Miro weinberger email search
Search for new BTV police chief resumes after year-long hiatus for COVID-19
The search for a permanent police chief for Burlington has resumed after being suspended last April because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor Miro Weinberger said in an emailed update.
Weinberger said the search will begin with a "public engagement effort" to find out what Burlington residents would like to see in the city's next police chief. An online survey asks a series of questions about what qualifications residents would like to see in the next police chief and what the next chief's priorities should be.
The position of Burlington police chief has been in turmoil since December 2019 when former Chief Brandon del Pozo resigned after admitting to creating a fake Twitter account to taunt one of his critics.
Deputy Chief Jan Wright replaced del Pozo, only to reveal her own social media problem. Wright operated a Facebook account under a fake name, where she criticized public officials and commented on media stories. Wright resigned in February 2020.
More:Coronavirus: Burlington mayor to suspend police chief search for 1 year
Former Colchester Police Chief Jennifer Morrison became interim chief, taking a temporary leave last June to accompany her husband to Boston where he had stem cell transplant surgery. Deputy Chief Jon Murad stepped into an acting chief role until her return.
More:Interim Burlington police chief criticizes City Council in resignation letter
In September, Morrison told Weinberger she would not return from her leave, and sharply criticized the City Council, which she said was "more interested in social activism than good governance."
For two weeks last summer, demonstrators had marched through downtown Burlington, demanding the firing of three officers who were involved in incidents that led to a change in the city's use-of-force policy. Some demonstrators camped out in Battery Park across from the police station.
More:Why activists want to scrap the
Miro Weinberger: A call for decisive action on Vermont’s housing crisis
Under Vermont’s golden dome: Final Reading is our Statehouse newsletter that keeps things conversational, without sacrificing the seriousness of the politics and legislation that impact all Vermonters.
Commentaries are opinion pieces contributed by readers and newsmakers. VTDigger strives to publish a variety of views from a broad range of Vermonters. Commentaries give voice to community members and do not represent VTDigger’s views. To submit a commentary, follow the instructions here.
This commentary is by Miro Weinberger of Burlington. He is a former affordable housing developer and Burlington mayor (2012-2024), and is currently a visiting fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Taubman Center for State and Local Government.
Abundant housing is the cornerstone of an affordable, vibrant and inclusive Vermont. Yet today that vision of our beloved state is at risk as we face an unprecedented housing shortage that threatens not only our economy but the very fabric of our communities.
The statistics are stark: Vermont had the second-highest homelessness rate in the country as of last year. The median home price has soared beyond the reach of working Vermonters. Half of all Vermont renters are cost-burdened, and one in four spend more than half of their income on housing. Yet despite these intense demand pressures, for the past 15 years the state’s growth rate of new, permanent homes has only been about 1/3 the rate of the 1980s. These numbers point to a simple but painful truth: too many Vermonters cannot afford a place to call home.
The housing crisis doesn’t exist in isolation — it ripples through every corner of our state’s social and economic systems. With Vermont’s population aging, the lack of housing exacerbates challenges in health care and education, making these systems increasingly unaffordable and unsustainable. Unless we chan
Miro Weinberger
Former Mayor | Burlington, VT
Miro Weinberger served four terms as mayor of Burlington, Vt. He was born and raised in Vermont and interned for former Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) while in college. He previously worked as an affordable housing developer and served on the Airport Commission. As mayor, he has prioritized housing, racial equity, fiscal responsibility and climate action. Since his election in March 2012, Weinberger has been working to put Burlington’s finances in order and in 2019 restored the City’s Aa3 credit rating, from the edge of junk bond status less than a decade before. In 2014 Burlington achieved 100% renewable energy generation, and five years later Weinberger launched a plan to achieve Net Zero by 2030 by steadily eliminating Burlington’s use of fossil fuels for heating and ground transportation and ‘electrifying everything’. In 2021, he announced an effort to double the rate of housing production and end homelessness by 2025. He lives in Burlington with his wife and two daughters.
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