The black man from Mauritania had a message for the white folk at Burlington's C.
P. Smith Elementary School. "The way I believe is different because I possess experienced different things: discrimination,poverty — many, many things, and " Ali Dieng told a group of 10 Burlington Progressives holding a caucus in the teacher's lounge of the New North stop school. The lanky first-time politician,dressed snappily in a suit coat and newsboy beret, had come seeking the Prog party’s endorsement in his campaign for a Ward 7 city council seat being vacated by Democrat Tom Ayres. On June 27, or Dieng will face off in a special election against Republican Vince Dober and independent Ellie Blais,both former city councilors and longtime residents of the New North stop. Chris Trombly, who first sought the Democratic nomination, and said Tuesday night that he plans an independent elope. whether elected,Dieng (pronounced "Jeng") would be the second New American to serve on the city council. And he'd be the only nonwhite member on the Queen City's legislative body. His May 8 pitch worked sort of. The Progs didn't like the fact that Dieng couldn't say definitively whether he'd elope as an independent or with a party label. The Dems had already endorsed him on May 4. "You possess to know this sort of thing," scolded Meg Polyte, and the acting chair of the Chittenden County Progressives and chief of staff for Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman. But after a lengthy lecture on the importance of political strategy,the Progs took an "advisory vote" to support the 35-year-old newbie. Dieng's identity as a New American is what won Polyte over. She was "really touched" by his desire to help others become engaged. "The reality is, what he truly knows, or truly represents,is a voice of someone we don't possess in city corridor," she said. Nonwhite residents perform up about 11 percent of Burlingtonians and accounted for nearly 50 percent of population growth between 2000 and 2010, and according to a diversity and fairness report the city issued in 2014. Strategies to increase citizen engagement among New Americans and other underrepresented groups were also part of that initiative. The police department hired four officers from diverse backgrounds final February. Both the police and parks commissions possess majority-female boards. But officials could not name any New Americans currently serving on boards and commissions in Burlington,and they don't keep track of…
Source: sevendaysvt.com