Republican first time candidate, works at UVM athletics, ran a campaign on sort of pocketbook issues. And it'll be interesting to see what happens there. But I do think that I would give the edge to Karen Paul just judging by our exit voices we heard from a few of her voters. We certainly did. So the other big race people watching Ward 3? Yeah, absolutely. Open seat. Yep, Sarah Moore has stepped down and left an open seat that three candidates are vying for. We have progressive Brian Pine. He has held that seat previously. There is the Democrat Lizzie Haskell, a first time candidate, recent UVM grad, very impressive candidate, has worked very hard. James Lockridge, very involved community advocate, especially around issues related to Memorial Auditorium. So he's an independent and that is three really solid candidates for Ward 3 to choose from. And that will be probably one of the most exciting races because again, no incumbent, open seat, that means there's a lot of action. And I think all three candidates, there's a lot of mutual respect, but they've all been hitting the campaign trail hard. And I'm sure some of them we're going to hear from in the future if they don't get elected now. Oh, absolutely. I would expect if Lizzie doesn't win, we'll see her again on a ballot. Okay, great. Ward 1, Sharon Bush is running on a post. On a post? Got a few on a post. We have quite a few actually. Ward 1, we have Kurt Wright in Ward 4 running up on a post. Max Tracey in Ward 2 on a post. Max Tracey in Ward 2. And that's it for the unopposed. We have Ollie Zhang, a Democrat progressive who was elected in that special. He's up against James Loop in Ward 7. And then we have in Ward 5, we have Chip Mason, the incumbent Democrat, and Jesse Warren, a progressive. And then Ward 8 is an interesting race. We have incumbent Adam Roof, who's an independent, but has the Democrats endorsement up against Carter Newbeiser, who is a UVM student and has generated some excitement in that race. And the progressive nominee. Yes, yes. He's a progressive candidate, correct. Okay. We're going to go right now to Studio B with Matt Kelly. He's going to tell us what he's going to be up to tonight, Matt. Great, Diane. Thank you so much. It's a pleasure to be here this evening. It's literally the calm before the storm, if you will. Lots of anticipation here in Studio B. And what we're going to be doing and focusing on this evening is bringing you live interviews as they occur here in Studio B. So as people come into the studio, whether they're winners or losers, we plan to grab them and ask them some important questions about their race. Still plenty of time for you to get out and vote as the polls don't close until 7 p.m. tonight. So if you have not had a chance yet to go out and cast your vote, still time to do so. We are here in Studio B. There's a lot going on in Studio C with Lauren Glendavidian. Better. All right. All right. Thanks so much. And we'll be seeing you later on for live results. Great. Thank you very much. That's Lauren Glend in Studio C and Matt Kelly in Studio B. So we've talked about Burlington. Let's talk about Winooski. Yeah. Seth Leonard, the mayor, is running unopposed. So we don't have a mayoral election, which would be interesting to see how that affects turnout. Sure. Sure. But we do have an interesting city council race. And so this is three candidates for two seats. One of them is a writing candidate, but he may have the most name recognition of all three. And that is... Winooski as much as well as Burlington, that was my one question. Well, they're pretty close. Okay. All right. Okay. Okay. So I do think... And that writing candidate that we're talking about is Hal Colston, formerly with the Good News Garage, who's been doing some work in the public schools in Burlington and Winooski. And I do think that gives him the edge and name recognition over his opponents, who are Ebony Nayani, who is a Black Lives Matter, I believe founder for the Vermont chapter and also has a storefront on the circle in Winooski. So probably some name recognition for her as well. I do know that there was some seven days coverage of a controversy that she had with some of her fellow Black Lives Matter activists that may have actually prompted Hal to jump into that race and then... He said that was not the case when we did our forum. Oh, interesting. Just to put that out there. I was getting my information for seven days. Well, it was a good bet. Yeah, well... But yes, but so I mean, either way, you have those two and then a third candidate, Christine Lott. And so again, that's three candidates for two seats. And it will be interesting to see who makes it through that gauntlet. And Christine is a new candidate, but she's on their housing committee. So she's been somewhat involved. Not total neophyte to city politics and operations. And we should also say those two seats are seats that were held by the Bryans, Bryan Sweeney and Bryan Corrigan, who are not running again. In addition, the ballot items in Winooski are $6.7 million bond for the City Wastewater Treatment Plant, as well as membership in the Chittin County Public Safety Authority, which we're going to talk a little bit about later. Yeah, because that has become an increasingly hot topic. And the school district is asking for a tax increase of 2.9%. So that's... We'll hear about more about that later tonight. Let's talk about South Burlington. Yeah. We've got Unconsisted City Council races, which is interesting, because in the past those have been big places that we've talked about. Yes, I know. South Burlington. What are you doing? It's so much fun in the past. We have. We have so. Helen Reilly and Megan Emery are running unopposed, interestingly. But there are some contested school board races. Yep. Laura Williams is contesting us. The chairman, Elizabeth Fitzgerald. Yeah, who has held that seat for quite some time and I think will, again, have the benefits of incumbency. But there has been some rancor in the South Burlington schools, not just over steadily increasing property taxes, which is an issue everywhere. But there had also been some bad blood over the rebel alliance, or the rebel name change, which spawned a group called the Rebel Alliance. And they actually had some writing candidates last time around for school board. And they have, I think, maybe, to some degree, given up on bringing back the rebel name. Although I'm not positive about that. That may still be an issue for them. But I do think it has gotten them to be more involved politically and to have a greater desire to be involved in the school. I think Michael Rossi has, who is a candidate for their, for a school board seat. Yep, challenging. Bridget Burkhard. I think that is how he got his introduction to all of this and what sort of made him decide to run. I believe is his experience last time around and doing some of the advocacy work with that group, which, again, wanted to keep the rebel name, which the school board jettisoned under pressure from the community, who many of whom felt it had some negative connotations. And we should also say that that particular seat, that's Bridget Burkhard's seat, is also, Tyler Samler is also running for that seat. I see. So there's a three-way seat. Three-way race for that single seat. And we actually have a clip of Michael Rossi talking about, I believe, the rebel name change. Great. And... And, yeah, and so we'll cut to that in just a moment, but I do think that that is what makes this a more interesting race to watch, just because it could sort of take the temperature on how people feel about that sort of moment, which, again, definitely had flared up last town meeting day. Is that still an issue that people care about? It's possible the clip will... Or it's possible the outcome will tell us more. Not so much on the rebranding, but the process again. I will stick to the process and accountability. I didn't go to South Burlington. I went to Rice. We went through that when we had the Little Indians to the Green Knights for not even close to the same type of reasons, but it made sense. Personally speaking, rebels, wolves, the name itself, I'm not emotionally attached to any of it. I understood the argument. I think the argument to change the name was valid. I think every student should feel safe. I think every student should feel welcome. I think every parent should be proud that they go to South Burlington. Where I had a problem, and I wrote, and this was published in the free press, and I did write to the board, is the process. You did have 700 plus residents, taxpayers, asked the school board to at least discuss the issue in a form. There was a motion made. It wasn't brought up. So there's difference between listening and acting. So you could sit in the audience and say what you wanted to school boards, but it didn't feel like anyone was real. Decision was made. They weren't going to do it. And that's not a fair process. That's not a process that led to civil disagreement. It led to accusations. It led to things that's not really reflective of South Burlington. So I just think they mishandled that particular issue. I think the board should have had a second, had a discussion, and if they decided not to bring it to a vote, fine, then that would be their decision. But not to actually have that discussion and be on record and not for Bridget and the rest of the members to second that motion. I think they mishandled that. And I think they did a disjustice to those members of the community. That was the South Burlington School Board candidates talking about the rebel name. We're going to go on to the town of Essex. There's a contested select board race. Elaine Soapchick, who's the village trustee, is vying for the seat against Ramona Shepherd and Timothy Farr. That seat was vacated by Susan Cook. We have some information from last night's meeting. Yeah, that's right. They got it in early. They did. Nice, right? So we have some results to let you know about. The budget, actually all the items passed. There was a slight change. The municipal budget was increased, interestingly. $45,000 for an additional police officer. And the creation of the conservation reserve fund was passed with a $15,000 in seed funding. There you go, Essex. Good job. So we'll have results tonight about the select board candidates. Williston, we have again more uncontested races in the select board. Terry McKay and Joy Limoche will return. Voters are looking at about a $11 million budget. And there are a bunch of ballot items. Again, that public safety authority, which we're going to talk about in a minute. Interestingly, which I keep bringing this up. Yeah, no, but I could go ahead. So we have this regional item on all the ballots for the public safety. And at the same time, the Winooski Valley Park District, which Williston is a member, they are looking to not be a member any longer and have brought that to the ballot around the cost, $32,000 a year. And how the fees are divvied up amongst the different communities. So perhaps the devils in the details. Yeah, and it is interesting to see we are going to see a lot of towns possibly pass a regionalizing of their governance for public safety dispatch. And at the same time, Williston is considering pulling out of a regionalized conservation partnership. So I do think that it's a good one for you to highlight because it's interesting because these are, you know, there's a lot of push and pull, give and take. You know, there's a lot of maybe possible benefits, but also unintended consequences. These aren't simple, clean cut things, these regional governance issues. No, they're not. And it's interesting that we'll talk about the public safety one, that there's all of a sudden there's been some backlash against it. For a while we were hearing only good things about it. Now I've noticed we've got a fire union, four police union against it in Burlington. Yeah, that's an interesting dynamic. Very rare to see those two not in lockstep on an issue. So talk a little bit about the authority. Yeah, so this is a union municipal district that would be formed and it would be on the ballot in seven towns. And basically the idea is to regionalize dispatch services so that emergency calls are all going to one center. And then that's how dispatch is handled. Right now towns have their own dispatchers. And some of the controversy is that this will eliminate some positions and people will lose their jobs. And that is obviously uncomfortable for especially the folks who have those jobs. They don't want to see that. But they say the issue is broader than that. They say that the municipal leaders who are pushing this are exaggerating the efficiencies to be gained on response times, which we've heard pegged at around 70 seconds, which in an emergency is... Like a bit? Yeah, definitely. But so they've questioned those findings. And then they also say that it's not like these dispatch centers are only connected by landlines. They say that it's not like we're just calling each other up. There is more coordination now than they say they're getting credit for. And so there has been quite a bit of pushback. I do think a lot of it is originating though with people whose jobs are potentially on the line and fair enough. We would expect that, yeah. And I don't believe there's any cost savings necessarily associated or at least it hasn't set up that way. And even the proponents have not set it up as this is going to save these towns money. But they again have made the efficiency argument. And so it'll be on the ballot in seven towns and it will need to pass in three to go into effect. Okay. And we have actually have a clip from the South Bruinsen City Councilors. This is a discussion with Megan Emery and Helen really about this public dispatch. If we had a centralized dispatch center, we would have at least two or three people on duty so that there could be just again a sharing of knowledge and a sharing of the different steps that you have to take as a dispatcher and under a lot of stress. And you're very concerned about the people that you're sending out to deal with and mitigate an emergency, right? So just having what I would call redundancy in the same room, which brings a lot of expertise into a place where all these things can be seen as a whole. I was really convinced when I heard a dispatcher who was in the audience express that concern that I just expressed tonight, that we're there to be a true catastrophe and you're one person on duty having to deal with fire, police, making sure that these people that you're sending out in a dangerous way come back safely that having several people there in order to be able to communicate with the different units simultaneously, she sees that also as a safety issue. And that's what really drove it home for me. So I'm just kind of curious about, you know, are there other places where this should happen? You'd like to see it happen? You don't want to see it happen? I think it's just a really interesting discussion. Sure. And I think another area that's being considered as the airport as a regional governance study and I support, I mean, I don't have a position on whether it would be a good idea to have regional governance at the airport, but I do think it makes sense to have an independent broad group of experts or individuals from the communities research that and consider and come back with some of the pros and cons and a recommendation. I would like to see a study first. Oh, me too. That's what I was saying. But I would really like to put out there that it's not a network. It is located in a city and that city is South Burlington. And so every plane that arrives and every plane that departs leaves from South Burlington. The land has, you know, been expanding and it's not been because of the commercial, it's been because of the military. And so we have seen the purchase of a lot of homes in South Burlington and they're not homes that can be replaced. These are affordable single family homes on quarter acre lots. And if you look at what's being built today that's affordable in the county, you will not find quarter acre lots with a single family home on it. So we've lost now 200 of those. I would really see as quite appropriate that South Burlington have a role that is more than on the receiving end that we actually participate in the decision making. And I do believe that looking at these maps, that the FAA and now the Air Force are producing, that Winooski and Williston potentially stand to see a real impact with this expansion of land that the airport should control. The buses move throughout, right, but the airport is located in a specific area. I heard it here first. Yeah, no, and I don't disagree. I think we really need to study. I would also note that Seth Leonard, the mayor of Winooski and I have been meeting regularly with Mayor Weinberger to try to work on some of these issues and hopefully the three city councils will be able to have some kind of meeting to have that conversation, because Burlington and the Airport Commission really do need to understand how both Winooski, Will and the future in how South Burlington has been impacted and find a way to have more influence on the request to the FAA for tearing down homes, purchasing them and demolishing them, because it really is counterintuitive to economic development. And wrap up with talking about the remainder of the Burlington ballot items and remind folks to vote. Tell us we've got the F-35. That's the one we need to follow. That is a big question, and so it basically asks, you know, the language is a little convoluted and that's been a controversy in and of itself, but it's essentially asking voters if they would like to see local officials push to have a different plane located here or if they can prevent it from arriving altogether. Again, the F-35 is supposed to be louder than the F-16. There are currently a lot of concern around that. It's coming in the fall of 2019. It's an advisory question, so it's non-binding, but I have heard politicians from the mayor on down say that if there's overwhelming support for doing something different, they will take that seriously and into consideration. So then there is some bonding on the Burlington ballot, a little over six million, and that is for infrastructure. And if it passes, it will secure additional payments from UVM and Champlain College. These are on top of other payments in lieu of tax they make. Those are big tax-exempt entities in the city, and they rely on city services and so the mayor has been negotiating with them for a long time to try and increase those payments. Those payments will increase if voters also make an investment in their roadways, sewer lines, and expanding that waterfront bike path. So infrastructure, bond general, obligation bond. So those are two big ones. Obviously the school budget. Two more advisory ones, one on climate change, on pushing the governor and the state legislature to achieve their 90-by-50 goal, which is 90% renewable by 2050, increasing the smoking age from 18 to 21 here in the city of Burlington. It's advisory. Affordable housing. Affordable housing, yes. And this is also advisory, and it would push the city to find a progressive tax to put more money into that housing trust fund. And that trust fund makes grants to developers that build affordable housing here locally. Okay, great. So we are just about wrapping up our 525 show. If you haven't voted, don't forget, polls are open until 7 o'clock tonight. That's right, there's still time. Please get out. You know, it might be some lines, but it's only six now. You might, you know, you got an hour, so. It's worth it. Absolutely worth it. Get on out there. And we hope you'll come back and join us at 7 o'clock or right after if you're still voting. Yeah. Because we're going to have our live results show at 7 o'clock. We're going to have interviews. A lot of fun. A lot of candidates. We're going to have exit polls. We're going to have. Channel 17 always gets them first, so. And we do. We're going to have up to the minute results for you. So we hope you'll join us at 7 o'clock. Thank you so much.