Tonight was the last of 19 Burlington mayoral debates leading up to Tuesday's election. The debate was sponsored by Democracy for America, Green Mountain Daily, and the UVM College Democrats. Speaking to a packed house, candidates Bob Kiss, Andy Montroll, and Dan Smith handled a wide range of questions, from the first president they voted for, the underfunding of Burlington's pension fund, and, yes, frolf at Leddy Park.

 

Speaking to a packed crowd at Sapa's Tea and Coffee, the candidates really got a chance to distinguish themselves. GMD was on the scene in the person of front pagers Maggie Gunderson and Jack McCullough, and front pager emerita NanuqFC. GMD had planned to live blog the event, but internet connectivity problems prevented it. Here, though, are some impressions from the debate.

Who's who: Incumbent mayor Bob Kiss finally cashed in on his strategy of downplaying expectations, and showed himself to be the most charismatic of the group. And no, I am not kidding. Bob was animated, knowledgeable, and effective in making his points. Andy Montroll got in some good points, but if he was trying to show off his technocrat cred he came in second to the Mayor. And Dan Smith: very likeable guy, but from his answers it's pretty hard to figure why he doesn't make it official and run as an R.

Some highlights:

Question 1: Who was the first president you voted for?

      Kiss: Humphrey.

      Montroll: Carter.

      Smith: Clinton.

 Question 3, from Maggie Gunderson:

 How to deal with Parks and Rec?

Frolf at Leddy Park?

     Montroll: We should be able to do it somewhere, but we need to find another place, not Leddy Park.

     Smith: I support things that get our kids off the couch. We could do a course at Leddy. “When someone throws out an idea, instead of saying, `Why?' we should start saying `Why not?'”

     Kiss: “It pays to pay attention to the details.” If you walked through the park you would see the impact of cutting down trees. “Open space isn't wasted space.” Maybe the neighbors should have gotten more consideration.

 Part Two: How do we rectify the inability of Parks & Rec to work with neighborhood groups?

 

 

     Kiss answers in term of the Farmers' Market rent fight: As soon as I heard about this I was talking to the Parks Department. This is a discussion to reach an agreement, not a fait accompli. I won't support raising market rents by four or five times.

     Montroll: My first reaction to the Farmers' Market increase was that it's outrageous. When people go to the mayor they need to know they will be heard.

     Smith: The rent shouldn't go up by 400% or 500%. The broader question, though, is how to restructure government so everyone has a sense of common cause.

Waterfront: What's your five-Year vision?

     Smith: Here is where he really sounds like a Republican. It's not so much the content, as the way he talks about it in terms of economic development, including marina services, hotel access, a revitalized Moran Plant. “20% public access is better than 100% boarded up.”

     Montroll: We need to protect our values and open spaces, public spaces and uses.. We need a publc, community process. Uses might include a small hotel, but not a convention center.

     Kiss:Bob took the opportunity to review the history of the waterfront and his involvement in it since 1972, and the constant struggle between the push for commercialization of the waterfront and the drive to create public uses which has resulted in the boathouse, Echo, the park, and the outstanding, nearly complete, public space we now see. “We're open for business, but we're not for sale.”

HOW do we make Burlington more bike-friendly?

     Kiss: It's a question I've been asking ever since I moved here. It's still a problem. The police chief gets reports every day, and a bicycle or a pedestrian is hit by a car almost every day. This spring you will see more efforts, including training.

     Montroll: People want to be out on their bikes or on foot, but we prioritize cars. We ned to establish a shared priority that says that bikes are as important as cars.

     Smith: As a regular, three times a week cyclist, I see the problem. We need to invest in roads in a way that accommodates bicycles and pedestrian. More than that, we need to find ways to grow so that we can afford the necessary investment, and we need to reemphasize density in the downtown; people will walk or ride if they can live downtown. “Traffic accidents don't happen just because our roads are narrow; it's because our roads are bad.”  I thought this was his best answer because it tied the personal to a broader vision.

As I said, overall it was a good showcase for the candidates. I read each one of them as a “what you see is what you get” kind of guy. Neither of the challengers can match Bob Kiss's scope and depth of knowledge of the job, and city isues. I was actually expecting to see 15-year Council veteran Montroll give Bob a run for his money on this point, but not the way I saw it. 

I give the debate to Kiss on points, but other observers might have seen it differently, so feel free to chime in.