MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Vermont Progressives are crying foul over Governor Phil Scott’s pick to fill Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak’s former House seat.
The governor on Monday appointed Abbey Duke, a Democrat, to the Burlington seat. Mayor Mulvaney-Stanak is a fusion candidate — a Progressive Democrat — and was the chair of the House Progressive caucus.
Progressive Party Chair Josh Wronski says Scott’s choice breaks with the historical precedent of appointing a politician from the same party who is giving up the seat. “We’re really disappointed with that and I think it shows the governor is willing to play politics in a way that is not in the interest of that district or moving the issues that district wants forward,” he said.
The governor’s office says the Progressives’ concerns are inaccurate, adding that Mulvaney-Stanak filed to run in the Democratic, not Progressive primary.