Bob Kiss

December 1, 2008, WPTZ

Kiss Looking To Stay In Office

BURLINGTON, Vt. -- The race for mayor of Vermont's largest city gets under way this week, with formal announcements from two challengers who hope to oust first-term incumbent Bob Kiss.

Burlington Mayor Gears Up Re-election Bid

Independent Dan Smith, 33, is a lawyer currently on leave from his job as vice-president of the Greater Burlington Industrial Corporation. Smith has never run for elective office, though his father, Peter Smith, was Vermont's Republican lieutenant governor and Congressman in the 1980s.

Smith says, "Economic development and luring new jobs into downtown" are top issues. He has lived in Burlington for six years and says he has raised between $15,000 and $20,000 for his campaign. Smith holds a kickoff rally and fundraiser Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Red Square on Church Street.

On Wednesday, Ward 6 City Councilor Andy Montroll says he expects to formally enter the race at the conclusion of the city's Democratic caucus, slated to begin at 6:30 p.m. at Champlain Elementary School. Montroll, 51, narrowly lost his bid for the Democratic mayoral nomination in 2006.

Republican city council President and state Rep. Kurt Wright says he, too, is leaning toward a campaign for mayor but "needs to speak with a couple more people" and promised a final decision by the end of the week. Wright, 52, ran for mayor in 1999 and lost to incumbent Peter Clavelle.

Both Wright and Montroll criticized Kiss' personal and management style over the last three years. "He's a really nice guy but he's not shown the leadership or vision people expect of the mayor of Burlington," Montroll said. "I want to be a really pro-active mayor."

Wright added, "I think you do need someone who has a personality and is engaging."

But Kiss said he would vigorously defend his record, believing he's delivered in promises made in 2006 to manage the city's budget morass and deliver more responsive city government. He also pointed to progress on the Moran redevelopment project on the waterfront and aggressive efforts to improve city streets.

"Look at all the accolades Burlington gets," Kiss said. "I think we're doing as well or better than any city in the United States."

Kiss, 61, plans a re-election announcement on or soon after the Progressive Party caucus Dec. 14.

Burlington's new system of instant runoff voting, first used in the 2006 mayoral election, makes early predictions difficult, political analysts say.

But Wright said IRV offers "a path to victory" for a Republican in the Queen City, where the mayor's office has been occupied by left-leaning progressives virtually continuously since 1981.

IRV allows voters to rank candidates by their first, second and third choice.

In the event no candidate receives at least 50 percent of the vote on the first tally, the candidate with the poorest showing is eliminated and his voters' "second choice" candidate is awarded his votes. The tally is then recalculated until someone receives a 50 percent majority and becomes the winner.

The city election is March 3, 2009.

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November 17, 2008, WCAX, by Bianca Slota

With the national and statewide elections over the focus now turns to local races in the spring. At least three, maybe four, people plan to run for Mayor of Burlington.

Mayor Bob Kiss is completing his first three-year term as mayor. He'll face a challenge from a Democrat, an Independent and possibly a Republican on Town Meeting Day next March.

The newcomer to the political arena is 33-year-old lawyer Dan Smith. Smith's father, Peter, spent many years in politics, ultimately serving one term as Vermont's congressman. Smith will be running as an Independent and says his main focus is economic growth, especially making sure young companies see Burlington as a place to thrive.

"I think we need to see more opportunities come back downtown," he says. "We need to bring more middle-class jobs back into the downtown. We need to work with all those vibrant young tech companies that are out there."

A familiar face in Burlington, long time city councilor Andrew Montroll, will be taking a third shot at the mayor's seat on the Democratic ticket. Montroll is also an attorney who says he too will focus on growth, but his priority is changing how the city is run.

"I think one of the first things I want to make sure we do here in Burlington is have a real open and transparent government," says Montroll. "There's been a lot of concerns about how closed off things have been and people just don't know what's going on."

Smith and Montroll will be taking on incumbent Mayor Bob Kiss. Kiss is a Progressive who says he is most proud of the purchase and sale of land in the Intervale Center, the zoning re-write and the work on the Moran Plant redevelopment.

"I think we've managed the budget very well and I think it's an important time to get in there and do that," says Kiss. "We still have issues, things like the pension, but I think we're on the right track and you know for this time I think Burlington is in a good place, considering all the factors in the world."

One more name floating around in discussions about the race is that of City Council President Kurt Wright. Wright says he is absolutely considering a run but won't make a final decision until the first or second week of December.

Democrat Ed Adrian was also rumored to be a possible candidate, and he was considering it, but Adrian says he has decided not to run. He is throwing his support behind Montroll.

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June 25, 2008, Alternet, by Karen Dolan

Foreign Policy Disaster Redux: Raise fears about a Middle East country. Tie that four-letter-word country to the potential for mushroom clouds over Tel Aviv and Texas. Convince the U.S. public that this country's ties to terrorists, its fanatical Islamist faith and its megalomaniacal leader with a scary-sounding name add up to the end of western civilization. Conclusion: Iran must be stopped, no option off the table.

The saber rattling increases, despite the December 2007 National Intelligence Estimate concluding that Iran does not possess nuclear weapons or nuclear weapons capability, nor has it a viable nuclear weapons program. The International Atomic Energy Agency Director, Mohammed ElBaradei, says unilateral military action by the United States or Israel would "turn the region into a fireball" and propel Iran toward developing a nuclear weapon. He has said he would resign his post in protest should such an attack be carried out. Yet, the Pentagon has confirmed that Israel recently launched a "rehearsal" attack on Iran's nuclear sites. Congress is currently considering a resolution (HR 362) that could justify imposing a naval blockade on Iran, constituting, in effect, an act of war against that country.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain repeats "Islamic Jihadists" at every turn and has famously joked "Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Bomb Iran," (sung to tune of the Beach Boys' "Barbara Ann") and mimics Bush in his refusal to enter the kind of negotiations needed to engage Iran. Have we all gone mad?

Thankfully, no. The U.S. public and our locally elected officials are hip to the hype this time around. Indeed, they were hip to the hype the last time around too. Prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, 170 U.S. cities and towns passed resolutions decrying the Bush administrations threats to invade Iran, citing there was not sufficient evidence of imminent threat or weapons of mass destruction, the illegality of preemptive war, the potential gigantic loss of life on both sides, and gargantuan costs to U.S. taxpayers. They were right. Currently, over 325 localities and states have more resolutions aimed at bringing the troops and the money home from Iraq (www.citiesforpeace.org). Recently, recognizing the increase in war rhetoric against Iran, U.S. localities have once again decided to try to insert common sense and prudence into our runaway foreign policy. So far, 13 towns and cities have passed resolutions saying no to a military strike on Iran.

There is a new effort, out of Mayor Bob Kiss's office in Burlington Vermont, which calls on fellow mayors to sign a resolution to avoid military action with Iran. "In these times when the Iraq war has sapped so many of our financial resources and cost the lives of our brave soldiers, I hope you will join me in voicing the determination of mayors across this country to stop a war with Iran before it begins," writes Mayor Kiss. Mayor Kiss's resolution boasts 32 Mayors in as many days from localities as diverse as Elizabeth NJ, West Palm Beach, FL, Condon, OR, Bowling Green KY and Fayetteville AK.

The National Mayors Resolution for Diplomacy with Iran acknowledges the ramping up of rhetoric against Iran and cautions against unilateral military action. It also states:

... nothing herein should be misconstrued as support for the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, but it should be understood that a unilateral, pre-emptive U.S. military attack on Iran could well prove counterproductive to the cause of promoting freedom and democracy there;

Recent polling has shown that only a small minority of the U.S. public supports military action against Iran. As we have also seen, there is great sentiment against it and evidence that such action will only produce the opposite effect of the peace that is desired in the region.

We can't count on our federal government and the foreign policy establishment to exercise good judgment and effective foreign policy. We need Mayor Kiss; we need Mayor Euille of Alexandria, VA. we need the good people of Dayton, OH to speak reason to power. We also need power to listen.

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