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Gov. Phil Scott acknowledged that Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak received little advance notice before his administration increased the Vermont State Police presence in Burlington, saying the state acted after hearing from residents who felt unsafe.
During a Thursday press conference in Montpelier, Scott was asked about the mayor’s comments that she appreciated the additional law enforcement support but wished the administration had communicated with her beforehand.
“We gave her a heads up that that’s what we’re going to do, but not much of one, admittedly,” Scott said.
The governor said the decision was driven by concerns his administration had heard from Burlington residents who were asking the state to help improve public safety.
“We heard from many, many Burlingtonians that were feeling unsafe, again, begging us to come in and do something about it,” Scott said. “We just wanted to, again, do our part to make sure that they have a good experience.”
Scott rejected a suggestion that the need for state assistance reflected poorly on Mulvaney-Stanak. He pointed instead to staffing shortages affecting both Burlington police and state government.
“I don’t think so,” Scott said when asked whether the situation reflected poorly on the mayor. “I know they have workforce challenges as well with their law enforcement. They have an interim chief who’s doing a great job, and they’re in the midst of trying to find a replacement for him.”
“They need more uniformed officers, as do we,” Scott added. “We’re all challenged by the workforce shortage.”
Scott said Burlington’s status as Vermont’s largest city and a destination for students and tourists also factored into the decision to provide additional law enforcement assistance. He noted that students will soon return to the University of Vermont, Saint Michael’s College and Champlain College.
The governor also cited tourism, including Canadian visitors, saying the state wants people returning home after visiting Vermont to have a positive impression of Burlington.
“So many students are coming back, and it’s not just UVM either. It’s St. Mike’s and Champlain and so forth,” Scott said. “And all the tourists coming in … we want to make sure that it was a good, positive experience for them.”
The exchange follows the administration’s decision to deploy additional Vermont State Police patrols in downtown Burlington, an action Mulvaney-Stanak has said she welcomes even as she has raised concerns about how the decision was communicated to City Hall.
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Categories: Burlington
He should have sent in the Guard !
I have to admit that he does a great job of placating the crazies. Hopefully it’s a slow arc of justice.
Create the problem and bring in a new solution. Maybe the powers that are, should stop trying to get rid of the Sheriffs. Comment from Richard Day.
Maybe a solution would be to take another step away from normalcy by having a transgender sheriff in Chittenden County who refuses to evict people based on their age.
If the Mayor can’t do the job…the Governor will… and the Governor is fully aware if Vermont doesn’t clean it up the mess in Burlington… the President will.
It’s that simple.
Spot on…..🇺🇸🗽🇺🇸
Rich Lachapelle, 😂. Sad though I’m laughing at this, because it’s literally not a joke. How can reality be so far gone that it even seems beyond a crazy bit of humor? 🤔
The root issue is not that the governor acted with limited notice; it is that Burlington reduced and constrained its police capacity to the point where the department struggles to provide the visible, consistent coverage a city of this size needs. Staffing shortages are real everywhere, but Burlington’s situation also reflects city-level choices and priorities. When local government cannot adequately meet a basic responsibility like public safety, the state has both a right and a duty to step in.
Gov. Scott handled this diplomatically by recognizing the mayor’s challenges and praising the interim chief rather than assigning personal blame. But residents deserve honesty about why state police are needed in the first place: Burlington needs to rebuild a properly staffed, well-supported police force so emergency state intervention is not the norm.
Mulvany-Stanak is beyond over her??
Head. Absolutely not leadership period.
Wake To F up Burlington Wake up…..
The Mayor lives in a fantasy world of her own making. Probably got it in college.
The guv is becoming very arrogant and working very hard to get unelected
Wouldn’t you? Who wants to be the leader of a sinking ship?
All the cops in the world will not help if mayors don’t let them enforce the laws on the books and the prosecutors don’t prosecute the criminals.
No one seems to be catching the real point here. The mayor (small “m” intended) is pissed because the Governor (large “G” intended) is doing what he is supposed to do, enforce the laws of our state. But why is she pissed, you ask. Because she has worked damned hard to hamstring the police at every turn. If she had been given enough notice of the troopers coming in, she would have pulled out all the stops to have that idea quashed. Having issues not finding police candidates? Who would want to work in such a toxic mess. All the fellow officers I know wouldn’t take a million bucks to work there. Other state law enforcement officers always take backup when dealing with anything in Burlington, just do what they are required and then “get the hell outta there” (their words exactly). On behalf of the Burlington officers, could you imagine being critically underfunded and understaffed and then when you do arrest someone they are back on the streets thanks to the prosecutor before the ink has dried on your paperwork. Crime is a free-for-all and the drug dealers in Mass and Conn know it. So do the human traffickers, smugglers of drugs and terrorists. Voters, you get what you ask for. Think it through before you cast your ballot this Tuesday.
The taxpayers of Vermont should not be bearing the burden of policing the City of Burlington due to their administrations negligence and tolerance of destructive habits. They are reaping the results from the atmosphere they created. What other city in Vermont gives out free needles and has safe injection sites?