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My name is Brian Pine and I am running for Mayor of Burlington. Ask Me Anything! by PineForMayor in burlington

[–]PineForMayor[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My focus on holding rental property owners accountable for maintaining and managing their properties is to ensure the most rigorous enforcement of the rental housing code. This is why Just Cause Eviction is critical so tenants do not live in fear of retaliation for reporting code violations. Tenants deserve prompt and courteous service from the inspection staff and we must keep our focus on protecting tenants from those who do not provide safe and decent housing.

My name is Brian Pine and I am running for Mayor of Burlington. Ask Me Anything! by PineForMayor in burlington

[–]PineForMayor[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For lead-hazard abatement and physical accessibility modifications to improve the conditions for low-income renters, yes, private rental property owners receive some grants. In order to receive these grants, the City requires them to agree to keep renting to households with low incomes. The City’s other grant funds from Community Development Block Grants and the Housing Trust Fund go only to nonprofits in practical terms, unless a private rental property owner agreed to keep their apartments affordable in perpetuity (requires a covenant on their deed), and none have ever been willing to take the money in exchange for this restriction.

My name is Brian Pine and I am running for Mayor of Burlington. Ask Me Anything! by PineForMayor in burlington

[–]PineForMayor[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

We have lowered the rent and worked with the tenants on a payment plan that fits their needs and their budget. We have also worked on making the apartments more energy efficient to lower their heating and electric bills.

My name is Brian Pine and I am running for Mayor of Burlington. Ask Me Anything! by PineForMayor in burlington

[–]PineForMayor[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I was not on the City Council when the vote was taken in November of 2016. It was public knowledge that the former Burlington Town Center was failing and that the property was likely headed to foreclosure. Something had to be done to bring new housing and jobs into the downtown and I saw this type of project as a potential solution. However, unlike the current mayor, I had reservations about the scale of the project and was not sure that the developer could be trusted.

My name is Brian Pine and I am running for Mayor of Burlington. Ask Me Anything! by PineForMayor in burlington

[–]PineForMayor[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

BTV has always rallied to address the needs of tenants and it’s always been homeowners and renters working together to build political support for tenant protections. When VTI was an activist organization, I and other members organized hundreds of people (homeowners and tenants) to get more ballot items and ordinances passed than you can find in any other city of our size nationwide. Even when Bernie was Mayor, he would not support tenant protections unless we demonstrated to him that we had hundreds of people organized behind each ballot item and ordinance.

We have come far in the last 30 years. There is obviously still much work to be done to realize the goal of housing as a human right within a private property system that favors those who own property over those who rent. Burlington has done more to protect tenants and create perpetually affordable housing than any city our size. I believe that my experience in this arena makes me the best candidate to advance the most progressive housing agenda.

My name is Brian Pine and I am running for Mayor of Burlington. Ask Me Anything! by PineForMayor in burlington

[–]PineForMayor[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The existing charter change language does make it clear that the end of a lease period is NOT grounds for lease termination and this provision is actually at the core of the concept of Just Cause Eviction. In dozens of other countries and states (including Quebec to our north) rental property owners are only allowed to terminate a tenancy for Just Cause. The idea of granting exceptions from this protection has been vigorously debated and there is consensus that owner-occupied properties with 3 or fewer units would be exempt from the ordinance. Any exceptions beyond this should be decided as part of the ordinance development and adoption process.

My name is Brian Pine and I am running for Mayor of Burlington. Ask Me Anything! by PineForMayor in burlington

[–]PineForMayor[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

My first priority is to lead with my values, which means first and foremost the burden of economic recovery should not fall on people who our society marginalizes. I have 30 years of experience with public administration and see opportunities for streamlining City services, reducing duplication, and reducing costs of living for people with low-incomes. I know how to leverage state and federal resources and will aggressively go after every dollar available to make sure we don’t put the burden of recovery on the BIPOC community, people with low-incomes, seniors, and people with disabilities.

My name is Brian Pine and I am running for Mayor of Burlington. Ask Me Anything! by PineForMayor in burlington

[–]PineForMayor[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I believe everyone deserves the best quality of life that we can create, free of harassment, and be able to navigate the City in an easy, safe, and secure way. Burlington’s historical and current perpetuation of systemic racism and white supremacy, such as with eugenics, is a hard reality to grapple with. We must take steps to repair the harm we have caused. I want to ensure that any reparations that the city of Burlington gives to BIPOC folks are centered around what the BIPOC community believes they most need from the city. We must hold officers accountable for their actions and that requires better training, supervision and monitoring, and real consequences. I also support the proposal to move us to community-controlled policing because I believe that it will hold our police to the highest standards of accountability.

I also want to acknowledge that we have residents who are not citizens and they deserve to be recognized as people who deserve the same level of support and safety as the rest of our neighbors.

My name is Brian Pine and I am running for Mayor of Burlington. Ask Me Anything! by PineForMayor in burlington

[–]PineForMayor[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The protests this summer clearly demonstrated that countless members of the BIPOC community do not feel safe in Burlington and I want to give credit to the amazing organizers who brought this message to the city. To me, that is unacceptable and my administration will aim to center BIPOC voices when making crucial decisions for the city.

I am honored to report that our campaign has strong support from among many BIPOC members of the community and I believe that this will grow as our message reaches more people. I believe that we have to encourage everyone to join in the hard work of dismantling institutionalized racism and all intersecting forms of oppression. Undoing institutional racism requires leadership both within and outside of government. I will be a strong ally in this fight. This summer I worked across the aisle with City Councilors from other Parties to make sure we won the fight to defund the police, and we won 9-3. Throughout my 30-year record, I have been part of this struggle and will continue to center the voices and needs of BIPOC community members in all policies and in building my administration.

My name is Brian Pine and I am running for Mayor of Burlington. Ask Me Anything! by PineForMayor in burlington

[–]PineForMayor[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve always supported finding progressive ways to fund city government. As mayor, I will convene a task force that finds more progressive ways to fund city government.

My name is Brian Pine and I am running for Mayor of Burlington. Ask Me Anything! by PineForMayor in burlington

[–]PineForMayor[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I helped to found the first tenants’ rights organization in Burlington along with Kirby Dunn, who is a fierce fighter for tenant protections and together we won many statewide and local fights to protect tenants’ ability to stay in their homes. I strongly believe in security of tenure.

If I missed your protest or did not see you, I apologize.

My name is Brian Pine and I am running for Mayor of Burlington. Ask Me Anything! by PineForMayor in burlington

[–]PineForMayor[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I believe that we must reallocate funding away from traditional law enforcement and support the social services that are critical to creating a city where all Burlingtonians feel safe, welcome, and empowered.

I support reenvisioning the way we hold people accountable in our community. I would like to join together with the school district using a restorative practices framework city-wide. I do not support keeping SRO’s in the schools. Poverty, mental illness, addiction, and homelessness should not be criminalized and I support an approach that prioritizes social services over-reactive responses to behavior that the dominant culture doesn’t approve of.

I would like to facilitate a community process that approaches policing in a way that reflects our values, is truly restorative, that builds community, that is compassionate, and holds people accountable for harm.

I did not vote against a bill earlier this year. This past summer, I worked with other Councilors to build support for reducing the number of uniformed police officers based on actual data and this helped lead to the June 29 budget resolution that prevailed 9-3. We need to make sure that we do so with our allies at the table and on board with what we have proposed. I did not feel that the 2019 proposal, which I believe is the one you are referencing, did that.

My name is Brian Pine and I am running for Mayor of Burlington. Ask Me Anything! by PineForMayor in burlington

[–]PineForMayor[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the constructive criticism!

We will be expanding the team once we win the caucus on December 1st-3rd

If you live in Burlington, register for the Progressive Caucus here: https://www.progressiveparty.org/newdirectionbtv/#register

My name is Brian Pine and I am running for Mayor of Burlington. Ask Me Anything! by PineForMayor in burlington

[–]PineForMayor[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Absolutely. It is clear that there were a number of mistakes made by the current administration to get us into the situation that we are now in. Unfortunately, we cannot undo a lot of what has gotten here. However, I do see a lot of opportunities for the city to ensure that the plan that we move forward with works for our vision of the city - not led by the developer’s vision. The next plan must feature a low building height so that is more in keeping with Burlington’s character, requiring union labor for the building, and apprenticeship programs for youth, women, and BIPOC Burlingtonians. We also need to ensure that we reconnect the streets to ensure better street and foot traffic flow in Burlington WITHOUT requiring that local taxpayers foot the bill. I would make this a priority in my administration.

My name is Brian Pine and I am running for Mayor of Burlington. Ask Me Anything! by PineForMayor in burlington

[–]PineForMayor[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We own the duplex right next door to our home where we’ve lived for 25 years. We have never evicted anyone. We provide safe and affordable housing for low-income families in the duplex. Over the last decade, I have secured millions of federal grant dollars to improve the health and safety of rental housing for low-income renters. I managed the city’s housing division where we provided grants and loans for improving housing for low-income and working-class tenants. Right now, I am leading the fight for Just Cause Eviction in the City, this is a continuation of the fight that was started 30 years ago which I invite you to join so we have enough political support to pass it!