Burlington votes against police control board by large margin

Burlington voters on Tuesday voted against the most contentious question on Burlington's ballot: establishing a police oversight board.

The charter change was voted down 6,653 to 3,864 on Town Meeting Day.

The measure, if passed, would have given to a group of community members, picked by non-profits and the mayor, the power to handle the investigation of complaints against officers and their discipline, including the power to fire officers and the chief of police. The chief is currently in charge of disciplining officers, and the mayor is the only person who can dismiss the chief. The Burlington Police Commission currently has an advisory role to the police department without any power to discipline or dismiss officers.

Mayor Miro Weinberger and Acting Chief Jon Murad of the Burlington Police Department were strongly against the charter change leading up to the election, saying it was an unreasonable level of oversight and offensive to police officers. Weinberger, who is focused on decreasing gun violence in Burlington, was worried that it would lead to more officers leaving the police force. A political action committee backed by the mayor raised $13,000 to advertise against the ballot item, according to reporting from Seven Days.

In a statement following the release of election results, Weinberger applauded voters for voting against the community oversight board and for electing a majority-Democratic City Council.

“Tonight’s decisive votes for a Democratic Council majority and against the Control Board will accelerate our efforts to rebuild the police department, restore public safety, and ensure a vibrant and welcoming City for the future," Weinberger said in the statement.

Reviewing police oversight

People for Police Accountability, the group that petitioned for the community oversight board to be placed on the ballot, celebrated the fact that the measure, despite failing, forced city councilors to commit in a 2021 resolution to reviewing police oversight and allowing the public to provide input.

According to a resolution passed in February, if the community control board ballot item failed, the council voted to have the ordinance committee and charter change committee hold joint meetings about police accountability with opportunities for community input and discussion. These meetings will take place in April and May and the committees will present proposed legislation to the council by June 1.

"Our work is far from done," the People for Police Accountability statement read. "We will keep fighting for the core principles on which this proposal was built: transparent oversight that represents our community and has investigatory and disciplinary powers. We know that Burlington deserves better, and we are committed to achieving this higher standard of public safety.”

Ward 5 City Councilor Ben Traverse, D, was vocally against the ballot item leading up to the legislation and sponsored the resolution that promised that the council's attention would be turned to the police accountability if the ballot item was voted down.

"I am grateful voters recognized the proposed control board was not the right fit for Burlington," he said in a statement to the Burlington Free Press after results were released. "This vote will allow us the opportunity to review police oversight and accountability in a more deliberative way, look to best practices from other communities, and build broader consensus."

Contact Urban Change Reporter Lilly St. Angelo at lstangelo@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @lilly_st_ang.