 Good afternoon and welcome to Burlington Progressives TV. My name is Joe McGee. I am the City Councilor representing Ward 3 on the Burlington City Council. I am a Progressive and I'm sitting in today for my friend Ward 2 City Councilor Jean Bergman. Our show this afternoon is a special episode. We are doing the first of three candidate panels with the Progressive Candidates for City Council here in Burlington on Town Meeting Day, March 5th. And the next two forums will be on Tuesday, January 30th and Thursday, February 1st at 4 o'clock. The candidates with us today are Lee Morgan running in Ward 7 and Carter Newbies are running in Ward 1. Welcome to you both. Thank you for being here. Thanks for having us. Thanks Joe. So we can get started now with just a quick intro for both of you. If you want to introduce yourself and give a little personal and political history, Carter, why don't we start with you? Yeah, so my name is Carter Newbieser. I've been involved coming up on nine years now and in local issues, worked for a number of City Councilors as support staff at different periods throughout that and serve on my NPA going on two years now. The main reason I'm running is Burlington is incredibly unaffordable. When I go and talk to folks about sort of how we fund the City's expenses and how regressive that is and alternatives to that, I think folks have been really receptive and excited and also surprised at sort of how many breaks we're giving folks at the very top. So yeah, just excited to get in the race and just go talk to folks about issues they're facing. Fantastic. And could you expand a little bit and give us a little bit of your history, your background in Burlington politics, some of the organizing that you've done? Yeah, so I first got involved when I was at UVM as a freshman. Burlington Telecom was the first issues. I think we got like 30 college students together to come to the City Council and advocate for public ownership of our telecom. Unfortunately we lost that, but it was sort of a good lesson in how frustrating local issues can be sometimes because at the end of all this work and all these students getting together, you know, the final decision was made at 2 a.m. in the council meeting. So that really piqued my interest and thought, you know, we came really close and so there's good we can do here realistically. And it was just after Trump had got elected, so the federal level or thinking about that as a young person was a little bit off the table. Yeah, so from there just sort of snowballed into like issue after issue, working on local campaigns, ended up working very closely with Councilor Jack Hansen, former Councilor Jack Hansen, helping write and get through ranked-choice voting, a charter change so that the city can actually regulate thermal systems in buildings as well as a universal rental weatherization ordinance that there's certainly some work to improve still and actually implement. So that's like Burlington specific. In my day job I'm a lead fundraiser for a 350 permount. So do all of our, you know, talking to folks, asking for checks, applying to grants and things like that. But we're an environmental justice nonprofit that mainly works at the statewide level, but also in communities across the state to educate folks and hopefully push forward solutions to the climate crisis that aren't going to, you know, raise rates on everyday people, utility rates on everyday people or costs generally. So yeah. Thanks, Carter. Lee, welcome. Yeah, thanks again, Joe, for having me on. My name is Lee Morgan. My pronouns are they, them, and I live in Ward 7. I've been a Vermonter now for about 11 years, and I feel like I've definitely found my home. When I came to Burlington for the first time for a job interview, I remember between the time it took me to get from my car to the job interview, I decided that Burlington was the place for me because it was the first place I ever felt safe as a queer person. And since then, you know, I've been getting more and more involved in the community. I feel like I've really been there for my community. My community has been there for me in some beautiful ways. As far as politics, I've, for the last, I'd say, five years, been getting more and more interested in local government as an advocate. And my most recent experience with my advocacy with the council came from something rather difficult like experiencing discrimination as a trans person on my NPA. But, you know, I'm not someone to sit by and compromise on my rights, and so I really, you know, put myself into action and reached out to the council. And I was so honored to work closely with Councillor Ben Traverse on a resolution, also worked a lot with Councillor Milo Grant and Ali Zhang, and was so happy that the council voted unanimously to support a resolution that is going to work with the NPAs to update bylaws to make sure that any Burlingtonian who wants to conserve safely with the city. Great. Thanks, Lee. You know, you and I first met in 2021. We were organizing around supporting our own house neighbors, and it's just been really incredible to see how you have just stepped fully into that work and applying to serve on the parks commission and so many other key, you know, local governing bodies where decisions are made that impact us here on the ground. And so I wonder if you could speak about some of the other work that you've done in those roles. Yeah. Yeah, so I remember us shivering in our raincoats at Sears Lane in the pouring rain. I remember meeting with people underneath tarps to fill out legal paperwork as they fought for their place there. You know, Sears Lane, it was very formative for me. My main issues with what I felt was what the city was doing wrong there was that I felt very strongly that there were some rules around the noticing period and also the storage of personal property that was just not being followed. And for me, that really made me advocate for if we're going to have some policies, we need to follow them uniformly. And that's something I feel very passionate about. And so that's where I really got involved was, you know, I'm a processed person. Some would say I'm a civics nerd. That person is me. So that was my first foray. You know, I love going to council meetings. If anyone has ever been to a city meeting, they've probably been in the same room with me. And that's how I get interested in how can I serve my community in a bigger way. And that's when I started looking at commissions. And it's interesting, you know, I've had neighbors that have been asking me to run for council for a few years. And while I was always very interested, there were a few things that I felt like I wasn't quite ready. And one of them was the financial responsibility that comes with being a counselor. You really represent the financial interests of your constituents. And so for me, a great match with my skills and my interests and wanting to get financial experience was joining the Parks, Rec and Waterfront Commission. So I have experience in stewarding natural spaces. And as we know, our parks have really intersected with the social problems that we face. And our parks staff are doing great work and rising to a challenge with that. And so I saw an opportunity to get on the Parks Commission and meld these interests. And I have gained that financial experience as I think most people would assume when you have something like Parks, Rec and Waterfront, there's a lot of financial responsibility there. So serving on there now for a year in my second term and appointed in a tripartisan effort, I feel like I have really gained that experience. Excellent. Thank you. So the next topic that we'll cover is really digging into your platform and thinking about running and stepping up what are the three issues that you each see as most pressing as you're on the campaign trail. And Lee, I guess we'll start with you for this one. Sure. So first and foremost for me is housing and affordability. I think we're all feeling the squeeze of the housing market. I mean, one great thing about Vermont is how we handled the COVID crisis. But a downside of that is we had a lot of people moving from out of state because of our low rates of COVID. And what that did was really rise the price of housing. As most people can tell you right now, a landlord can really charge whatever they want for an apartment and they'll get it because the demand is there. So I think we need to look at common sense ways and how we deal with this. I think what we've got to look at is part of the council's already addressing what are our code issues. And I'm really excited for neighborhood code to get in front of the council. I'm a huge supporter of that. I think that can be just the beginning and we can really look at what zoning and codes are there that at the time they were enacted served a purpose but maybe not be serving that purpose now. So that's what I'm passionate at looking at getting into. Another thing, public safety, top of mind for many people. Now I think it's important to say that public safety covers many things. It is not just policing. It is making sure everybody's needs are met because if your needs are not met, it's just really going to limit what you're able to participate in and what you're able to achieve. So for me, a huge part of public safety is making sure everyone is housed, making sure everyone is fed, making sure everyone has what they need to get through the day. Now as someone who is formerly unhoused and also 15 years in recovery, I am very passionate about these issues and I really feel if I got on the council I could bring an urgency and an experience that I feel like we're lacking and also help put that pressure on the state to really step up. I feel like there are some very achievable solutions with this stuff, the research is there. We know how to attack these problems. What we need is enthusiastic partnership with the state and especially the governor's office to address these problems. Absolutely. Thanks, Lee. Carter, what about for you? What are the kind of top few issues that you've been thinking about as you step into the race? Yeah, I agree with everything Lee just alluded to, said it very eloquently and I've certainly been hearing similar themes when I go out and knock doors. I've come up on finishing having knocked every door in the ward so far. I think the number one thing, yeah, affordability. I think that looks different when I talk to renters in Ward 1 versus homeowners but share this concern that just the cost of living, the cost of housing is going up and up and up and up. And frustration when they see folks at the very top get breaks when the rest of us aren't. So a great sort of tangible example of this that I always talk about with folks is all of our water rates have just been raised in the last few years and it's one of the really regressive raising utility rates on folks has a detrimental impact even if it seems like a few bucks here or there if you're more comfortable. At the same time that that's happening, Burlington Country Club got a $200 plus $1000 break on their water bill from the city. So it's decisions like that I think people have been really frustrated with and I'm certainly hearing a lot about. The other piece I think that's sort of central to my campaign is tax fairness reform. So right now as many folks know on the statewide property tax we income sensitize that. There are sort of differences between how we, you know, if you're living in your home versus it's a duplex versus it's a separate unit that you're renting out, how we tax those properties. On the municipal level we don't really take into account income. It's just sort of a flat tax based on the value of your property. So, you know, dozens and dozens of retirees I've talked to who bought their home 30, 40 years ago are in retirement planning to live out the rest of their life in their home or were planning to and are now seriously questioning whether or not they can stay here because of just how regressive because, you know, you're at the end of your career. Your income isn't going up most likely. So that's really concerning because people are quite literally being driven out of the city. So I think there's, yeah, we can income sensitize the municipal side of the property tax. I think it's a first step. I think there's a good argument to be made that we need to look at what those specific levels are and what those income brackets are both at the statewide level and local level. Other things we can do, we're facing a seven to nine million dollar deficit. And so, if we're going to make up that gap, you know, in FY24, we raise property taxes 6.2%. We cut services by nearly a million dollars. And we actually raised the tax exemption, business personal property tax exemption from 45,000 to 75,000. So the current solution is, you know, folks at the top get a break. Everybody else puts the bill and cut services. And that doesn't seem to be in line, particularly with public safety issues, in line with where anybody in Ward 1 is. So I really want to look at second homes tax, anti-speculation tax, ways that we can increase revenue without just, again, footing like another, even more tax increases on folks who are already feeling really pinched. So certainly affordability and there's a lot of issues within that. The other thing I actually, I just talked to somebody last night about, this is just transparency and ethics in government. You know, we don't have really strong, and Joe, you'd know more about it than I do, but we don't have strong sort of conflict of interest policies or procedures as elected officials. I think there's an attitude of like, this is a small town, it's Burlington, everybody knows everybody like, you know, we can't worry about conflicts of interest, et cetera. But as we grow and as we've seen the amount of money increase that's pouring into these local elections, you know, like when I first came here in 2016, a party caucus was, you showed up, maybe you talked to some of your friends, and then you had a conversation with whoever showed up. Now we're spending, you know, this mayoral race, you know, one of the candidates spent $50,000 plus going into a mayoral caucus for political nomination or party nomination. So that's really concerning, and we need sort of stronger conflict of interest policies, more transparency in the city government, and just really like genuine participation in decision making, so those are some of the things that are coming up. Great, thanks Carter. Lee, I'm curious, I know you've been out knocking on doors, talking to neighbors in Ward 7, I'm curious what you've been hearing from folks as you're going through that process. You know, definitely public safety I think is very top of mind in Ward 7. You know, and like I said, that means different things to different people. I think a lot of people are concerned about the opioid crisis. We have seen a dramatic increase in overdoses statewide and in Burlington. And, you know, one thing that I think is great is the fire department's response. So Chief LeChance has been doing excellent work, and I think one thing that is remarkable about him is his relationship with the folks at the fire department. And you know, his firefighters came to him and felt like they had a more efficient way to address overdoses instead of taking out a fire truck and staffing that for every overdose call, which was also discouraging people from seeking help after because they would come to out of an overdose and there's these lights, a big scene. And the firefighters had a more efficient suggestion, which is to have a single vehicle, I believe two firefighters who are able to fully respond to an overdose and call for more resources if they need them. And from what I've heard from folks who are utilizing these resources, I've heard from people at Street Outreach, I've heard from the fire department that it has been very successful so far. And I think that innovation and the spirit of innovation is exactly how we're going to get through this problem. You know, I'm an eternal optimist and as someone who has made it through and I've got to tell you, 15 years ago, people weren't betting on me and if you were going to tell those folks that 15 years down the road I would be running for City Council, I mean they want to believe you. And so as someone who has seen the impossible happen, I think we have to keep that spirit that I believe fully that we don't have the solution yet, but that means it's still out there and we just got to find it. And I believe fully that we are going to find the solution for our city by continuously having community conversations where everybody is brought to the table. Whether they're a politician, whether they're a police officer, a firefighter, a healthcare worker, we all just got to keep working on this. I know fully that we are going to get there. Thanks, Lee. You know, I know you both have been involved in organizing on MPAs and creating those spaces for fostering community conversations. And so, Lee, I just have tremendous respect and admiration for the work that you've done to make the NPAs more equitable. I think, you know, the fact that these are meant to be spaces where everyone should feel safe and comfortable sharing what they think about the direction of the city, certain actions that the council is taking, that the mayor is taking, and that, you know, we need to do more as a city to not turn away from conflict but lean fully into it and engage in those tough conversations. And, you know, I see both of you do that time and time again. And so, I'm curious, you know, if you have any thoughts, as part of those roles, how the city can foster more spaces for hard conversations as we're dealing with so many complex issues that don't have a convenient punchline or a short statement that we can, you know, we can't boil it down. They're too complex. And so, how do we foster space for those conversations? Carter, you want to start? Yeah, and I'm certainly hearing a similar sentiment among a lot of folks in Word 1. You know, these issues can't be boiled down to a talking point and folks, I think, are exhausted by sort of the, what they're perceiving is just like over and over conflict in local politics. And so, a couple of things. One, I think, you know, I've heard from folks that there's been many decisions and I've been in these public meetings as well where the city's decided something, but there's still these pesky, like, public information sessions and public feedback sessions that they're doing. And so, they come there and the, you know, the decision's already sort of so far along that, you know, you give your feedback and maybe there's like legitimately really good feedback that could improve whatever it might be the city's working on because we have so many smart people in our city. And often the answer folks here is, well, the process is too far along. Like, you know, we don't have time to slow this down. We don't have time to sort of incorporate feedback at this point. So I think, you know, having a real genuine process where folks in the neighborhood are consulted, I think the NPAs are the existing structure we can do that in. One of our steering committee members, Jonathan Chappell Sokol, has really led on a resolution that I'm not sure exactly the status of it. I think it's in front of the council or at least been sent around. But this idea that let's start looking at what categories of decisions before the council takes action on, we ought to bring to the NPAs and get feedback on. So I think, you know, setting up some structures and we don't have to get so granular. So, yeah, I think that's a really positive step forward. On a personal level, as a counselor, I think constituent services are going to be, you know, 70% of my job informing folks what's going on, you know, how I'm voting, get feedback on how I should vote and where folks are at in the neighborhood. So for example, I want to do, and I've committed, folks can go check out the website, but doing regular house parties because although, you know, I appreciate public forum at council meetings, it's two minutes and you're trying to like speak really fast and, you know, it's not necessarily the place to have nuanced conversations. So, you know, having house parties, dinner parties that are smaller but sort of longer form where we can actually build relationships with one another and have some of these tough conversations. The other piece is, you know, not during the winter, but outside of elections over the summer. I'd really like to just go doorknock and talk to folks. I think that's been more valuable than sitting in any city meeting ever is just going to actually have conversations with people and understand how different decisions the city's making are impacting folks day to day. So I really want to use that and, you know, been a community organizer, probably knocked or attempted upwards of, you know, 10,000 doorknocks in Burlington over the years. So I certainly love it and I get a lot of energy from it and it keeps me motivated and grounded. Obviously, yes, strengthening the MPAs, I think, you know, where there's needed for, you know, where there's needs for increased funding, I think we should look at that. Most of the issues, at least in our Ward 1 MPA, have just been around figuring out creative ways to educate other folks about what the MPA is and the role that it could play and the role that it does play. And again, I think doorknocking might be a solution there. Yeah, those are a couple of things. I think, obviously, regular front porch foreign posting, actually outgoing Councillor Jang had a great idea where, I don't know if he does like an actual like online poll, like a survey monkey or something, but sort of emails out and saying, hey, here's the vote that's happening. These are the two arguments. Like, what would you think about, like, how would you vote? So I think doing some of those informal, you know, online polls or just emails out to folks to get feedback on a regular basis is certainly going to be part of my strategy to make folks feel involved. Great. Thanks, Carter. Lee, is there anything that you... I know that you have done a lot of this work also, so you have thoughts here as well. Yeah, absolutely. So I think an important partner with the MPAs is CEDO. And, you know, I think Brian Pine has done an excellent job in adjusting in recent months and looking at how CEDO can better support the MPAs, and I think some important changes have been happening. I think an important thing to consider is when we even think about having tough conversations is we got to look at how that's being facilitated and who's in power and being able to decide what conversations we can have. And so I think that's an important thing. I think, you know, often in a good society, you rely on people's better natures. And that's great when that's working, but I think sometimes that's how folks who are sometimes pushed to the margins stay on the margins because they don't have a seat at the table. And they rely on allies, which it's good to have allies, but you can't depend on allies knowing what they don't know. And so I think an important part that CEDO could help with is having facilitators helping do these conversations. I mean, an important thing with having tough conversations is you want to make sure you are not entering a space where you're traumatizing or retraumatizing someone and you want to make sure that people are leaving that space at least the same as they came in, hopefully better, but never worse. And, you know, speaking of allies, I do absolutely have to shout out Olivia Taylor over in Ward 7. I think, you know, we have seen some very important changes in the city and policy regarding trans folks. And I think that those policies wouldn't have happened without Olivia Taylor, especially in my situation with facing discrimination. Olivia took a very courageous stance and decided what she wanted her community to be and, you know, that could not have been easy for her. And so I just really want to shout out Olivia. I hope we see Olivia step back into politics. She was a progressive endorse candidate two years ago, and I hope we see her again soon. Yeah, absolutely. Thank you both. I have a lot of gratitude that as I'm stepping off of the council that folks like you are stepping up to help guide these conversations going forward because, you know, from firsthand experience over the last two and a half years, the divisiveness in our community is a big part of the reason why we're not able to make progress on so many vitally important issues to residents of Burlington. You know, I think a big part of that is not just having these conversations here in Burlington but making sure that we're involving the state legislature as well. Before they ever go down to Montpelier to start the legislative session, that has to be active and ongoing engagement. And I think that's something that we haven't really seen in the city in the last several years. So I'm just feeling very hopeful as we look to March and then to see some turnover on the council and the mayor's office in April. I think we've got about 15 more minutes. I just want to kind of hear how your campaigns are going and see kind of what some of the challenges have been for you and what you all need going into town meeting day in terms of volunteer support and things like that. Leif, you want to kick it off? Sure. So short answer, campaigning has been a blast. I've been really enjoying connecting with my neighbors. I've been doing door knocking every day. And yeah, just really enjoying that. I feel like getting my message out there but also hearing what's important to neighbors. Having some, you know, truly Vermont moments yesterday, I helped a man corral his dogs that started wandering a little too far down the street. You know, and it's just really reminding me just how much I love this area and how great my neighborhood is and what I love about it. And you know, for me, if you're to ask what the challenge is, so I'm in the New North End, historically a more traditional conservative area. And so for me, I knew going into this race as a progressive that my biggest obstacle would be challenging this narrative that has developed since 2020 that there is this association between being a progressive and attitudes about policing. And I think a lot, not a lot, but I think there is some folks that have put this narrative out there that if you're a progressive, you're anti-cop. And that's just categorically untrue. For me, as a progressive, my progressive beliefs make me passionate about equitable policing. Policing that builds the community and adds to it. And so for me, I know that if I can have those conversations with neighbors, they know pretty quickly where I stand and that myth dispels itself. But the challenge in that is the only way to do that is through the individual conversations. And so that's why my campaign is really prioritizing door-knocking. It's just the best way to connect with your voters and also doing fun things like this and also continuing what I've been doing. I'm at every city council meeting. I watch or attend every police commission meeting. I'm on the parks commission. For me, a big part of how I'm able to talk to my neighbors and assure them that I am not only interested in their needs, but I can bring some answers to their needs and serve them well on the council table is to be well-informed. And so for me, it is very important to keep going to these meetings that I've been going to to stay informed on the issues. Great. Thanks, Lee. Carter? Yeah. Can you repeat the question? Just to make sure I'm answering you. I certainly can. What are some of the challenges that you're facing in the campaign and just your experience generally and support that you might need heading into 10 meeting day? Yeah, I agree with Lee. It's been really wonderful. So far, I love door-knocking. I feel like a lot of folks are always like, how are you out here right now? It's like, you know, like this, what was it last weekend where it was like, felt like it was like zero degrees out. It was out there for six hours on Saturday and Sunday. But yeah, folks have been really, really wonderful. And I think this, you know, in a lot of ways, you know, it is a divisive time politically. And when I actually go talk to folks, you know, on public safety, the most divisive thing in theory right now, there's actually like widespread agreement on investing in social services, treating people with humanity, you know, appreciating that being a cop is a hard job and that we need to support folks in doing that as effectively and sort of in a way that builds community trust. I mean, folks have different ways of getting there in the conversation in terms of like, I read this article blaming this person or that person, but at the end of the day, most of the solutions, there's actually real unity on. So I'm really excited about that and I think that's a positive step and it gives me a lot of hope for the next few years. And yeah, and just on public safety briefly, I mean, I think I've been having the conversation of, you know, hearing this narrative that we can arrest folks as a way to solve these problems. And so look, if that worked, great, let's do it. Unfortunately, the data shows us that's not effective. And like, I always say like, let's walk through this. It's like, okay, we arrest somebody, maybe, you know, there's all these deferment programs, et cetera, but let's say they just go right to a jail cell for three months. Well, folks still have access to, you know, different substances in Vermont prison system. Now they're released. We haven't changed anything about the conditions that they were living in that brought them to do something that maybe is harmful to the community or maybe is dangerous or unhealthy, you know. So we've got to, yeah, we've got to address those actual conditions folks are living in and give them those supports to hopefully make better decisions. So anyway, so yeah, that's been coming up a lot. And I think it's also been a productive, you know, opportunity to speak with folks, though, and work through that issue. In terms of the campaign needs, folks can go to Carter for BTV.com. Need folks to join me in the cold door knocking. You know, we're a grassroots campaign. We're not accepting any corporate money whatsoever. So certainly need campaign donations. I think we have, you know, $500 to $1,000 left to sort of pay of all our expenses and meet our budget. So, you know, anything folks can ship in is always helpful. And then, you know, for folks just to reach out, you know, I've been knocking as many doors as I can, but inevitably there's someone I miss and I want to hear from folks that this informs me how I should be going about this campaign and hopefully the role of counselor. Great. Thanks, Carter. I want to take a moment to just go over some quick voting information for those watching. And then I'll give you both some time for closing statements. So the filing deadline for candidates is next Monday, January 29th. From there, ballots will be finalized and mailed out by February 14th. Folks should see those ballots in their mailboxes by February 20th. If you don't, do call the city clerk's office in 802-865-7000. And you can also go to the Secretary of State's website at mvp.vermont.gov. This is a place where you can go and check your voter registration status if you have moved recently. If you're not sure what voting district you live in, we did just redistrict. So this will be the first local election with the new districts in place, the new wards. So I encourage folks to go to brollingtonvt.gov forward slash ct forward slash voter dash registration dash info where you can find information about the new ward maps. And also this will be the first election where we are using all resident voting. And that is just a crucial, crucial step for making sure that everyone in our community has their voice heard on Town Meeting Day. So you can find local election info translated into French, Arabic, Burmese, Nepali, Somali, and Swahili at brollingtonvt.gov forward slash ct forward slash language dash support. This will also be the first election in some time where we're having ranked choice voting for the mayor's race. This is important for election fairness. And I just really am glad that we were able to get that charter changed through, that our legislators were able to get that through the legislative process. We had this for the city council races last March and this will be the first recent mayoral election where we'll have ranked choice voting as well. So encourage folks to just tune in and you're going to see your ballot soon and it's really time to start paying attention to candidate forums and mail pieces. Answer the door if a candidate knocks. It is a daunting task to get out there and it's very cold. So if you're able to invite folks in for a little bit, I think the most valuable conversations I've had have been at kitchen tables and on-front porches. And so I just really encourage folks to lean in. This is a time for us to all recognize that we have a role to play in what the future of Burlington looks like and it's time to lean into those conversations. So with that, we've got a few minutes left for each of you to give closing statements. Let folks know how they can get in touch with you. And yeah, Lee, if you want to kick it off. Sure, and I'm going to speak directly to my neighbors here. So once again, my name is Lee Morgan. I am the Progressive Candidate for Ward 7. And you know, I have been working for you, my neighbors. I have been working for you as an advocate for years. I've been working for you on the Parks Commission. And now I'm ready to work for you on the council. I know a lot of us have been going through it. I think our city is facing an important time and we need to really be mindful of the leaders we choose to guide us through the moment we're in and guide us to better times. And I'm ready to do that for you. I want to hear what your priorities are. I want to hear what your struggles are. And I want to work with you to address those. As challenging questions come up in Burlington that may be difficult and maybe have passionate arguments on both sides, I want to talk as a neighborhood, even when we disagree, how we can come to the best solution for us. I want to be a true representative for the neighborhood. And I want my leadership to bring all of us closer together, even folks who may not vote for me, and know that no matter how you vote, if I am to be elected to the council, I will represent you with the same passion and the same purpose that I would want my representative to have for me. And if you're interested in getting connected with my campaign, you can reach out at leeforburlington.com. On my website you'll have information on how you can donate to my campaign and how you can volunteer. There's lots of ways to volunteer. You can come out door knocking. I promise it's a lot of fun. You can host a house party with your friends who may not have heard about my campaign. And I can come out and tell you about that. You can phone bank. You can pass out literature. And if you're in ward seven, you can host a lawn sign. And like others have said, donations are a really important way to help. Unfortunately, money is part of the equation in local races, and I would appreciate your support. So again, that's leeforburlington.com. Thanks, Lee. Carter? Everything Lee said. No, I've just been really grateful. I think we're having a really productive conversation in the Ward 1 race right now. And I think there's clear differences and sort of visions for the city that different campaigns all across the city are laying out. I'm excited to hopefully get in there, use my experience with working on local issues and specifically council issues to hopefully address the supportability problem in a meaningful way. And as we do that, really have genuine engagement of Ward 1 residents, because we've talked a lot about this on the NPA, but I think we've got to, as a neighborhood, be able to come together and advocate for ourselves. And that doesn't mean we have to agree on every issue. But when we talk about things like the MOU that UVM's got in front of the council, that's going to be back in front of the council, that directly impacts us as a ward. And I haven't talked to a single person, well, I've talked to maybe one or two folks who have said support the MOU, almost unanimous agreement in Ward 1 that we ought to oppose that. And not just oppose it to say no to something, but have concrete things that we're asking for. So I'm really excited to do that work. I'm grateful for all the conversations so far and grateful for you having us. Thanks, Carter. And thank you all for joining us this afternoon. Burlington Progressives TV will be back next Tuesday, January 30th, with Councillor Bergman back in this chair, thankfully. And you'll hear from Ward 3 candidate Joe Cain, Ward 5 candidate Lena Greenberg, and Ward 4 candidate Dan Castragano. Thank you all for joining us and have a good night.