On Saturday, Progressives gathered at the Capital City Grange in Berlin for the final stage of the 2013 reorganization process, their State Convention. Over 125 people attended the event and 73 ballots were cast by State Committee Delegates in the election of a new Coordinating Committee at the Convention. To put those numbers in perspective, only 58 ballots were cast in the hotly contested races for leadership at a State Republican Party meeting earlier the same day.
Emma Mulvaney-Stanak of Winooski was elected State Party Chair; Selene Colburn of Burlington was elected State Party Vice Chair; Chris Brimmer of South Ryegate was elected State Party Secretary; Martha Abbott of Underhill was elected State Party Treasurer; and Katherine Sims of Lowell was elected State Party Asst. Treasurer. The following At-Large Coordinating Committee members were also elected: Caryn Connolly of South Royalton, Mari Cordes of Lincoln, Corey Decker of Fletcher, Lee Madden of Brattleboro, Adam Norton of Burlington, and Nancy Potak of Greensboro.
In addition to the elections, those in attendance viewed a video message from Professor Bill McKibben, participated in a panel discussion with college students from UVM and Middlebury who are leading fossil fuel divestment movements at their schools, and heard from many elected Progressives about their priorities for 2014, including State Auditor Doug Hoffer (D/P).
Newly elected Progressive Party Chair Emma Mulvaney-Stanak had this to say:
“I'm excited the new Party leadership reflects some of the new and young leaders who have emerged within the Party in recent years. I am honored the State Committee chose me to be their new Chair. I can’t thank Martha Abbott enough for her years of service as Chair and look forward to continuing to work with her in her new role as Treasurer, and with all the new members of the Party’s Coordinating Committee.
“As a lifelong Vermonter, I have seen the Progressive Party grow from a Burlington-focused party into a truly statewide, major party, which has changed the way we do politics in Vermont. As Chair, I intend to continue that growth by focusing on building the Party's capacity to run strong candidates for office and to push the core issues of our platform. I will also focus on recruiting young people and women to run for office and to get engaged in the Party.”