Prospects are bleak for a Burlington City Council resolution to ban the F-35 fighter jet from Burlington International Airport, after City Attorney Eileen Blackwood asserting the city doesn鈥檛 have that power.
Councilor Vince Brennan, who has vocally opposed the F-35, drafted the resolution that would block the jet from the airport. The city council , but Blackwood鈥檚 report says it would be unenforceable.
鈥淲e鈥檙e still moving forward with the Oct. 28 meeting,鈥� Brennan said. 鈥淚 respect the city attorney, and [the report] may change how our resolution actually looks, but we鈥檙e still moving forward with a resolution.鈥�
Blackwood鈥檚 report came after more than a month of debate over the city鈥檚 legal power to block the military from basing the new jet at the airport.
At , Paul Fleckenstein of the Stop the F-35 Coalition said 鈥渁s landlord to the Air Force and Vermont Air National Guard we are asking the city council to refuse to authorize the F-35 basing because of the severe damage and risk it will pose.鈥�
Brennan said that Blackwood鈥檚 report will be important to consider as opposition figures work to draft a new resolution, 鈥渂ut certainly we feel like there鈥檚 still room for us as the landlord to have a say.鈥�
Brennan, a Progressive, said the state鈥檚 Democratic leadership, including Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger, has been biased about the F-35 from the beginning.
鈥淚 would just say that politics are playing a lot of this, and certainly Governor Shumlin has been heavily supporting this even in spite of all of the negative facts about the machine,鈥� Brennan said. 鈥淚 think that they鈥檙e worried about the next election more so than whether this machine is safe to fly in Burlington or not.鈥�
Brennan suggested Weinberger may be bowing to political pressure from above in advocating for the jet.
鈥淚t can go both ways,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he Congressional delegation is primarily Democrats, and he鈥檚 a Democrat, so they may be putting pressure that way, and he鈥檚 also looking to fall in line in that sense.鈥�
Weinberger said he supports the F-35 solely on the merits of the jet, and his stance has nothing to do with politics.
"There's really one reason that I support the F-35 coming to Burlington, Weinberger said in an interview. 鈥淎nd that reason is that I believe that it's the right thing for Vermont and the right thing for Burlington. I support the F-35 because I support the guard and their local, state and federal mission. I support the F-35 because I know the dramatic economic impact the guard has on the airport, which is owned by the city of Burlington, and the region's economy, and I support the F-35 because of the 1,100 families that are members in one form or another of the air guard and their impact on this community."
Weinberger said blocking or even delaying the basing would put Burlington at great economic risk. He referred to Plattsburgh, N.Y. as 鈥渧ery direct nearby evidence that base closures happen, and they have a dramatic impact, economically, on the region.鈥�
Weinberger said blocking the F-35 would put Burlington at risk for an economic slowdown.
鈥淚f we say no to this, we do not know what the future holds,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd I don鈥檛 think that鈥檚 a risk we should take.鈥�
