Friends, I want to take a moment to discuss why I, a Democrat, am voting for Emma for Mayor.
(And invite you all to meet her at my house tomorrow!)
As we are all aware, the Democratic bench is wide. We host everyone from Joe Manchin to Cory Bush with a vast spectrum of aligned policies. And though in presidential elections, the precarity of basic rights has me clearly voting Democratic with fierce consistency. At home, here in our little city, in the race for mayor, we can, luckily, hold ourselves to a higher standard.
First, I will just say very practically I feel we can do better- better in collaboration, better in vision, better in leadership, better in inclusiveness, better in tangible progress- than we have been doing. And if the current Dem candidate, Joan Shannon, has been in power, entrenched, within an extensive period of city deterioration and diminished expectations, I cannot rationally trust her capacity to lead us forward. "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - as they say.
Second, I ask myself does the Democratic candidate reliably demonstrate my values? As a clinician specializing in harm reduction, a health equity expert, a downtown walk to Church Street resident, a social justice worker, a Rutland-raised Democratic daughter of a longtime politically invested mother, when I look at Joan's voting record, her historic positions on policies that matter, the answer is no. Not as well as Emma does.
So I, a Democrat, and voting for Emma.
I am voting for Emma because I feel we can do better than we have been doing. I'm savvy enough to think we need a different vision if we must take a different course. And because I see Emma as this visionary, inclusive, collaborative leader, we need to take us forward.
I am voting for Emma because on policies and the values that drive them, I see Emma as better aligned with the best of the Democratic principles of equity and inclusion and science.
This is Burlington. Our lovely little city. South-enders, come to my house tomorrow to meet Emma. Listen to her plans. And most importantly, vote for her on Town Meeting Day!