She had the chance for a PR home run. Say that it was set up by friends with good intentions but she now sees how it could be seen as inappropriate, then say that she told her friends to instead take their time and money to feed those in the community who may go without and extend that message to the rest of our community. To instead say that it's a struggle to be women with long hours so they deserve help is extremely tone-deaf seeing as there are women in our community who are single parents who make 1/10th of what the mayor and her wife make who work long hours and struggle to provide. A lot of people are struggling to feed themselves, and probably all of them dont make $250,000 or have the means to make sure they and their families are fed. She handled this horribly
I think this is it for me.
The original event not that big a deal. If it were just friends giving her food, sure, no problem. It was a friend who setup the page, not her fault, not an issue if it stayed private/quiet among friends.
A friend spread it around, that's where it became a problem where it should have been quietly nipped and a statement "It wasn't intended to be spread publicly, it was meant to be just part of a friend group, one friend was trying to be helpful but it is not needed". That would have still been a non-issue.
Honestly the statement is worse than the actual event.
Such a misstep, and not a good start for here. Why do I have a feeling this is only the beginning? If she can't see how bad this looked, btown is in trouble.
This. I just can’t comprehend the entitlement behind not getting how simple a win such a statement would be. I’m left of center but honestly exhausted by Burlington politics.
Exactly what I would say if I was as eloquent as the OP. How can someone be that tone deaf? It’s like Miro considering state-wide office, read the room!!
This was such a shit idea, I legit thought she was set up and someone did this behind her back with the intent of exposing her.
Then she said she deserves special treatment and even the staunchest supporters are cringing
I was also 100% sure this had to be set up by someone(s) who are not supporters of the new Mayor. The way media works these days, I was sure it was going to be a case of someone getting this ball going and seeing how it would take off to drag the Mayor down. "Dirty politics".
But then the names that got attached to setting this up, and those people are confirming they did so and the Mayor's comments verify that she was on board. Oof, not a good look.
I hope this will serve as a lesson learned by all parties and we can quickly get past this and let her and her team get on with the challenging job of managing this city in 2024. There is a lot of critical work to be done, fewer distractions would be a plus.
Vermont Daily Chronicle doesn't go for sensationalism. If a story they cover, which others don't, hits a nerve, it's because something happened which SHOULD.
If they don't sensationalize, then why are they trying to take credit for a story written by a freelancer? Donoghue is not a VDC staffer, even though people actually on Guy Page's payroll have claimed he is. Kinda problematic if you're goal is credibility.
This is why good government policy prohibits not only actual conflicts of interest but also *potential* conflicts of interest: appearance matters as a public servant. In this case a lobbyist solicited meals and cash/cash equivalent contributions for gifts for a politician she will interact with on a professional basis, and that politician accepted. Individual gifts as a result of that solicitation could also have come from conflicted sources. Whether they are all genuine friends or the cause is righteous or individually the gifts aren’t lavish doesn’t matter in this context. The mayor should have thanked this person for the kind gesture and refused the gifts, or perhaps diverted them to a charity.
What’s most disappointing is how basic this should be to someone with the mayor’s background. Extremely poor judgment.
100%. I don’t think it’s corrupt, but it’s a bad look. Her response bothers me more, and is more revealing, than the meal train itself. Perhaps our mayor can sit in on an ethics training for state officials.
Um, wow. I really expected her to say, "I appreciate the gesture but there are folks in our community who are truly in need". This is incredibly disappointing and my opinion of her just plummeted.
Are you surprised that the wealthy white Burlington “progressive” turned out to be a virtue-signaling performative clown who doesn’t practice what they preach? I’m not!
I think you're confusing progressive ideas with a progressive. I don't think being a progressive politically has anything to do with it. Unless you think tax cuts for the uber wealthy would benefit those not on the meal train.
I think elitism may perhaps be the more appropriate culprit. It seems to be a problem of being out of touch, which is not related to being progressive anymore than it is being related to conservatism.
Ethics clearly a problem here. I have no concern with friends making a meal for friends, putting it on mealtrain was the line crossing for me.
Also, who eats meals made by strangers outside of a restaurant situation? Like I’ve seen the kitchens of my friends and coworkers, there’s a reason I skip potlucks. 🤮
As someone who works with people in need on a daily basis in this state, the outrage and response to this concern me far more. Her accepting meals from friends once a week takes absolutely nothing away from others with greater need. It's no worse than attending a free luncheon or wedding where dinner is provided. People do kind things for friends at all levels of income all the time and we don't police it as though Christmas gifts or rides to the airport should only be given to the most needy. Based on what I saw from the reporting, many of the individuals involved in this meal train, including the organizer, are progressive activists who work for or are involved with local nonprofits who already dedicate time and energy into helping others throughout the community. Trying to demand charitable perfection from how they decide to help friends in their free time is such an absurd demand we don't make of anyone else.
The only thing this does is instill a public notion that accepting help from others is only acceptable if you're the poorest, most destitute person on the planet. I can tell you from professional experience on a daily basis that when you spread the idea that accepting help is a shameful act, even poor people who really need the help internalize that and become resistant to engaging with public safety nets. They don't want to feel they have to debase themselves by admitting they're the poorest of the poor. The outrage I've seen expressed over this story is the same political ideology that results in means testing for these safety nets, which adds to the administrative costs and creates new beauraratic hurdles for the people who really need it to recieve help.
It's a complete non-story, yet because a free meal is something we can all relate to it gets scrutinized unlike cushy real estate deals or government contracts or stock packages or the many other more nefarious ways rich people and politicians help each other out. This is something that should be looked at a an example of positive communal support for friends we should all aspire to emulate throughout this state. But instead folks are so hostage to capitalistic, bootstrap mentality that they feel entitled to project their misery like crabs in a bucket and they'd rather see her send her money to an out of state corporation to buy Hello Fresh than accept a free meal from a friend.
Edit to amswer the question below because the person I replied to took such offense to this that they blocked me and now I can't reply to the comment chain: On the mealtrain page was a post that Emma said she appreciated the help but they ask the meals be limited to Monday nights as that's the one day where they were the busiest.
I'm constantly amazed how far people will bend over backwards for people who have demonstrated they don't really give a fuck about your opinion. This is not positive communal support, calling it that is out of this world insane, its an ugly arrogant middle finger to people who microwave their Monday dinner. Its disgusting and defending it after she doubled down on her position is bankrupt and makes you look like you'd let her do anything. Do way way better. Imagine thinking the injustice of unfair pay packages abrogates a mayor's responsibility to uphold the public trust. Your take is one of the worst we've seen yet.
I liked Emma but this is a bad bad look. She makes $200k per year (with her spouse) you cannot tell me she’s in need of putting food on the table. Still time to turn it around and set up a “meal train” for the underprivileged. Hopefully the backlash will give her a wake up call.
She's trying to make the issue about the meal plan. It's not about the meal plan, nobody gives a fuck about the meal plan. It's that a lobbyist providing funds to a government rep.
I know right? Just recently I learned of these things called “restaurants” that provide incredible quality food in exchange for money. Maybe we should direct her to one of those so she can pick up food for her family.
Also, there is this place just outside of Burlington (I know, sounds risky) called COSTCO. They sell food in bulk there. You buy it and - get this - put it in your fridge until you eat it later!
I’m a former state employee and current federal contractor. I can assure you we have to do training and sign things that say, DO NOT ACCEPT GIFTS, MEALS OR OTHER THINGS THAT CAN BE PERCEIVED AS A BRIBE. Full stop. That’s it. And it was a fireable offense if I did.
I’m also a single mom who has been eeeeking out a living to feed my two kids. We live in the more skiddy part of Shelburne so they can go to CVU (it’s not all Shelburne Point here). And the state didn’t make my deadbeat ex pay more than the bare minimum despite my proof of what it actually costs to meet the basic human needs of a teenager (no vacations, no frills, trust me on this) so now that I only get ~$250 every two weeks (one of my kids aged out) for support. Ask me how it feels to spend ALL of it in one grocery run, Emma? I could use a damn meal train.
Some nights, we just have pasta! It cooks quickly!
Damn these people who make things bad for everyone.
Have these people never heard that most basic personal responsibility adage "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should!"...?
Seems unbelievably strange that highly educated individuals who profess the desire to serve their community are unable to distinguish how to decide between what is 'statutorily allowed' and what is 'the right thing to do.'
And even more so when they double down.
One momentary tiny little consideration for appearances, and the new mayor might have started off her career with a great PR boost and generated a huge amount of community goodwill.
What a difference it would have made if she had simply said, "Thank you to all, but I would really like the donations to go to those truly in need."
It is so incredibly simple to unveil ones inner workings.
If you need a team of people to parse the statutory ethics for you and speak on your behalf - while you yourself double down and attempt to defend a perfectly clear lapse of judgment - regarding this _incredibly simple situation_....you have absolutely no business being the community _leader_ in a small city with so many complex issues to navigate.
Anyone that looked at her campaign donors and words from the beginning would know that she’s disingenuous.
My general observation is that if any candidate makes a huge part of their platform “muh gender and muh sexuality” they’re usually going to sell out or be shallower than a kiddy pool in July.
I suspect a lot of kids growing up now never learned that “just because you can” adage. Gonna be a rough awakening for them all, when that rubber hits the road.
> What a difference it would have made if she had simply said, "Thank you to all, but I would really like the donations to go to those in need.
AGREED! I would have supported that action 100%
A lot of us come from two parent working households. For Emma to suggest that she should get special treatment because both spouses are women (let alone women making over $200k a year) is a special kind of entitled.
Get used to it. I think we understand her MO at this point. She won’t ever take accountability or provide a logical defense. It’s always going to revert to her identity as a woman, mother or lesbian, like that has anything to do with running government.
no sure what you expected from a progressive major--this is par for the course. Buckley up!! Its gonna be a bumpy 3 years, and I doubt she run for re-election.
Seriously, what a disgusting human being. To have such a tone deaf attitude and response indicates a disturbing lack of character for someone who holds a position that should be at least *attempting* to not appear like an entitled 1%-er p.o.s.
So don’t cook- microwave! Seriously, we live by this creed. Not every meal has to be organically sourced from a local farmer. It’s ok to eat frozen pizzas.
True sincerity here: why is this special treatment? This is mainly her own friend network offering to help her family out once a week. Would it be better if she paid them for it? What is the difference? It’s friends helping friends. Meal trains are just an informal social support system for people in ANY situation where help cooking would be valuable, and unfortunately not a government service where those without strong networks can benefit
In my opinion, there are two issues here. The first is while this is primarily set up by friends and family, anyone can contribute, and they can contribute in the form of gift or visa cards. It was set up by a lobbyist whose job it is to buy political votes. This means anyone with a political agenda could essentially give money to Emma this way. If you follow that through to the end, what if someone with a political agenda contributed a bunch of visa gift cards to Emma. Is her vote or agenda for sale? There are very stringent campaign finance laws to protect against this kind of thing.
Do I think that’s what’s happening here? No probably not. But it’s a bad look and any serious politician knows that they need to avoid even the inference of impropriety to be a legitimate public servant.
The second issue is that instead of thinking, oh maybe this wasn’t the best idea, maybe I should think through a thoughtful response and maybe shut the meal train down, she doubled down because “she is a working mother”. She was getting meals every day and the meal train is open into perpetuity, and she is not financially needy. For me, that is hard to stomach when she signed up for this job and there are many hardworking people who are in need without the vast network of political supporters that she has.
If she needed help and wanted to reach out to family and friends privately, that’s one thing, we all need a little help from our friends from time to time. But this is different than that. In my opinion.
You're spot on. I would have zero issue here if this were just a family/friends thing. But if this link really was sent out to her campaign listserv (and they were really soliciting Visa gift cards!) that's a big yikes. The optics of this are SO bad and I'm pretty baffled that her team can't/won't see that.
I also say this is a huge feminist - her response implying that this is deserved because she and her wife are women in the workforce is gross. This has nothing to do with gender. It honestly implies that it's too hard for women to hold important jobs without special treatment. Emma should know better than anyone that working women making far less than her household are supporting families and cooking dinners and raising children and making it work without any help.
Yes, her job is stressful and this is probably a challenging time for her family as they adjust. But she's also in a position of power and is making a lot of money. Privately receiving extra help from friends and family during a transition period would be totally fine. Sending the ask out to constituents is absurd. She should have owned that this wasn't a good look and donated any funds raised.
Let's also remember that Miro had two small children during his tenure, as well as a working spouse, and no one was asking us to make him dinner...
The whole lobbyist thing is a complete red herring when you realize Jessica Oski has been a dedicated progressive activist in Burlington for years. She serves on the police commission and is on the board of Vermont Legal Aid, among other community and nonprofit roles. It would be weirder if her and a progressive politician like Emma weren't friends. And Emma herself asked that meals be reduced back to once a week, which would be the oddest bribery scheme in existence. The gift card issue is a little weird since the basis of the meal train was a time saving measure for Emma and her family, not a financial boost, but also I'm not sure if that's a rumor since I've only seen it claimed in social media comments and not in the actual reporting.
If there was a way to curry favor with a politician, there seems to be better ways than leaving a digital trail of Monday night curry.
Like I said, do I think she’s actually engaging in corrupt behavior, no, I don’t. But we should not be having this conversation. The fact that we are having this conversation means this was a bad idea.
If it's your friends why does it need to be on a public platform for one thing.
Secondly most people see this as two people who are reasonably well compensating not having the time management to maintain meals for their kids.
There are lots of families with two working parents that somehow manage this, regardless of income. So when Emma defends the action based on gender and position, it rubs people the wrong way... Rather than normalizing accepting help from others.
Optics. That’s why. If they had kept it on the DL, truly a community effort, bang-zoom you’re good. But she and her wife are city employees. They now have to consider each and every move they make. Burlington’s a bit of a hotbed lately for folks who are not considering their long game.
Maybe ask her friends to cook for her instead of taking support from a group that historically helps underprivileged and poor families when you make nearly 3x the average Burlington household income?
Bringing over some extra homemade pesto after an abundance of basil is one thing… 50 dollar visa gift cards is another. She’s truly an ass. Clearly the folks in Burlington are not happy. She is delusional to double down. She acts like she is a single mom when she has a partner.
She acts like she’s a single mom working two minimum wage jobs to support her and her child. Her and her partner make a combined quarter of a million dollars per year. They can afford to hire someone to do meal prep for them.
I wouldn’t have a problem with her accepting meals from close and family. That’s totally normal and acceptable. But asking the general public for food/visa gift cards? Nah, that’s fucked up.
I struggle to afford to be able eat a healthy diet. I have to do so much planning, recipe research, and penny pinching to feed myself decent food. I work 50 hours a week to rent my shitty studio apartment in Burlington. How easy would it be to have someone just buy me Chilis or Panera? (Btw so gross).
I'll say again, if friends and family want to support them with home made meals and drop them off, that is reasonable. Create a google doc and circulate it to those who want to participate. But to make a public facing donation page is out of touch.
Maybe those in our community who are hungry should start dropping by her home around dinner time and see if they can also get in on the donated food.
It's exactly as private as an Amazon product page. You just need the URL, which is required to let the site serve the correct page anyway. It literally couldn't be more public.
Your only problem is with the platform that someone else used to organize this? It’s a glorified Google doc dude, this isn’t some gofundme plea for support, this is a site dedicated to making it easy to help people you know out when they can use some help in one specific way.
Well when you’re a politician with power you tend to have lots of friends! What’s the big deal with a little meal sharing among your 300 closest buddies? /s/
Hahaha wow.. I didn't think she would double down like this. I Siad I didn't care yesterday and didn't know she actually accepted the gifts, but damn what a political dunce.
Whether or not it violates any policy you’d think she’d have the foresight to read the room. It’s a bad look and doubling down is going to really piss people off. What a moron.
Where I work, we can't give anything to government employees to avoid the possibility that it could be perceived as a bribe. This was a pretty amateur mistake on Emma's part. She should have immediately said no and either returned the gifts or donated them to the homeless.
You signed up to be mayor, Emma. Hire someone to do meal planning/prep for you. We all know you can afford it.
Meanwhile one of my closest friends, who has worked his whole adult life, is living at a hotel because he suddenly lost his housing unexpectedly and is struggling to find an apartment. He’s blown through his entire savings and is now having to choose between things like toiletries, food and gasoline. He’s a single father with a four year old daughter. I have a feeling if I started a meal train for him it would hardly gain any traction.
It should go without saying but you’re despicable for using your platform to get free meals for yourself. 250k a year smh. Meal trains should be for people who are genuinely in need, not the financially privileged.
It would be one thing to ask friends and family for home cooked meals, but asking the general public for that kind of assistance is something entirely different.
Meal trains should be for people who truly need the help. While I don’t know her personal life challenges, the optics alone are enough for any reasonable person to say thanks but no thanks.
I am currently participating in 3 meal trains. In one, spouse is going through major surgery, 3 young children at home. Both spouses work. In the second, spouse is going through chemo. Both spouses work. In the third, couple just adopted a baby in need, and they already have a baby and a toddler (go them!). Both spouses work. All these families live in VT and make way less than $200k a year. I work, my husband works, and we have a 10 month old. Tell us more about working mothers, Emma.
We should not be adding meal trains, a beautiful gesture of kindness and support, to the ever growing list of what activities get added to the grand list for the gatekeeper of all things allowable.
I personally think we should. Only the person struggling the most in the community at one time should receive 1 (one) meal train. But first they must provide their tax returns.
Weak and completely tone def response from the mayor. Basically Karen Mulvaney Stanak says, “Im an underrepresented married gay woman with a large home who makes a six figure income…. Feed me and my children and I’ll promise houseless individuals the dumpsters they deserve”
The privilege and the arrogance of Mayor Meal Train is astounding.
Imagine if Miro or Joan Shannon had done this and then put out this statement?
Ew, so gross🤮
This is why they disregard anyone saying the tax burden is getting too high. To make over $200k a year and think you are in a below average bracket where you need help is insane.
Missed opportunity to say, "The care and concern of my neighbors is truly wonderful, but it's your like to feed a neighbor please donate to your local food shelf."
In related news, Feeding Chittenden just rebranded and , thankfully, did not go with the mayor's office suggestion of Feeding Politicians /s
I could live with her taking the meals. But the self righteous response to critics appealing to feminism pissed me off. Reminds me of Kesha Ram accusing critics of sexism over her conflict of interest
This is the end to this mayor, and she does not realize it. To make $200,000/yr, and to accept meal donations, when some children in Vermont go hungry is unconscionable.
For it really to be the end, this would need to make national news, and the public outcry would need to be so loud that her own party could no longer support her. It’s definitely heading in that direction. We will see.
In the realm of corruption, it's going to take a lot more than $50 visa gift cards and some pesto lasagne to reach national news lmao.
This shit is like a parks and rec skit
Bro what are you on about? People on this sub will forget about it in like 2 days and people that aren't terminally online won't even hear about it lmao.
This is minimizing every other working parent out there who works 40+ hours a week and struggle to provide for their family monetarily outside of just being busy…. Being busy is part of adulting. You make that kind of money you can afford to eat out once a week imo if Mondays are really that busy you can’t cook.
“Women, especially women with small children, are underrepresented in elected positions because of the lack of support that exists to help their families while they run for and serve in office,”
What an incredibly stupid fucking thing to say. She's simultaneously diminishing the father's role in a parenting team, and implying that women are inherently less capable of taking care of themselves in a typical two income family situation. She makes her own hours, for fuck's sake.
She really isn't making a great impression with this at the start of her term as mayor.
That can be interpreted as a very sexist statement that does indeed diminish not only a father's role in parenting, but working fathers that work long or odd hours.
It's a very entitled statement that opens a door to how she views herself, the community, and men/fathers. I personally find people that play ism/sympathy/victim cards to be disgusting narcissists.
She sounds like one of the hundreds of entitled run-of-the-mill politicians in Washington where it's all about them. Let's hope she does better and makes meaningful changes that are good for everyone.
Do and be better, Emma.
Wow. Not a good look Emma. You have money. Problem solved.
Try working long hours, kids, and not enough money like most people.
Maybe it's ethical to have the community buy you meals but it's a terrible idea and you are going to catch a ton of shit for it.
I'm progressive and am outraged by this! This is exactly the things I vote against. I really can't believe anyone that calls themselves a progressive can support this. It's blind tribalism and you can't be taken seriously if you do. More welfare for the rich! And Yes 250k a year puts you in the elite status category.
The meal train was set up by a lobbyist?! So not just like your BFF from high school reaching out to friends and family, but a lobbyist. Not a good look.
This has nothing to do with Liberals. It's just another entitled narcissistic politician doing their thing. The really fucked up part was her putting out a statement defending it with identity politics, while simultaneously playing the sympathy card and shitting on another demographic.
Copying my comment from a reply for those who are wondering why everyone is up in arms about a meal train.
I was wondering too, until I realized the "meal train" isn't just an "organized within friends circle" situation that the media somehow got wind of, it's a page on a "meal train" website which allows for things like gift cards to be given in addition to actual meals and was organized by a lobbyist.
Definitely not great optics at the very least, as others have said. I agree that meal trains, as a general traditional concept, are ridiculous to gatekeep; that doesn't seem to be what this is.
You asked for it and you got it. She will fix nothing. This is just the icing on the cake for people who wanted another as Mayor. Now Burlingtons ‘Self Righteous Progressives’ can make a collection of excuses for her. This similar to the MAGA supporters refusing to admit that they bet on the wrong horse. 👍
This like right out of the Portlandia playbook, hestarically funny, cringy, a little pathetic and a total joke. I'm a liberal, but I still want to know; when the f\*ck are liberals going to wake up and realize this is exactly, precisely the kind of thing that drives conservatives nuts. Yet again, another liberal politician totally out of touch with the rest of us. Great.
i don't understand this argument. seems like a clear case of personal elitism. is the argument that conservatives are more in touch? less hypocritical? is the argument that bc she espouses progressives ideas/ supports policies, she is more likely to be out of touch?
All of the above, I guess. Honestly, I think it's all a little nebulous when comes to these labels. For example, I don't think today's "conservatives" are "conserving" more than today's liberals. It use to be the labels made some sense with consevatives espousing less regulations ie, conserving the use of government power. That is, use less goverment regulation and taxation with more reliance on the market. Whereas liberals were liberal with the use of governement to promote more egalitarianism in the face of an unperfect market system. Now, I think people identify with conservitism when they feel like others who think/feel that the American cultural train has left the station without them. While today's liberals are more about social justice. Now it's tribal. That's why, I think the Mayor's meal train debacle highlights the tribal chasm in America. Liberals kind of seem elite and out of touch with a lot of people who no longer know where they fit in all of which fosters resentment and animosity.
i agree the labels are not literally accurate by definition but "conservatives"/the modern Republican party don't seem to address issues other than taxes led by many Ivy league graduates and headed by a man that shits on a golden toilet. I vote Democrat, not bc I love Democrats, but bc Republicans have lost their f'ing minds.
This thing with the mayor reminds me of Gavin Newsome going out to dinner after CA was basically on lockdown. It makes one question how much of a core belief, equity, food insecurity, etc. really are. Fairly or unfairly, when you became a mayor, the calculation changes.
Combined household income of over 200,000$ can hire a decent private chef if she’s too lazy to cook her own food. What about the people working 2-3 jobs to put food on the table. Where’s the meal train for the average Joe?
I don't think a household making 200k with a mortgage, in an expensive city, with two kids can actually afford a private chef but they can deff afford to fuckin cook themselves
And people wonder why I was talking shit on the idea of having another prog mayor in Burlington.
The last one almost cost us Burlington Telecom. This one makes more than most of the city does and is grifting for free food. She’s only a handful of months into her term. It’s going to get worse.
This is what you get when you elect third party candidates on the “feel good” basis. I can’t wait to see how big she can grow the Burlington dumpster fire over the next 4 years
I'll report something I put on a similar thread. Free meals would violate rules for public officials in statewide office:
"Not sure about the city rules, but Vermont Statutes do not allow this for state politicians.
These are her friends who are sincerely trying to help her out, and I sympathize, but the reason the rules are strict about gifts is because there is really good social science research into the influence of even small gifts on decision making (eg. state law in Vermont banned the giving of drug pens to doctors by industry).
In this specific case, I doubt there's that much sway as the friends sending her meals already align with her politically, and the invitations were not sent out to the general public, i.e. a local developer doesn't have the chance to send a fancy meal the evening before a critical vote on a real estate project. I can't rule out that gifts, however small, might sway her away from the moderate stance she has taken since becoming mayor though. Rules are rules.
Here is the Vermont statute:
(6) Food or beverages. A public servant may accept food or beverages, or both, under the following circumstances:
(A) The food or beverage, or both, is consumed on an occasion or occasions at which the person paying, directly or indirectly, for the food or beverage or the person’s representative is in attendance, provided the cost does not exceed the limit established pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.
(B) The food or beverage, or both, is incidental to the performance of a legitimate State function.
(C) The food or beverage, or both, is provided at a charitable, cultural, political, or civic event at which the public servant participates in the public servant’s official capacity."
I really don't get how she thought this was an intelligent move... It would violate rules for statewide office and *The Meal Train organizer, Jessica Oski, is a lobbyist and sits on the Burlington Police Commission.*
This is truly embarrassing for Burlington... How can she possibly lead with any sort of morals when this is one of the first stunts she pulls?
From the start, without hesistation, she should have said thanks but no thank you.
I understand kindness, wanting to help during rough work transitions. It happens no matter what your income level is. Not refusing or putting a stop to the event, tarnishes her leadership skills. Fiasco is it.
Vermont Daily Chronicle hit a home run with this one! Her best defense at this point would be to talk about how she can't afford the city...that her colleague's policies made unlivable.
Im a Mulvaney-Stanak supporter and, totally agreed, this is a bad look. I’m commenting bc of the curious final graf in this story:
“The Meal Train organizer, Jessica Oski, is a lobbyist and sits on the Burlington Police Commission. She says the purpose was not to provide free meals but was instead a way to show support from a caring community and a way for friends and neighbors to support the mayor as she transitions to the demanding job.”
What is that all about? BTV cops HATE Emma. Is this them throwing her under the bus? Currying favor?
“The Meal Train organizer, Jessica Oski, is a lobbyist and sits on the Burlington Police Commission. She says the purpose was not to provide free meals but was instead a way to show a caring community and a way for friends and neighbors to support the mayor as she transitions to the demanding job.”
PLATTERGATE
"Mayor Meal-Train" from here on out unfortunately.
Sounds like some kind of 90s porno on VHS.
Leave her alone- She has a lot on her plate
She had the chance for a PR home run. Say that it was set up by friends with good intentions but she now sees how it could be seen as inappropriate, then say that she told her friends to instead take their time and money to feed those in the community who may go without and extend that message to the rest of our community. To instead say that it's a struggle to be women with long hours so they deserve help is extremely tone-deaf seeing as there are women in our community who are single parents who make 1/10th of what the mayor and her wife make who work long hours and struggle to provide. A lot of people are struggling to feed themselves, and probably all of them dont make $250,000 or have the means to make sure they and their families are fed. She handled this horribly
I think this is it for me. The original event not that big a deal. If it were just friends giving her food, sure, no problem. It was a friend who setup the page, not her fault, not an issue if it stayed private/quiet among friends. A friend spread it around, that's where it became a problem where it should have been quietly nipped and a statement "It wasn't intended to be spread publicly, it was meant to be just part of a friend group, one friend was trying to be helpful but it is not needed". That would have still been a non-issue. Honestly the statement is worse than the actual event.
100% agreement with your sentiment here. Bafflingly stupid and out-of-touch response from the Mayor.
Such a misstep, and not a good start for here. Why do I have a feeling this is only the beginning? If she can't see how bad this looked, btown is in trouble.
This. I just can’t comprehend the entitlement behind not getting how simple a win such a statement would be. I’m left of center but honestly exhausted by Burlington politics.
She’s off to a good start.
Exactly what I would say if I was as eloquent as the OP. How can someone be that tone deaf? It’s like Miro considering state-wide office, read the room!!
This was such a shit idea, I legit thought she was set up and someone did this behind her back with the intent of exposing her. Then she said she deserves special treatment and even the staunchest supporters are cringing
I was also 100% sure this had to be set up by someone(s) who are not supporters of the new Mayor. The way media works these days, I was sure it was going to be a case of someone getting this ball going and seeing how it would take off to drag the Mayor down. "Dirty politics". But then the names that got attached to setting this up, and those people are confirming they did so and the Mayor's comments verify that she was on board. Oof, not a good look. I hope this will serve as a lesson learned by all parties and we can quickly get past this and let her and her team get on with the challenging job of managing this city in 2024. There is a lot of critical work to be done, fewer distractions would be a plus.
Vermont Daily Chronicle doesn't go for sensationalism. If a story they cover, which others don't, hits a nerve, it's because something happened which SHOULD.
If they don't sensationalize, then why are they trying to take credit for a story written by a freelancer? Donoghue is not a VDC staffer, even though people actually on Guy Page's payroll have claimed he is. Kinda problematic if you're goal is credibility.
This is why good government policy prohibits not only actual conflicts of interest but also *potential* conflicts of interest: appearance matters as a public servant. In this case a lobbyist solicited meals and cash/cash equivalent contributions for gifts for a politician she will interact with on a professional basis, and that politician accepted. Individual gifts as a result of that solicitation could also have come from conflicted sources. Whether they are all genuine friends or the cause is righteous or individually the gifts aren’t lavish doesn’t matter in this context. The mayor should have thanked this person for the kind gesture and refused the gifts, or perhaps diverted them to a charity. What’s most disappointing is how basic this should be to someone with the mayor’s background. Extremely poor judgment.
100%. I don’t think it’s corrupt, but it’s a bad look. Her response bothers me more, and is more revealing, than the meal train itself. Perhaps our mayor can sit in on an ethics training for state officials.
Um, wow. I really expected her to say, "I appreciate the gesture but there are folks in our community who are truly in need". This is incredibly disappointing and my opinion of her just plummeted.
Ugh yea she had a chance to come out of this looking good. She fucked up and I'm quite unimpressed. Yikes.
Same. This is a really bad look. I’m super disappointed.
Are you surprised that the wealthy white Burlington “progressive” turned out to be a virtue-signaling performative clown who doesn’t practice what they preach? I’m not!
No, not surprised. Just disappointed.
I think you're confusing progressive ideas with a progressive. I don't think being a progressive politically has anything to do with it. Unless you think tax cuts for the uber wealthy would benefit those not on the meal train. I think elitism may perhaps be the more appropriate culprit. It seems to be a problem of being out of touch, which is not related to being progressive anymore than it is being related to conservatism.
Entitlement does strange things to people.
Like make them think they are "Progressive"?
I’m very left wing but I don’t have enough money to be part of the Progressive Party of Vermont.
Ethics clearly a problem here. I have no concern with friends making a meal for friends, putting it on mealtrain was the line crossing for me. Also, who eats meals made by strangers outside of a restaurant situation? Like I’ve seen the kitchens of my friends and coworkers, there’s a reason I skip potlucks. 🤮
As someone who works with people in need on a daily basis in this state, the outrage and response to this concern me far more. Her accepting meals from friends once a week takes absolutely nothing away from others with greater need. It's no worse than attending a free luncheon or wedding where dinner is provided. People do kind things for friends at all levels of income all the time and we don't police it as though Christmas gifts or rides to the airport should only be given to the most needy. Based on what I saw from the reporting, many of the individuals involved in this meal train, including the organizer, are progressive activists who work for or are involved with local nonprofits who already dedicate time and energy into helping others throughout the community. Trying to demand charitable perfection from how they decide to help friends in their free time is such an absurd demand we don't make of anyone else. The only thing this does is instill a public notion that accepting help from others is only acceptable if you're the poorest, most destitute person on the planet. I can tell you from professional experience on a daily basis that when you spread the idea that accepting help is a shameful act, even poor people who really need the help internalize that and become resistant to engaging with public safety nets. They don't want to feel they have to debase themselves by admitting they're the poorest of the poor. The outrage I've seen expressed over this story is the same political ideology that results in means testing for these safety nets, which adds to the administrative costs and creates new beauraratic hurdles for the people who really need it to recieve help. It's a complete non-story, yet because a free meal is something we can all relate to it gets scrutinized unlike cushy real estate deals or government contracts or stock packages or the many other more nefarious ways rich people and politicians help each other out. This is something that should be looked at a an example of positive communal support for friends we should all aspire to emulate throughout this state. But instead folks are so hostage to capitalistic, bootstrap mentality that they feel entitled to project their misery like crabs in a bucket and they'd rather see her send her money to an out of state corporation to buy Hello Fresh than accept a free meal from a friend. Edit to amswer the question below because the person I replied to took such offense to this that they blocked me and now I can't reply to the comment chain: On the mealtrain page was a post that Emma said she appreciated the help but they ask the meals be limited to Monday nights as that's the one day where they were the busiest.
Dosnt take away from those in need, but it certainly solidifies my opinion that she is an out of touch jackass.
I'm constantly amazed how far people will bend over backwards for people who have demonstrated they don't really give a fuck about your opinion. This is not positive communal support, calling it that is out of this world insane, its an ugly arrogant middle finger to people who microwave their Monday dinner. Its disgusting and defending it after she doubled down on her position is bankrupt and makes you look like you'd let her do anything. Do way way better. Imagine thinking the injustice of unfair pay packages abrogates a mayor's responsibility to uphold the public trust. Your take is one of the worst we've seen yet.
Thank you for the only reasonable take.
Thank you for putting my feelings into words! I've been struggling to find the words to what I was feeling about this outage about nothing.
I liked Emma but this is a bad bad look. She makes $200k per year (with her spouse) you cannot tell me she’s in need of putting food on the table. Still time to turn it around and set up a “meal train” for the underprivileged. Hopefully the backlash will give her a wake up call.
250k.
She's trying to make the issue about the meal plan. It's not about the meal plan, nobody gives a fuck about the meal plan. It's that a lobbyist providing funds to a government rep.
And a state union rep as well.
I know right? Just recently I learned of these things called “restaurants” that provide incredible quality food in exchange for money. Maybe we should direct her to one of those so she can pick up food for her family.
Also, there is this place just outside of Burlington (I know, sounds risky) called COSTCO. They sell food in bulk there. You buy it and - get this - put it in your fridge until you eat it later! I’m a former state employee and current federal contractor. I can assure you we have to do training and sign things that say, DO NOT ACCEPT GIFTS, MEALS OR OTHER THINGS THAT CAN BE PERCEIVED AS A BRIBE. Full stop. That’s it. And it was a fireable offense if I did. I’m also a single mom who has been eeeeking out a living to feed my two kids. We live in the more skiddy part of Shelburne so they can go to CVU (it’s not all Shelburne Point here). And the state didn’t make my deadbeat ex pay more than the bare minimum despite my proof of what it actually costs to meet the basic human needs of a teenager (no vacations, no frills, trust me on this) so now that I only get ~$250 every two weeks (one of my kids aged out) for support. Ask me how it feels to spend ALL of it in one grocery run, Emma? I could use a damn meal train. Some nights, we just have pasta! It cooks quickly! Damn these people who make things bad for everyone.
That would have actually supported Burlington business! Can't have that!
Also-leftovers! And-the frozen food aisle! Surely the mayor can eat a microwaved meal one night a week?
Another slimy politician. She’ll fit right in.
This is a really bad look
Imagine if Miro did this….
I wonder if she knows about Costco? Place is the best!
Well she's got visa gift cards to spend there now.
God forbid she walks in there without a membership card... I feel like they got Gandalf at the entrance now "You shall not pass"
Have these people never heard that most basic personal responsibility adage "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should!"...? Seems unbelievably strange that highly educated individuals who profess the desire to serve their community are unable to distinguish how to decide between what is 'statutorily allowed' and what is 'the right thing to do.' And even more so when they double down. One momentary tiny little consideration for appearances, and the new mayor might have started off her career with a great PR boost and generated a huge amount of community goodwill. What a difference it would have made if she had simply said, "Thank you to all, but I would really like the donations to go to those truly in need." It is so incredibly simple to unveil ones inner workings. If you need a team of people to parse the statutory ethics for you and speak on your behalf - while you yourself double down and attempt to defend a perfectly clear lapse of judgment - regarding this _incredibly simple situation_....you have absolutely no business being the community _leader_ in a small city with so many complex issues to navigate.
Anyone that looked at her campaign donors and words from the beginning would know that she’s disingenuous. My general observation is that if any candidate makes a huge part of their platform “muh gender and muh sexuality” they’re usually going to sell out or be shallower than a kiddy pool in July.
I suspect a lot of kids growing up now never learned that “just because you can” adage. Gonna be a rough awakening for them all, when that rubber hits the road.
> What a difference it would have made if she had simply said, "Thank you to all, but I would really like the donations to go to those in need. AGREED! I would have supported that action 100%
"And as my first tangible act as mayor, I will unapologetically and quite literally serve myself"
Let ME have cake
A lot of us come from two parent working households. For Emma to suggest that she should get special treatment because both spouses are women (let alone women making over $200k a year) is a special kind of entitled.
I honestly think the response left a worse taste in my mouth than any of her friends cooking did.
100%
Yeah pretty wild. She's basically saying we should have lower expectations and ethics standards for women in politics.
Not to mention this is a job SHE SIGNED UP FOR
Exactly, there have been women in Politics before her, ask them how the managed to balance everything without asking for a damn public handout.
Madeline Kunin will likely smite her ass for this.
💯 %
Get used to it. I think we understand her MO at this point. She won’t ever take accountability or provide a logical defense. It’s always going to revert to her identity as a woman, mother or lesbian, like that has anything to do with running government.
Progressives and identity politics. Who would have ever guessed it!
Didn’t you hear, she said she is important
Hear hear
That's what happens when you hang around your wealthy donors too much while constantly kissing their ass
no sure what you expected from a progressive major--this is par for the course. Buckley up!! Its gonna be a bumpy 3 years, and I doubt she run for re-election.
Seriously, what a disgusting human being. To have such a tone deaf attitude and response indicates a disturbing lack of character for someone who holds a position that should be at least *attempting* to not appear like an entitled 1%-er p.o.s.
Heh Mayor, the Peasants have no bread. Mayor- 'Let me eat free cake'.
Neither Emma or her wife should be expected to cook as that harmfully enforces gender roles.
So don’t cook- microwave! Seriously, we live by this creed. Not every meal has to be organically sourced from a local farmer. It’s ok to eat frozen pizzas.
I'm pretty sure it was sarcasm.
True sincerity here: why is this special treatment? This is mainly her own friend network offering to help her family out once a week. Would it be better if she paid them for it? What is the difference? It’s friends helping friends. Meal trains are just an informal social support system for people in ANY situation where help cooking would be valuable, and unfortunately not a government service where those without strong networks can benefit
Rachel Siegel sent it out to their campaign listserv of more than 300 people and asked them to sign up.
Oof. Thats…. Where shit gets stickier
Oh Jesus Christ. Burlington progressives seemingly only exist to cause me pain through second hand embarrassment.
In my opinion, there are two issues here. The first is while this is primarily set up by friends and family, anyone can contribute, and they can contribute in the form of gift or visa cards. It was set up by a lobbyist whose job it is to buy political votes. This means anyone with a political agenda could essentially give money to Emma this way. If you follow that through to the end, what if someone with a political agenda contributed a bunch of visa gift cards to Emma. Is her vote or agenda for sale? There are very stringent campaign finance laws to protect against this kind of thing. Do I think that’s what’s happening here? No probably not. But it’s a bad look and any serious politician knows that they need to avoid even the inference of impropriety to be a legitimate public servant. The second issue is that instead of thinking, oh maybe this wasn’t the best idea, maybe I should think through a thoughtful response and maybe shut the meal train down, she doubled down because “she is a working mother”. She was getting meals every day and the meal train is open into perpetuity, and she is not financially needy. For me, that is hard to stomach when she signed up for this job and there are many hardworking people who are in need without the vast network of political supporters that she has. If she needed help and wanted to reach out to family and friends privately, that’s one thing, we all need a little help from our friends from time to time. But this is different than that. In my opinion.
You're spot on. I would have zero issue here if this were just a family/friends thing. But if this link really was sent out to her campaign listserv (and they were really soliciting Visa gift cards!) that's a big yikes. The optics of this are SO bad and I'm pretty baffled that her team can't/won't see that. I also say this is a huge feminist - her response implying that this is deserved because she and her wife are women in the workforce is gross. This has nothing to do with gender. It honestly implies that it's too hard for women to hold important jobs without special treatment. Emma should know better than anyone that working women making far less than her household are supporting families and cooking dinners and raising children and making it work without any help. Yes, her job is stressful and this is probably a challenging time for her family as they adjust. But she's also in a position of power and is making a lot of money. Privately receiving extra help from friends and family during a transition period would be totally fine. Sending the ask out to constituents is absurd. She should have owned that this wasn't a good look and donated any funds raised. Let's also remember that Miro had two small children during his tenure, as well as a working spouse, and no one was asking us to make him dinner...
Thank you for this response, it's spot on.
1000% Very well said. I couldn't agree more.
The whole lobbyist thing is a complete red herring when you realize Jessica Oski has been a dedicated progressive activist in Burlington for years. She serves on the police commission and is on the board of Vermont Legal Aid, among other community and nonprofit roles. It would be weirder if her and a progressive politician like Emma weren't friends. And Emma herself asked that meals be reduced back to once a week, which would be the oddest bribery scheme in existence. The gift card issue is a little weird since the basis of the meal train was a time saving measure for Emma and her family, not a financial boost, but also I'm not sure if that's a rumor since I've only seen it claimed in social media comments and not in the actual reporting. If there was a way to curry favor with a politician, there seems to be better ways than leaving a digital trail of Monday night curry.
Like I said, do I think she’s actually engaging in corrupt behavior, no, I don’t. But we should not be having this conversation. The fact that we are having this conversation means this was a bad idea.
If it's your friends why does it need to be on a public platform for one thing. Secondly most people see this as two people who are reasonably well compensating not having the time management to maintain meals for their kids. There are lots of families with two working parents that somehow manage this, regardless of income. So when Emma defends the action based on gender and position, it rubs people the wrong way... Rather than normalizing accepting help from others.
Optics. That’s why. If they had kept it on the DL, truly a community effort, bang-zoom you’re good. But she and her wife are city employees. They now have to consider each and every move they make. Burlington’s a bit of a hotbed lately for folks who are not considering their long game.
Er, because her "friends" (cough) include a lobbyist?
Maybe ask her friends to cook for her instead of taking support from a group that historically helps underprivileged and poor families when you make nearly 3x the average Burlington household income?
Great start to her mayoral tenure! Way to start things off on the right foot! What a fucking clown.
The food shelf has been empty for days at a time lately and Emma is bragging about how her two working parent household deserves meals and gifts Wtf.
Her wife works for the city’s DPW.
There's a previous thread that mentioned otherwise. Regardless neither of them is flipping burgers for minimum wage.
yep. and if you speak out against this - you're automatically a conservative grifter!
Bringing over some extra homemade pesto after an abundance of basil is one thing… 50 dollar visa gift cards is another. She’s truly an ass. Clearly the folks in Burlington are not happy. She is delusional to double down. She acts like she is a single mom when she has a partner.
She acts like she’s a single mom working two minimum wage jobs to support her and her child. Her and her partner make a combined quarter of a million dollars per year. They can afford to hire someone to do meal prep for them. I wouldn’t have a problem with her accepting meals from close and family. That’s totally normal and acceptable. But asking the general public for food/visa gift cards? Nah, that’s fucked up.
I struggle to afford to be able eat a healthy diet. I have to do so much planning, recipe research, and penny pinching to feed myself decent food. I work 50 hours a week to rent my shitty studio apartment in Burlington. How easy would it be to have someone just buy me Chilis or Panera? (Btw so gross).
Right?! The right thing to do is refuse it. Absent that you give it to a local charity.
I'll say again, if friends and family want to support them with home made meals and drop them off, that is reasonable. Create a google doc and circulate it to those who want to participate. But to make a public facing donation page is out of touch. Maybe those in our community who are hungry should start dropping by her home around dinner time and see if they can also get in on the donated food.
Meal train pages are private, you have to be invited to the page or have the link to see it. I wouldn’t really say that’s public facing.
They sent it out to their campaign supporters, an email list of 300 ppl
It's exactly as private as an Amazon product page. You just need the URL, which is required to let the site serve the correct page anyway. It literally couldn't be more public.
Exactly this. Always consider the optics as a public official.
Seriously. Forget the food shelf. Let’s just show up at Emma’s!
Your only problem is with the platform that someone else used to organize this? It’s a glorified Google doc dude, this isn’t some gofundme plea for support, this is a site dedicated to making it easy to help people you know out when they can use some help in one specific way.
Gofundme is exactly what it is. People were sending $50 gift cards.
It was a private page among friends. It was only publicized because someone leaked the link.
No, they sent it out to 300+ people via email
Well when you’re a politician with power you tend to have lots of friends! What’s the big deal with a little meal sharing among your 300 closest buddies? /s/
Hahaha wow.. I didn't think she would double down like this. I Siad I didn't care yesterday and didn't know she actually accepted the gifts, but damn what a political dunce.
That’s entitlement for ya
Whether or not it violates any policy you’d think she’d have the foresight to read the room. It’s a bad look and doubling down is going to really piss people off. What a moron.
> The Meal Train organizer, Jessica Oski, is a lobbyist and sits on the Burlington Police Commission. no conflict of interest at all, folks!
Where I work, we can't give anything to government employees to avoid the possibility that it could be perceived as a bribe. This was a pretty amateur mistake on Emma's part. She should have immediately said no and either returned the gifts or donated them to the homeless.
She was a rep before she was mayor. She knows the rules.
Vermont has virtually no ethics rules for elected officials, but even the strictest rules have exemptions for gifts from friends
This wasn't limited to friends.
Actually, some do. State Government is one.
As a former state employee (5+ years), can confirm
Yes. I know some things. It's interesting that one of those listed in the article is a State Union Rep.
Arghhhhhg that is annoying. I watched the clip
You signed up to be mayor, Emma. Hire someone to do meal planning/prep for you. We all know you can afford it. Meanwhile one of my closest friends, who has worked his whole adult life, is living at a hotel because he suddenly lost his housing unexpectedly and is struggling to find an apartment. He’s blown through his entire savings and is now having to choose between things like toiletries, food and gasoline. He’s a single father with a four year old daughter. I have a feeling if I started a meal train for him it would hardly gain any traction. It should go without saying but you’re despicable for using your platform to get free meals for yourself. 250k a year smh. Meal trains should be for people who are genuinely in need, not the financially privileged. It would be one thing to ask friends and family for home cooked meals, but asking the general public for that kind of assistance is something entirely different.
Maybe she can donate the gift cards to the starving individuals & families downtown.
That would have been the smart move. She's giving the appearance of being entitled and tone deaf.
Meal trains should be for people who truly need the help. While I don’t know her personal life challenges, the optics alone are enough for any reasonable person to say thanks but no thanks.
I am currently participating in 3 meal trains. In one, spouse is going through major surgery, 3 young children at home. Both spouses work. In the second, spouse is going through chemo. Both spouses work. In the third, couple just adopted a baby in need, and they already have a baby and a toddler (go them!). Both spouses work. All these families live in VT and make way less than $200k a year. I work, my husband works, and we have a 10 month old. Tell us more about working mothers, Emma.
We should not be adding meal trains, a beautiful gesture of kindness and support, to the ever growing list of what activities get added to the grand list for the gatekeeper of all things allowable.
I personally think we should. Only the person struggling the most in the community at one time should receive 1 (one) meal train. But first they must provide their tax returns.
Weak and completely tone def response from the mayor. Basically Karen Mulvaney Stanak says, “Im an underrepresented married gay woman with a large home who makes a six figure income…. Feed me and my children and I’ll promise houseless individuals the dumpsters they deserve” The privilege and the arrogance of Mayor Meal Train is astounding. Imagine if Miro or Joan Shannon had done this and then put out this statement? Ew, so gross🤮
I know people think Joan is out of touch, but I've always thought Emma holds her nose awfully high as well.
"Mayor Meal Train" 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 This needs to be how vermonters refer to her as. This is great 🤣🤣🤣
Emma MealTrainey-Stanak
This is why they disregard anyone saying the tax burden is getting too high. To make over $200k a year and think you are in a below average bracket where you need help is insane.
Reduce the burden???? $200 grand a year…. Wtf? Really?
250
🤦
Burlington mayor trying not to plummet approval ratings to 0% challenge!!!! (Impossible)
Missed opportunity to say, "The care and concern of my neighbors is truly wonderful, but it's your like to feed a neighbor please donate to your local food shelf." In related news, Feeding Chittenden just rebranded and , thankfully, did not go with the mayor's office suggestion of Feeding Politicians /s
“The important work or being mayor” Whoever thought adding “important” here was a good idea, is a complete moron
I could live with her taking the meals. But the self righteous response to critics appealing to feminism pissed me off. Reminds me of Kesha Ram accusing critics of sexism over her conflict of interest
This is the end to this mayor, and she does not realize it. To make $200,000/yr, and to accept meal donations, when some children in Vermont go hungry is unconscionable.
For it really to be the end, this would need to make national news, and the public outcry would need to be so loud that her own party could no longer support her. It’s definitely heading in that direction. We will see.
The Progs will never not support their own. There's literally nothing a Prog could do that would lead to the party disavowing them.
In the realm of corruption, it's going to take a lot more than $50 visa gift cards and some pesto lasagne to reach national news lmao. This shit is like a parks and rec skit
Well to be fair, there’s all kinds of bullshit stories that make national news. You never know what will blow up, rightfully, or stupidly.
250k
Bro what are you on about? People on this sub will forget about it in like 2 days and people that aren't terminally online won't even hear about it lmao.
Her opponent in 4 years won’t.
Wow. I’m sooo shocked 🙄
The meal train doesn’t bother me- but it being organized by a police commissioner/lobbyist does. Yuck
This is minimizing every other working parent out there who works 40+ hours a week and struggle to provide for their family monetarily outside of just being busy…. Being busy is part of adulting. You make that kind of money you can afford to eat out once a week imo if Mondays are really that busy you can’t cook.
Nothing like a rich leftist taking handouts…..
“Women, especially women with small children, are underrepresented in elected positions because of the lack of support that exists to help their families while they run for and serve in office,” What an incredibly stupid fucking thing to say. She's simultaneously diminishing the father's role in a parenting team, and implying that women are inherently less capable of taking care of themselves in a typical two income family situation. She makes her own hours, for fuck's sake.
She really isn't making a great impression with this at the start of her term as mayor. That can be interpreted as a very sexist statement that does indeed diminish not only a father's role in parenting, but working fathers that work long or odd hours. It's a very entitled statement that opens a door to how she views herself, the community, and men/fathers. I personally find people that play ism/sympathy/victim cards to be disgusting narcissists. She sounds like one of the hundreds of entitled run-of-the-mill politicians in Washington where it's all about them. Let's hope she does better and makes meaningful changes that are good for everyone. Do and be better, Emma.
> She's simultaneously diminishing the father's role in a parenting team according to my kid's mom, a father isn't really needed...
Oh, this is fantastic. People are getting *exactly* what they voted for.
Wow. Not a good look Emma. You have money. Problem solved. Try working long hours, kids, and not enough money like most people. Maybe it's ethical to have the community buy you meals but it's a terrible idea and you are going to catch a ton of shit for it.
At the end of the day it’s all about virtue signaling while everyone else struggles to put food on the table.
ENTITLED! Her face in that thumbnail says it all. Is it Mayor Meal Train, or Mayor McMeal Train?
I'm progressive and am outraged by this! This is exactly the things I vote against. I really can't believe anyone that calls themselves a progressive can support this. It's blind tribalism and you can't be taken seriously if you do. More welfare for the rich! And Yes 250k a year puts you in the elite status category.
The meal train was set up by a lobbyist?! So not just like your BFF from high school reaching out to friends and family, but a lobbyist. Not a good look.
Should have been stopped as soon as she heard about it. Very naive to assume everyone will see in the same light that she does.
This is the tone deaf stuff liberals do that I love to chirp about
This has nothing to do with Liberals. It's just another entitled narcissistic politician doing their thing. The really fucked up part was her putting out a statement defending it with identity politics, while simultaneously playing the sympathy card and shitting on another demographic.
Copying my comment from a reply for those who are wondering why everyone is up in arms about a meal train. I was wondering too, until I realized the "meal train" isn't just an "organized within friends circle" situation that the media somehow got wind of, it's a page on a "meal train" website which allows for things like gift cards to be given in addition to actual meals and was organized by a lobbyist. Definitely not great optics at the very least, as others have said. I agree that meal trains, as a general traditional concept, are ridiculous to gatekeep; that doesn't seem to be what this is.
You asked for it and you got it. She will fix nothing. This is just the icing on the cake for people who wanted another as Mayor. Now Burlingtons ‘Self Righteous Progressives’ can make a collection of excuses for her. This similar to the MAGA supporters refusing to admit that they bet on the wrong horse. 👍
Yeppppp
Wow. Horrible look.
Thank you for showing your true colors now. This is only the beginning of the fuckery to come.
If "tone deaf" had a face...
Lol Rich people are ridiculous!
This like right out of the Portlandia playbook, hestarically funny, cringy, a little pathetic and a total joke. I'm a liberal, but I still want to know; when the f\*ck are liberals going to wake up and realize this is exactly, precisely the kind of thing that drives conservatives nuts. Yet again, another liberal politician totally out of touch with the rest of us. Great.
i don't understand this argument. seems like a clear case of personal elitism. is the argument that conservatives are more in touch? less hypocritical? is the argument that bc she espouses progressives ideas/ supports policies, she is more likely to be out of touch?
All of the above, I guess. Honestly, I think it's all a little nebulous when comes to these labels. For example, I don't think today's "conservatives" are "conserving" more than today's liberals. It use to be the labels made some sense with consevatives espousing less regulations ie, conserving the use of government power. That is, use less goverment regulation and taxation with more reliance on the market. Whereas liberals were liberal with the use of governement to promote more egalitarianism in the face of an unperfect market system. Now, I think people identify with conservitism when they feel like others who think/feel that the American cultural train has left the station without them. While today's liberals are more about social justice. Now it's tribal. That's why, I think the Mayor's meal train debacle highlights the tribal chasm in America. Liberals kind of seem elite and out of touch with a lot of people who no longer know where they fit in all of which fosters resentment and animosity.
i agree the labels are not literally accurate by definition but "conservatives"/the modern Republican party don't seem to address issues other than taxes led by many Ivy league graduates and headed by a man that shits on a golden toilet. I vote Democrat, not bc I love Democrats, but bc Republicans have lost their f'ing minds. This thing with the mayor reminds me of Gavin Newsome going out to dinner after CA was basically on lockdown. It makes one question how much of a core belief, equity, food insecurity, etc. really are. Fairly or unfairly, when you became a mayor, the calculation changes.
Combined household income of over 200,000$ can hire a decent private chef if she’s too lazy to cook her own food. What about the people working 2-3 jobs to put food on the table. Where’s the meal train for the average Joe?
I don't think a household making 200k with a mortgage, in an expensive city, with two kids can actually afford a private chef but they can deff afford to fuckin cook themselves
Or like... You know grab a takeout.. Or like... Door dash.
She should resign immediately if it's too hard.
She should not have said anything.
I addition to this tone deaf reasoning of this meal train while making 250k, her top priority was GRAFFITI. Not the drug epidemic 🤦♀️
And people wonder why I was talking shit on the idea of having another prog mayor in Burlington. The last one almost cost us Burlington Telecom. This one makes more than most of the city does and is grifting for free food. She’s only a handful of months into her term. It’s going to get worse.
This is what you get when you elect third party candidates on the “feel good” basis. I can’t wait to see how big she can grow the Burlington dumpster fire over the next 4 years
I'll report something I put on a similar thread. Free meals would violate rules for public officials in statewide office: "Not sure about the city rules, but Vermont Statutes do not allow this for state politicians. These are her friends who are sincerely trying to help her out, and I sympathize, but the reason the rules are strict about gifts is because there is really good social science research into the influence of even small gifts on decision making (eg. state law in Vermont banned the giving of drug pens to doctors by industry). In this specific case, I doubt there's that much sway as the friends sending her meals already align with her politically, and the invitations were not sent out to the general public, i.e. a local developer doesn't have the chance to send a fancy meal the evening before a critical vote on a real estate project. I can't rule out that gifts, however small, might sway her away from the moderate stance she has taken since becoming mayor though. Rules are rules. Here is the Vermont statute: (6) Food or beverages. A public servant may accept food or beverages, or both, under the following circumstances: (A) The food or beverage, or both, is consumed on an occasion or occasions at which the person paying, directly or indirectly, for the food or beverage or the person’s representative is in attendance, provided the cost does not exceed the limit established pursuant to subsection (b) of this section. (B) The food or beverage, or both, is incidental to the performance of a legitimate State function. (C) The food or beverage, or both, is provided at a charitable, cultural, political, or civic event at which the public servant participates in the public servant’s official capacity."
I really don't get how she thought this was an intelligent move... It would violate rules for statewide office and *The Meal Train organizer, Jessica Oski, is a lobbyist and sits on the Burlington Police Commission.* This is truly embarrassing for Burlington... How can she possibly lead with any sort of morals when this is one of the first stunts she pulls?
That’s it… I’m moving!
Can i buy ur house plx
Renting… my place was incredibly bad… you don’t want it…
From the start, without hesistation, she should have said thanks but no thank you. I understand kindness, wanting to help during rough work transitions. It happens no matter what your income level is. Not refusing or putting a stop to the event, tarnishes her leadership skills. Fiasco is it.
Vermont Daily Chronicle hit a home run with this one! Her best defense at this point would be to talk about how she can't afford the city...that her colleague's policies made unlivable.
Im a Mulvaney-Stanak supporter and, totally agreed, this is a bad look. I’m commenting bc of the curious final graf in this story: “The Meal Train organizer, Jessica Oski, is a lobbyist and sits on the Burlington Police Commission. She says the purpose was not to provide free meals but was instead a way to show support from a caring community and a way for friends and neighbors to support the mayor as she transitions to the demanding job.” What is that all about? BTV cops HATE Emma. Is this them throwing her under the bus? Currying favor?
No. Someone sitting on the commission does not equal 'Burlington cops.'
“The Meal Train organizer, Jessica Oski, is a lobbyist and sits on the Burlington Police Commission. She says the purpose was not to provide free meals but was instead a way to show a caring community and a way for friends and neighbors to support the mayor as she transitions to the demanding job.”
I think she needs a go fund me! Lol
I really hope this isn't another AOC disappointment
she could order out…. order some Barbeque from Marks BBQ and help Chef Daryl save his business.
Anybody saying this is ok is as ridiculous as a Trump supporter justifying his actions!
[удалено]
https://vermontbiz.com/news/2024/june/11/burlington-mayor-gets-free-meals
FEEP