Thirteen candidates endorsed by the Vermont Progressive Party won their races in Town Meeting Day elections held earlier this month. The party saw multiple candidate victories in communities like Winooski, Brattleboro, and Burlington.
Last month, the state party announced endorsements for 17 candidates ahead of the March 3 elections. Specific candidate endorsements were made by individual town committee affiliates, primarily for selectboard, school board, and city council races. The state party also acknowledged that Bill Hunsinger, a member of the Progressive State Committee, was running for a selectboard seat in Ripton; however, he was not formally endorsed by a local committee.
Following the election, the party issued a statement praising its slate of candidates, calling it the largest group fielded for Town Meeting Day elections in recent memory. Progressive candidates won races in six communities, including two seats on Brattleboro’s five-member city council, both selectboard and school board seats in Johnson and Winooski, and three seats on the Addison Central School District board.
In Burlington, the party endorsed three candidates for city council, but only one was successful. The party noted that voter turnout in some areas was lower compared to 2024, when it won the mayoral race, with “nearly 1,000 fewer people” casting ballots this year. At least one of the two unsuccessful Burlington city council candidates fell just 105 votes short of victory. Endorsed candidates also won several seats for ward clerk and inspector of elections.
While the party’s statement did not mention it, public records confirm that Hunsinger also won his selectboard election.
Beyond candidate results, the Progressive Party also thanked Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak for her efforts in garnering support for local ballot initiatives. Burlington voters approved seven measures, including banning firearms in establishments that sell alcohol, implementing rental notification regulations, and eliminating the requirement for the Vermont General Assembly to approve city council redistricting.
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