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Weighs one pound. Costs Four Bucks.
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SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING CONTOIS AUDITORIUM, CITY HALL TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2009 7:00 P.M.
1. AGENDA 2. REPORT: Mayor Bob Kiss, Jonathan P.A. Leopold, Jr. CAO & Burlington Telecom General Manager Chris Burns, re: Update on Burlington Telecom (oral)
* * * * EXPECTED EXECUTIVE SESSION * * * *
3. ADJOURNMENT
SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING CONTOIS AUDITORIUM, CITY HALL THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 20097:00 P.M.
1. AGENDA 2. PUBLIC FORUM: Re: Burlington Telecom 3. ADJOURNMENT
Burlington Free Press reports the entire council, except for Ed Adrian, approved going to the Public Service Board to "relax" the rule that forces Burlington Telecom to pay back money borrowed from the taxpayers within 60 days, a rule they had apparently been violating anyway.
Good on Ed Adrian for casting the one correct vote. Boo to the rest of the council for acting like sheep on this one. What's up with my supposedly 'fiscally conservative' representation from ward 7? Why do we bother electing Republicans if they are just going to vote however Jonathon Leopold wants? Anybody can wave a flag. It takes a little more than that to actually protect the taxpayers from a bad deal.
John Briggs at Burlington Free Press is reporting on a discussion at the city council about raising the pay for some city employees. I can see it maybe for a couple of really highly skilled and essential engineering positions- if we're not able to fill them now, but I would be highly skeptical about raising pay for anyone else. Especially Leopold! God no!
When I was on the city council I researched what city councils of comparably sized cities pay themselves, because I felt a civic imbalance between the compensation and resources of the mayor and those of the city council. I'll look in records later to see if I can find that info- but I remember Burlington city councilors made far, far under the average- which I think was around 15K. And this was back in 1996 when I was able to live on $8/hr.
If the city council votes to heap even further resources onto the city's executive branch, while continuing starve itself- the body of the people's most direct representatives, they will not be serving the long term interest of Burlington.
They got a little money this year and people got upset because the Dems hired a lawyer with it. I say good for them. The council should have some back up. God knows the mayor does.
I love Bob Kiss. I think he's doing a great job. But institutionally, the council is supposed to be the civic counterweight to the mayor. In practice- the council gets rolled by the mayor every single time.
Fox News reports Clarance Davis has withdrawn from the race for council president, allowing Bill Keogh to be elected council president by acclamation.
Here's a link to the Free Press story by Tim Johnson. I wonder why Briggs didn't write it. I hate linking to the Free Press, because they remove the content after a certain amount of time, but I am today because of these great quotes from Clarence Davis (bold font emphasis added by me)...
"...In its initial meeting last Monday, the newly seated council deadlocked 14 times between Davis, P-Ward 3, and Keogh, D-Ward 5, before adjourning. Each candidate had seven votes: Keogh had support from the council’s Democrats, Davis had backing from three Progressives, two Republicans and two independents.
How the partisan ice jam melted was unclear. Keogh said there was a flurry of phone calls and e-mails over the weekend. Davis said he slept on the decision Sunday night and concluded Monday morning that he would pull out. He said he notified his supporters throughout the day.
“Burlington comes before my personal wants,” Davis said after Monday night’s meeting. “I made the decision that I would not extend this any further.”
In other business Monday, Davis and Paul Decelles, R-Ward 7, were elected unanimously to the Board of Finance..."
This has got to come as a serious blow to Bill Keogh. The guy was born in 1930 and has just been soundly defeated in the wisdom and maturity departments by a much, much younger man. A man who, by the way, could have used "council president" on his resume for a lifetime longer than Bill will.
Congrats to Paul on getting on the board of finance. You better have staff take better minutes than they have been. Don't screw up like Kevin Curley and give Leopold three pensions or something.
I am so late with this endorsement. I didn't really feel right about openly supporting Bob before I had actually published my interviews with all the candidates. I realized that would be weird when Eva Sollberger asked me if I had an endorsement at the Seven Days debate, just minutes after Kurt and I had agreed to meet. I actually had the stink of responsibility on me this election. I promised Eva I'd eventually make an endorsement and here it is...
...But first: Let's dispense with the pleasantries and get the city council endorsements and predictions out of the way. No graphics for the city council races. Sorry kids. Quick and dirty. Here we go.
Note: Ward Three- David Cain: Listen dude, you do not want to join the city council and have your first newborn baby in the house at the same time. Bad idea jeans. I know that as a rule it's wrong to bring up a candidates family as a reason to support his opponent, but this may be a valid exception. I'm not trying to sound sexist, but you should be there for your baby. Plus, you may be a touch over-ambitious. You're already an engineer and a lawyer. Simma-Donna. You're still young. And what the hell is "UC-La?" I've heard of Pepperdine!
Note: Ward Seven- Eli Lessor-Goldsmith: You must keep your promise to live-blog from city council meetings.
OK. Now the mayor's race-
Prediction- Only a fool would pretend to know how this one will go down. I will say this, though. I remember running into Richard Sugarman up at UVM the day before Town Meeting in 1993. He was frantically scrapping around, looking for Clavelle votes in a panic.
A national change-election in 1992 preceeded a Burlington change-election in 1993. Same for 1980 nationally and 1981 here. Obviously 2008 was a national change-election. So if it worked out that way here in Burlington for 2009, there would be precedent.
But it doesn't have to be that way.
Bob Kiss has done a very good job in his first term. When it comes to what counts- the budget, taxes, streets, sidewalks and basic city services- his challengers don't go there. They go after vague concepts like "leadership."
Peter Clavelle left a mess behind for Bob Kiss to clean up and a couple of live grenades with their pins pulled to boot. Joe McNeil's insane sexual misconduct and Brendan Keleher's corrupt personal raid on the pension fund jump to mind.
If Kiss loses, I think he'd have a right to contemplate the twisted irony of a universe that would give Clavelle fifteen years as mayor and him only three. Which is to say, I think Bob Kiss is a better mayor than Peter Clavelle was. Kiss created a rainy day fund for the city. Wisdom. Quiet wisdom.
If it ain't broke don't fix it. Don't be fools Burlington. Stick to the devil you know. Dance with the one that brung ya. Don't change horses mid-stream.
And yes. Everybody hates Jonathan Leopold. Everybody thinks Leopold has too much power, or is the one really running the city. But let's remember people. The whole CAO system is new. I think we will have some of the same complaints with the next CAO too. I mean you slip in a brand new position right below the mayor and above everyone else, and sure people are going to see the person in that position as running the city. The CAO system is stupid. The mayor is the CAO. I don't understand why having someone who wasn't elected helping to do the mayor's job is a good thing at all.
But let's face it also. Leopold is Bob's main problem. To be honest I wish he's fired him a year ago. Absent that, they could have at least manufactured some public disagreement for show, so that Bob could have been seen as putting Leopold in his place a time or two. No need to have a real disagreement even, but it would have helped this mayor a lot to have invented one for public consumption. Play a little "good-cop" to Leopold's "bad-cop." But no. He didn't. So here we are.
Bob is my first choice. He's the best. And if we toss him out we're a bunch of fools who when full of bread, forget about bread and think only of circuses. Are we so petulant as to stomp our feet and complain because Bob Kiss is not a fire breathing dragon, or clown juggling bowling pins?
The entire nation is crumbling around us, but Burlington is still pretty good. We have good leadership now. We're going to toss out, the oldest, wisest, smarted, most serious person in the race? The one with a track record of doing a pretty damned good job?
We can't be that stupid. If you're reading this on election day and you're still making up your mind, I urge you to vote for Bob Kiss as your first choice for mayor today. Do it because it's in the best interest of our city.
Yes. Yes. You want to know my second choice, and all of that. Stupid IRV. Fine. My second choice is Dan. Dan F. Kennedy Smith. If we're going to change, then let's really change. I'm talking Camelot. I share a generational connection with Dan. He speaks in terms of solar power and regional planning that allows people to walk places instead of drive. I get that. His learning curve would be huge and he'd have all these developers crowding around him trying to tell him what to do, but I still like him. I think he would be very engaged and he would excite a lot of interest in local politics, which can only be good for this blog. Plus, it was Dan's campaign that got me started doing all my interviews with the mayoral candidates. They reached out to me, and once I had interviewed Dan, I was stuck. I had to interview everybody else too. So you can thank Dan Smith for that.
I toyed with making Kurt number two, but nah. Kurt's number three. Andy's number four. Regardless of what may actually happen today, this is what I see. I see Marcellus Wallace telling both Kurt and Andy "You came close, but you never made it. If you were going to make it, you would have made it before now."
Again- the pictures may not accurately predict what's going to go down tonight. But what the hell. I have to give you people something. You're good readers and you deserve it. During this election you have given this blog your clicks and comments more than ever before, and I'm very grateful.
Thanks for reading BurlingtonPol.com. Visit often!
Yes, yes. The big news of the day. Leopold tells Briggs Andy's got a conflict of interest between his roles as a board of finance member overseeing Burlington Telecom, and as a lawyer for Vallynet. Andy becomes irate, starts calling Leopold a liar, says he talked to Leopold about this nine months ago and they agreed it was no big deal. Leopold says he remembers the conversation but they talked about something else. Says he learned about Andy and Valley net just last week. Briggs doesn't bother to ask the next obvious question- how did Leopold learn last week.
Here are my findings in this case:
1) It is improper for the Leopold as the chief elections official of the City of Burlington to engage in a blatant political attack like this. This is not the first time Leopold has displayed this kind of improper behavior. 2) It is improper for the Leopold as the Chief Administrative Officer of the City of Burlington to respond to a perception of a conflict interest by dropping a dime to the press. 3) Andy Montroll obviously felt a little guilty about his job with Valleynet or he wouldn't have brought it up to Leopold. 4) There is no legal conflict of interest in this case vis-a-vis the city charter. There is some theoretical moral conflict in that Andy might possibly share some BT trade secret with Valleynet. 5) If Andy felt there was any possibility of a conflict of interest, or appearance of a conflict of interest, then he should have gone to the full board of finance and the city attorney. Not doing so was a display of poor judgment. 5) Andy displayed poor judgment in going to Leopold alone without any recording or witness. Whom did he think he was talking to? His friend? 6) Bob Kiss is Jonathon Leopold's boss. 7) As recently as February 1, Andy Montroll was willing to consider the possibility of keeping Leopold on as CAO if he won the election. It's true. You'll read it in my interview with Andy. 8) John Brigg's should not just print any old thing that he hears. 9) As a general axiom, if we are paying attention to this, then there is something else that we're not paying attention to. I'm a lot more worried about whatever that other thing is.
This story has no legs, and I don't intend or expect to spend any more time on it.
Can you tell us why Dan Smith is your #1 choice? Is it because he has a website? Is so wouldn't that make Montroll your #2 automatically?
December 21, 2008 6:48 PM
Anonymous said...
I want a fresh perspective in city government. He's young and has some real world experience...especially around jobs and the new green economy. Plus, I like how he's an Independent.
Andy will probably NOT be my second choice. I supported Hinda Miller back in 2006 and I was really disheartened by the fact that he never lifted a finger to help her. Really made me sad. Kurt will probably be my second choice and then Andy. I won't vote for Kiss. He's a weak mayor and has no leadership skills. Leopold is really the one running the City.
He's young and has some real world experience...especially around jobs and the new green economy.
Can you expound on that? What experience are you referring to? Can Smith claim credit for helping to create jobs?
Leopold is really the one running the City.
You've touched on Mayor Kiss's Achilles's Heal. I wish he'd have fired Leopold before election season. Now it would just look like a desperation move.
I still like Kiss because I think in terms of the big picture stuff things are tending in the right direction. The new zoning law seems to be more good than bad, and street maintenance has been improving. The agreement Kiss got on UVM's payments to the city was outstanding.
But I would agree that we've seen enough of Mr. Leopold.
I don't know why you would expect Andy to support Hinda. She wasn't a good candidate and I'm still grateful to Kevin Curley and Lisa Lindahl for sparing us "Mayor Jogbra."
Dan Smith has potential, but his candidacy does not remind me of 1981, as I've heard others say. That's seems Orwellian to me. Kiss is the candidate who most resembles Sanders in policy.
December 22, 2008 6:43 PM
Ivan Jacobs said...
I'll give Dan Smith a look when he talks details - That's not due to happen for a month or two. I'm so sick of this empty rhetoric of buzzwords like "change""youth""fresh" and "energy".
Mr. Smith was INCREDIBLE on the Charlie & Ernie show - very slick - but then I realized he didn't say anything about anything. That's understandable at this point in the campaign, I guess.
I'm also still trying to figure out what GBIC (his "real-world experience") is all about and what their affiliation is with the Chamber of Commerce. I'm not a huge fan of the Chamber.
Hinda was/is kind of a right-winger, good on Andy if he didn't support her, though I didn't notice that.
Is Jonathon Leopold using Burlington Telecom to spy on his political opponents? Are BT subscribers like me subject to having our internet use monitored by the municipal intelligentsia?
It's unlikely, but it's not impossible I suppose.
Don't forget- Festivus comes earlier this year as the Dems and Progs have their airing of grievances Thursday night at Seven PM at the Main Street Landing Film House in a forum hosted by Rodney King.
OK, let's talk about what happened with Tim Ashe in this election. Looks like he won after some potential shenanigans. From Nancy Resmen at the Burlington Free Press November 5, 2008...
Corrected count gives Ashe sixth Senate seat
Tim Ashe of Burlington, who ran as both a Democrat and Progressive, will take a seat in the Senate, he learned Wednesday after a night of uncertainty.
An incorrect number in Ashe’s vote count for one ward had put Ashe in seventh place in the Chittenden senate district race. There are just six seats.
After the vote tally was corrected Wednesday, Ashe moved up ahead of Democrat Denise Barnard of Richmond.
Huh. Was that a block quote or did I just reprint the whole article? Man that was short. The Free Press piece does go on to report the "corrected" tally...
The six Chittenden senate winners and their vote counts are as follows:
Doug Racine, 44,675 Ed Flanagan, 38,927 Ginny Lyons, 35,801 Diane Snelling, 32,322 Hinda Miller, 31,395 Tim Ashe, 28,048
Yes. Quite. I voted for Tim Ashe, by the way, and no other senate candidate. And even though the ballot box in my ward (Seven) was illegally broken into three times last year, I'm confident my vote was counted "correctly" by Ben Pacy and Jonathon Leopold. And even though the people of Ward Five didn't have enough ballots during the primaries, I'm confident Ben Pacy and Jonathon Leopold counted the Ward Five ballots "correctly" as well. Why? Because according to the comment string at that Free Press article online, the trouble seems to be in Ward One this time.
11/5/2008 7:37:26 PM dcross wrote: That's an *awfully* big swing for one ward, especially since it would have to be people who voted for Ashe and not Barnard (another D). I'd be amazed if there weren't a recount. Recommend (4) New post Reply to this Post Report Abuse
11/5/2008 6:29:37 PM jimmmy wrote: There is certainly something fishy going on in Burlington. I spoke with an election official from Ward 1 who said that he didn't trust the folks he was working with. Recommend (2) New post Reply to this Post Report Abuse
*****
So as I've been predicting since I first met her and learned about her candidacy, Kesha Ram (pronounced "Kay-Shuh Rom") has taken out Chris Pearson in her bid for a seat in the legislature from the student-heavy Chittenden 3-4 district. Kesha is a tough competitor who knows how to spin.
I think Obama joked the she would replace Welch if he didn't watch his step or something. Funny, but as a constitutional lawyer he must realize you have to be twenty-five to serve in the US House. Kesha is twenty-two. That was how old I was when I was elected to my first and so far only elected office. That was as a Progressive city councilor from Ward Three from 1995-1997. I digress.
Good job Kesha. I knew you wouldn't get Dave, though. Zuckerman is pretty dug-in. And that makes sense since he's a farmer. If the Progs had run Zuckerman for governor, he'd have bloody well done better than 21 percent by golly. Bummer for Gaye Symington though. She stopped me in the mall on Monday but I had such a cold I couldn't shake her hand because I didn't want to get her sick. I told her "good luck tomorrow" but that was just to be polite. I knew Douglas was going to win. How could anyone not have known that?
Also in the mall yesterday I ran into a current candidate for mayor who is not the current mayor. I told him if he wants to win he should attack Leopold, not Kiss. He didn't seem into that. He seemed more into focusing on Kiss and specifically focusing on what he hasn't done as opposed to what he has done. This is a weak strategy. If you can't go after anything Kiss has done wrong, you're not going to win. Serving three years and just not doing enough good stuff, is not enough reason for an incumbent to be kicked out. Just ask Jim Douglas.
If I were running for mayor I'd make a huge deal out of election integrity, if that wasn't already apparent.
Any-hoo. I got up at Five AM and I couldn't go back to sleep so I thought I'd blog. Oh one last thought. I'm already feeling the benefits of an Obama presidency. I made a $20 bet with a woman at work a couple months ago that Obama would win and yesterday she paid up. I tried to refuse twice in good humor, but she insisted. So a big Kramer Boo-yaaa for me. My co-worker was happy to lose the bet. President-Elect Barack Steve Obama. You gotta love it.
John Briggs over at the Free Press is reporting today that Adam Cate, the city's waterfront manager who has been suspended with pay since June for God-Knows-What, is appealing Parks Director Wayne Gross's disciplinary decision.
What that decision is, we don't know. We only know that Cate is appealing it to the Parks and Recreation Commission. From the Burlington Free Press:
Gross declined to discuss the nature of the charges against Cate, the scope of the investigation or his recommendation for discipline. He described the investigation as focusing on "a series of different issues related to the operation of the (Community) Boathouse and access to e-mail accounts."
The hearing before the commission has not been scheduled. Gross said it would be a closed hearing unless Cate asks that the public be admitted.
Cate's attorney couldn't be reached Monday for comment. Earlier, lawyer Sheldon Katz confirmed that the city had hired two private investigators. At least part of that investigation focused on Cate's possession of an e-mail from Ben Pacy of the Clerk-Treasurer's Office to the top union official in the Parks Department.
Pacy formerly was a Parks Department supervisor.
This kind of thing is infuriating. It's not right. It's not right. It's not right. Good government is transparent. It's open. I have been a pretty strong supporter of Bob Kiss throughout his term, but I have to be honest here. That support is eroding. There is no reason for everything to be so secretive. City Hall belongs to the people of Burlington. Not Ben Pacy. Not Johnathon Leopold.
One comment on this story at the the Free Press website is interesting. From "Sabin:"
Ben Pacy couldn’t get Gross’s job so he transfers to the treasurer’s office and starts romancing King Leopold on the idea of combining Public Works & Parks Department. Maybe a good idea, who knows. Cate breaks into Pacy’s e-mail and finds an invitation to a union official to meet off the record. Cate brings the e-mail to Gross who presents it to Kiss. Four days later Cate is suspended on the pretense of embezzlement. What are the chances that they realized Cate was stealing four days after the e-mail? Then the drama begins, Burlington Police is asked to investigate – no luck. Kiss not happy with the outcome hires the P.I. firm – batted zero. Shocker. Now what?
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