The 2024 Burlington mayoral election was held on March 5, 2024. It elected the mayor of

Burlington, Vermont Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...

. Incumbent Democratic mayor Miro Weinberger declined to seek re-election. City councilor Joan Shannon defeated CD Mattison and Karen Paul for the Democratic nomination. The Vermont Progressive Party nominated state representative

Emma Mulvaney-Stanak Emma Mulvaney-Stanak is an American politician who serves in the Vermont House of Representatives from the Chittenden-17 (formerly called Chittenden-6-2) district as a member of the Vermont Progressive Party. Prior to her tenure in the state hou ...

. In the general election, Mulvaney-Stanak prevailed, defeating Shannon and two independent candidates. Mulvaney-Stanak became Burlington's first female and first openly LGBT mayor, as well as being the first Progressive to serve as mayor of Burlington since Bob Kiss left office in 2012.

Background

Miro Weinberger's victory in the 2012 mayoral election made him the first

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to serve as Burlington's mayor since

Gordon Paquette Gordon H. Paquette (November 25, 1916 – March 15, 1995) was an American politician who served as the 36th Mayor of Burlington, Vermont from 1971 to 1981, when he was defeated by future United States Senator and presidential candidate Bern ...

lost re-election to

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...

in the 1981 election. Weinberger was re-elected in 2015,

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, and

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

. Weinberger is the longest serving consecutive mayor in Burlington history and second-longest serving overall after Peter Clavelle. The Democrats won a majority on the city council in the 2023 elections; previously, the Progressive Party held a plurality of seats on the council. This was the first Burlington mayoral election to use

ranked-choice voting Ranked-choice voting may be used as a synonym for: * Ranked voting, a term used for any voting system in which voters are asked to rank candidates in order of preference * Instant-runoff voting (IRV), a specific ranked voting system with single-w ...

since the 2009 mayoral election. Voters approved a referendum to re-adopt the system for mayoral races in the 2023 election, despite opposition from Weinberger.

Kurt Wright Kurt Wright (born February 7, 1956) is an American Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ...

, the last Republican to serve on the Burlington city council and a former mayoral candidate, argued that the use of ranked-choice voting would help Republicans, as it meant a Republican could run for mayor and not " drain votes away from another candidate."

Democratic caucus

On September 28, 2023, Weinberger announced that he would not seek reelection. The Democratic caucus was held on December 10.

Nominee

*Joan Shannon, city councilor and former council president

Eliminated at caucus

*CD Mattison, nonprofit executive and former vice chair of the Burlington Democratic Party *Karen Paul, city council president

Declined

* Miro Weinberger, incumbent mayor

Endorsements

Results

Progressive caucus

The Progressive caucus was held on December 7, 2023.

Nominee

, leader of the Progressive caucus in the

Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives ar ...

, former Burlington city councilor, and former chair of the Vermont Progressive Party

Declined

*Zoraya Hightower, city councilor *Joe Magee, city councilor *Max Tracy, former city council president and nominee for mayor in

''(endorsed Mulvaney-Stanak)''

Endorsements

Republican caucus

The Republican caucus was held on December 19, 2023. No candidate was nominated for the mayoral race.

Declined

, former state representative, former Burlington city council president, and nominee for mayor in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

and

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Independents

Declared

*Will Emmons, former arbitration advocate for the American Postal Workers Union and candidate for mayor in

*Chris Haessly, former Burlington School Committee member

General election

Endorsements

Endorsements in bold were made after the caucuses.

Fundraising

Shannon raised $132,124 from 651 donors, spending around $60,000. Donors to her campaign include former Vermont Governor Howard Dean and former state Attorney General T.J. Donovan. Mulvaney-Stanak raised $67,052 from 514 donors, spending roughly $35,000. Donors included state Attorney General Charity Clark, city councilor Zoraya Hightower, and former city councilors Vince Brennan and Max Tracy.

Results

Notes

References

External links

Emma Mulvaney-Stanak (P) for MayorJoan Shannon (D) for Mayor
{{2024 United States elections

Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

2024 Vermont elections Mayoral elections in Burlington, Vermont 2024 in Vermont