Call your City Councilors and the Mayor TODAY

To our Burlington community and beyond,

Thank you for your engagement this past week! We had 21 hours of testimony after 967 people signed up to speak at the meeting on Monday night. There was an enormous outpouring of support for the demands to move money from the Burlington Police Department, into communities of color in Burlington.

When the Mayor left public comment early on Monday night and didn’t attend other than to give a speech on Tuesday, we brought public comment to him. On Wednesday a few hundred people listened to public comments from big speakers on his front lawn, as well as in front of City Hall. The Mayor’s budget has been submitted, and the Racial Justice Alliance is still in communication with him. 

Here is what you can do now: Call AND email your city councilors and the Mayor by the end of the day and demand they support Operation Phoenix and the Racial Justice Alliance demands! If they don’t pick up, leave messages! If you get their work number, that’s because their personal number has no voicemail.

If you aren’t sure of your ward, check here.

Ward 1: Zoraya Hightower, (802) 391-4333, zhightower@burlingtonvt.gov
Ward 2: Max Tracy, (802) 373-1968, mtracy@burlingtonvt.gov
Ward 3: Brian Pine, (802) 578-6953, bpine@burlingtonvt.gov
Ward 4: Sarah E Carpenter, (802) 658-0474, scarpenter@burlingtonvt.gov
Ward 5: William “Chip” Mason, (802) 373-8545, cmason@burlingtonvt.gov
Ward 6: Karen Paul, (802) 863-3817, kpaul@burlingtonvt.gov
Ward 7: Ali N. Dieng, (802) 318-2527, adieng@burlingtonvt.gov
Ward 8: Jane Stromberg, (845) 544-4143, jstromberg@burlingtonvt.gov
Central: Perri Freeman, (802) 448-0379, pfreeman@burlingtonvt.gov
East: Jack Hanson, (802) 557-0605, jhanson@burlingtonvt.gov
North: Franklin Paulino, (802) 448-2293, fpaulino@burlingtonvt.gov
South: Joan Shannon, (802) 343-9289, jshannon@burlingtonvt.gov

Mayor Weinberger, Phone: 802-865-7272, mayor@burlingtonvt.gov

Talking points for City Council:

• Vote in alignment with the demands from the Racial Justice Alliance
• Do your job, which is to represent the people of your district. People have overwhelmingly told you what they want.
• Support the work and outcomes of Operation Phoenix, which is working to transform the lives of Black and brown people by investing in their lives, holding space for their culture, providing them opportunity and ensuring the equity they deserve to thrive.
• Operation Phoenix includes four elements, including:
  • Restructuring public Safety
  • Implementing Cultural Empowerment
  • Securing and Equal Opportunity
  • Expanding Racial Equity, Belonging and Inclusion