The guy who came so close to defeating the mayor of Vermont's largest city that it hurt is quitting the city council.
Burlington City Council President Max Tracy, P-Ward 2, will not seek reelection in the city’s annual election March 1, he told VTDigger and SevenDays.
Tracy, who is a labor organizer for nurses and other health professionals at the University of Vermont Medical Center, said that an increased demand at work was a factor in his decision.
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“It seems untenable to run for City Council, serve as City Council president and work with the nurses” at the Burlington hospital as they renegotiate their contract with hospital leadership this year, he said.
“It’s always challenging to balance council work with my day job with the rest of my life, and that challenge has grown with the pandemic,” Tracy said.
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Tracy, 35, said his employer allowed him the flexibility to run for mayor last year, but that it would be “incredibly challenging” to mount another campaign as his union work is picking up. Had Tracy run again for council, it would have been his third campaign in as many years.
“Elections are uniquely intense and stressful,” he said. “I don't want to be running every single year, especially on the heels of the years that we’ve had at this point with the pandemic.”
Tracy has represented Ward 2 on the City Council since 2012, serving the past two years as council president.
Gene Bergman — a Bernie Sanders-era Progressive who has been a force in Burlington politics for decades — appears ready to seek the Old North End seat.
The former assistant city attorney registered as a candidate.
Bergman isn't driven by political passion. He had told VTDigger he would hold off from running in the event that Tracy opted for a sixth term.
Now the coast is clear for the 68-year-old to seek the Progressive party’s nomination for the seat at a caucus.
Bergman has worked as a paid staffer for several Progressive councilors, including Jack Hanson (East District) and Perri Freeman (Central District), performing research and drafting resolutions.
Tracy said he does not plan to endorse any candidates until the Progressive caucus, though he plans to campaign for his party’s nominee once he or she has been selected.
- VTDigger, SevenDays
