Save Our city! the greater burlington restoration Movement
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As the Mayor of Burlington I pledge to restore public safety, reduce crime, improve our high school graduation rate, end public drug use, increase business patronage, end promotion of vagrancy, unite residents, support workers, students, families, and so much more.
Burlington people and Vermonters alike, remember a thriving city, and what that fabric of community meant to us.
Whether you are a Democrat, Progressive, Republican, Libertarian, Green Party, I am asking for your Vote. The purpose of those parties is to represent taxpayers… Veterans, Workers, Students, Families, Retirees… And that is exactly my history!
Choose the educated choice, Burlington Residents truly have everything to gain!
It will take some time, but we will hit the ground running and restore this city to its former glory!
YOUR VOTE, YOUR CHOICE!
Regardless of your party, you owe no candidate your vote. I spent years of my life Representing my constituents, whether they were Democrats, Republicans, or Progressives, they always got equal representation! In Unity, we all succeed! Divided we fall!
Fuel growth, one insightful question at a time. Infrastructure, Public Safety, Education.
THE ISSUES
On Public Safety
My vision on Police is simple. There should be 2.5 sworn Officers per thousand citizens. This would bring our total Police force to 112 officers.
Think about this… Sheiknoor Osman was killed on Pine St, the killer then murdered Brian Billings in South Burlington. After that the killer could have gone to any surrounding town to discard his gun, but he felt safe coming BACK to Burlington, where he had just committed a murder, to dump his gun in the lake just blocks away from where he committed the first homicide. What does that tell us? That the killer took the path of least resistance, and went to a place where he knew there were be no Police, to discard his murder weapon. This supports the need for Police to Protect and Serve.
Police have a hard job. One lady I interviewed, told me that her car was stolen and she was frustrated because of the lack of police assistance. The the thieves came back and stole her friends car hours later. She was angry because the crime was preventable. Truth be told the Police are under so much scrutiny and lack of staffing, that large crimes like this are being “stacked” and in many cases, not even pursued let alone prosecuted.
Just another day in Burlington? Not if you Vote William Emmons #1 on your ranked choice ballot.
Now, the solution presented to us is to hire private concert security to patrol our streets because our police are defunded. These outfits are for just that, concert security. They have not been through our Police academy and are not educated to the standards required to police our streets and uphold public safety.
Use the most recent hostage situation at TRuggs Tavern to understand that the training utilized to defuse a situation where people are held captive is instilled in Officers that have been through the proper training. How our understaffed Police are over worked and due to understaffing, other entities such as the UVM patrol cars, were used to contain certain blocks during the hostage standoff.
Sworn Officers take an oath and dedicate their lives to Service and Safety. They pledge Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Integrity, Leadership and so much more!
One way or another our citizens are paying for the lack of police and increase in crime rate. It is time to change that.
Education
I support teachers. Teachers made us who we are. With that said our 73 percent high school graduation rate is well below Vermonts 93.5% rate. Our 27% dropout rate is 5 times the national average. This requires immediate attention. Also our kids go to class in the Macy’s clothing department. We are now talking about an increase in the school building budget the size of the Burlington Telecom Scandal, and the sums on increase are on top of a number so large ($19.1 million increase from $190 to $209 million) that it is almost that people forget how much of a big deal $17 million dollars was during the Bob Kiss years. When you put it like that Telecom doesn’t seem like that big of a deal.
Now our high school has been destroyed and this city looks like a war zone. The murder rate is up and more than 25% of our students are not graduating.
The entire Burlington population has been compromised by our current state of the city, and our own children are beginning to be divided in school.
This is the time for all people from all walks of life to remember the common goal of “save the children”! Educate the youth. Leave them with something better than they came into.
Remember, your tax money is meant to keep your city functioning… education, public safety. When I grew up poor the Progressive, Democratic, and Republican Values that I learned were to protect working people, students, elderly retirees, Veterans, and people of that nature. All of us working together.
Our children should never take a back seat to make passage of “business as usual”. Save our City!
THE LAKE FRONT
It is important to note that our citizens deserve clean water to swim in. As the only candidate in the current election who ran in the previous Mayoral Election, the lakefront was a large talking point of my previous campaign.
While New York City has engineered a way to bring 8.5 million people fresh water on a daily basis… We are still trying to convince our citizens that it is impossible to provide a clean waterfront, and that our citizens must swim in sewage all summer long.
It is important to note that the Pine St barge canal is about 100 years overdue, and this is a good time to vote in a candidate who is not just a different suit from the same party.
A lot of the waterfront cleanup is simple maintenance, lacking leadership who is willing to employ it, and refusing to use existing resources to complete simple tasks like trucking in new sand and raking it daily, so that your children don’t have to worry about stepping on a syringe. We have the machinery AND the technology to accomplish that already, so the cost is just simple man hours that leadership has neglected to use.
Someone told me the other day that it is impossible to clean up the sewage problem on the waterfront beaches and that because of upstream farm runoff we are presented with a scenario and that as a result we are in another “impossible to fix” situation, again using smoke and mirrors to mislead our taxpayers and steer our money elsewhere.
The waterfront in South Hero is beautiful and safe to swim in right at the bottom of the Lamoille River, so agricultural runoff from the Winooski River is not the reason Burlington water is not safe to swim in, nor is the engineering so out of reach that it couldn’t have been done by now.
When someone tells you this is billions of dollars of cleanup, call their bluff, that is simply not true.
Will used to work on a horse farm in Maryland for Ken Wood, during summer in the 90’s. The owner of the farm later found out that there were people dying of contamination through lack of well water in regions of Africa. So he took his well drilling operation overseas and drilled over 1000 wells saving over 100,000 lives. This supports the need for infrastructure in Burlington. If one small well drilling company can get that much water infrastructure built in Africa, we certainly can get it done in Burlington. Click the link to watch the documentary.
Public Drug Needle Use
Business are closing shop in Burlington, and through many conversations, I have learned that many people are leaving Burlington because rent is up and tips are down. Why is that?
Because the crime rate is through the roof, public needle use is an active occurrence, daily overdoses in front of local eatery clients, theft is bankrupting businesses, car theft is prevalent, and employees leaving work are on the full time “buddy system”.
One large developer, who is also on the school planning commission, told me that instead of creating “injection sites”, we should just “pay for these people to have apartments, that way they can just ‘shoot up’ in the comfort of their own homes”.
My response to that… ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Taxpayers in Burlington are getting up and taking “flight” in Burlington faster than businesses are leaving! A double negative. And while we all want to save the world AND end poverty, this is not something that the Burlington taxpayers are responsible for, and they did not sign up for this, this is actually bankrupting THEM!
Furthermore any politician speaking on throwing your tax money at this is actually voicing support of the illegal drug trade that increases the murder rate. When you pay for an apartment for a drug user your tax dollars are not going back into the economy, they are going into the illegal drug trade.
No taxpayers, no budget. Thats what happens when local leaders do not focus on the big picture. The quality of life is lost as the city goes down in flames.
Notable businesses leaving
Slate is set to close Feb 19 and move to the next town over. Jess and Expressions are both set to close March 31.
Penny Cluse, Sox Market, LL Bean, Walgreens, Church St Tavern, UPS Store, Majestic car rental, All closed for good.
Heard the names The Body Shop, Black Diamond, and El Gato lately?
And whether they move to the next town over, downsize and streamline in the next town over like Outdoor Gear Exchange, or permanently close their doors, the bottom line is that this is what it looks like when people take their business to the next town over because where they used to feel safe at night, they now won’t even visit during the daytime.
The Housing Crisis
Ladies and Gentleman welcome to “create a crisis dot com”! Take a good look around Burlington. Large scale building projects are through the roof. Taxes are way up, thus the rent owners pass down to renters is through the roof. Yet our quality of life is down. Look anywhere in the greater Burlington Area, housing is booming.
Of course we want housing for our working class residents, students, elderly, and low income. And if the colleges wish to grow beyond housing, I look forward to working with them to ensure housing is in place for students to live.
Growth is great, take a look at South Burlington, Williston, Colchester, Winooski, Shelburne, Hinesburg, and Milton. Housing is booming! Where leadership has failed is QUALITY OF LIFE. And a decline in quality of life equals a decline in overall mental health.
One business person explained to me that it was his intention to re zone this city to where there were less homes and more large concentrated residential buildings and I wish to INSPIRE homeowners to stand up and SAVE OUR CITY. Homeowners, historical preservation, Renters in victorian and colonial homes, that is the heart and soul of our city!
The Homeless Crisis
What would possess a homeless person to jump on a bus from the warm climate of Los Angeles to get off in Burlington? Free housing. We are actually advertising our free tax dollars that are being given to people that are not from here, to come to Burlington where they will be housed inside due to the harsh cold climate. This problem is going to get worse. And it is a political agenda being pushed to actually aid in making the problem worse rather than fixing it.
I will DEFUND all vagrant housing initiatives in the City of Burlington.
Homeless people, or those at risk of becoming homeless… I will do my best to direct them to non government non taxpayer entities for assistance with housing. This is not the governments role in a municipality.
It is also important to note that working people, especially those with families, may be having a hard time with the cost of living in this city. That is an age old struggle that I have endured personally throughout growing up, and those programs to help working families, students, elderly, and new Americans, will still exist after the vagrant housing initiative is defunded.
Not all homeless people use drugs and alcohol, and those that do should seek help for addiction, if needed. And there are many, non-government, non taxpayer funded ways to do so.
If your cousin came to you and asked to borrow money to remain homeless and jobless would you let them borrow money or would you tell them to seek employment? Or seek help? This is the same problem our taxpayers are in and they do not need a politician forcing them to pay more taxes because we know this leads to the forever bottomless pit of “where did our tax money go” only to find out that money did ANYTHING BUT solve the LOCAL homeless problem in this city.
Homelessness can be resolved through gainful employment and training, and this is not the responsibility of the government or the taxpayers. I am for helping homeless people find jobs, and would encourage local businesses to do the same.
It is wrong to say that all vagrants are experiencing a mental health crisis, that is simple propaganda. Businesses leaving is actually adding to the vagrancy problem that is causing businesses to leave, a downward spiral. Most businesses are flocking to the next town over to reopen, leaving less employment opportunities for employed people on the poverty line.
2021 Election & Debates
In 2021, while debating the incumbent, as a Burlington Mayoral Candidate, Will spoke about the concerns of the possibility of needles on the ground as a major hazard, businesses leaving, opposition to police defunding, and so much more. Shortly after the 2021 election, public drug use and discarded used needles worsened daily, our Police department was further stripped to the bone, LL Bean left Burlington, and Penny Cluse closed its doors for good.
RESOLUTIONS (Be it Resolved):
Short Term
Simple short term fixes for this city include, but are not limited to…
Raising the POW MIA Flag in support of our fallen and Missing in Action Veterans at all United States Flag locations.
Ensuring any Veteran on the street is receives attention.
Placing Banners on City light poles identifying the sacrifices deceased Veterans have made for this country, names and places served along with a photo
Cleaning up needles and ending public drug use. Moving forward this will be taken very seriously, zero tolerance to public needle use. Add needle waste cans similar to those seen in Barre Vermont to all public areas known for having used needles scattered on the grounds, such as but not limited to Oakledge park, City Hall Park, Battery Park. These cans will be emptied daily by hazmat certified personnel. This allows for cleanup while the current city plan is established in the following link:
Lowering the crime rate! Staff 2.5 Police per thousand residents!
Defunding vagrant housing initiatives.
Incentives for new and returning businesses.
Working on improving our graduation rate. Seeking Teacher input! Seeking Student input!
Recruiting Police.
Trucking new sand to our beaches and maintaining them. Daily attention to avoid the risk of bare feet and needles.
Representing our workforce, as that is the duty of all Progressive, Democrat and Republican.
Restoring the community fabric through in person events.
Mid Term
Reaching a cap on Police hiring (112 Officers).
Lowering taxes. Identifying where we are bleeding money and where it is needed most.
Achieving the goal of a clean lakefront.
Beginning the overhaul of the Pine St Barge Canal.
Improving our school system and athletic departments.
Long Term
Complete lake cleanup.
Return Burlington to its former Glory!
About Will
Growing up in Burlington
Will came to Burlington in 4th grade when the Sustainability Academy was still called Lawrence Barnes Elementary.
My teachers cared. As so many Teachers do. I grew up as a young person in Burlington exploring the city and got to know every trail in every park. Especially Leddy Park but also so many more.
In 2018 I was awarded a full scholarship to Champlain College, as part of their Single Parent Scholarship Program.
In 2021 I ran for Mayor of Burlington. My debates are easily searchable, I ran an honest campaign, and in the end, the incumbent was re-elected. I gained great experience from this, and during the process, got to know many people from Burlington who desire something better.
In 2022 I studied for and passed my property and casualty insurance license exam in Vermont.
As a child we experienced hard times in Burlington. We all worked hard as a family as a result. It was me, my brother and two sisters, times were hard but we had the love of a Single Mother who worked two jobs to make ends meet for our household.
Experience and Education
My experiences taught me to work harder, and fight for something better. When I graduated high school, I went on to work at the Burlington Post Office for 14 years.
In 2004, while working at the Post Office, I noticed that people’s rights were not being adhered to, and the contract was being violated left and right. So I ran for the position of American Postal Workers Union Steward. I progressed into running for Vice President. Then 3 consecutive terms as President of the Northern Vermont Area Local 570 and one as the APWU State of Vermont President. We were very successful in representing our constituents. I held elected positions in the Union from 2004 to 2017.
During that time I pushed hard to get education, and traveled the country for educational sessions in Chicago, Los Angeles, Orlando, Boston, Atlanta, and so many more. I was trained to interpret arbitrations and learned how to represent people in contract and legal matters that involved interpretation and representation. This helped to liaison when we had to get a lawyer involved, such as the National Labor Relations Board.
What experience has taught
Throughout my years, Music and Arts has been something that I have enjoyed in the Great City of Burlington. We all have.
Family friendly Festivals such as Mardi Gras, the Burlington Farmers market, the Memorial Auditorium, First Night, the Flynn theatre, and so much more, have been very dear to my heart. Wine and Food Festivals, this is a place of great community fabric.
During those years I did advocacy work for a Woman in UVM and Mass General Harvard Medical centers. I helped her in dealing with the staff while in treatment.
In the community I did advocacy work when I witnessed an assault, I did criminal justice system liaison work with my APWU training. I wrote the defense case and hired a lawyer which ultimately ended up in a dismissal.
In Burlington I coached baseball and basketball, and also volunteered with Chill.org teaching under privileged children how to snowboard. As a result the wrote me a letter of recommendation to get into Champlain College.
All of this and so much more, made me who I am today!
