Burlington's Leadership Tested by Simultaneous Staff Losses
The simultaneous departure of the very people tasked with tackling the city’s most severe challenges points to a deeper story.
When three top advisors to Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak—her deputy chief of staff, her homelessness czar, and her public safety innovator—all resigned within days of each other, the official explanation was that the timing was “largely coincidental,” according to a report in Seven Days. For many Vermonters, that explanation felt incomplete.
The simultaneous departure of the very people tasked with tackling the city’s most severe challenges points to a deeper story. This isn’t just a routine staff shuffle; it’s a symptom of a city under immense pressure. To understand what happened, we need to look at who these individuals were, the “nearly-impossible work” they were assigned, and the political and fiscal crises that formed the backdrop for their exodus. Only then can we grasp what this means for the future of Burlington.
A Brain Drain at City Hall
The loss of Joe Magee, Sarah Russell, and Ingrid Jonas in one fell swoop creates a massive void of expertise and experience in the mayor’s office. They weren’t just administrators; they were the architects of the mayor’s core agenda.
Joe Magee: The Political Strategist. As Deputy Chief of Staff, Magee was a core political ally to the mayor. A fellow Progressive and former city councilor, he was an architect of Mulvaney-Stanak’s successful campaign, according to WAMC. His departure isn’t just an administrative loss; it’s the loss of a key ideological partner from the mayor’s inner circle, prompting speculation on Reddit forums about a potential rift within the Progressive movement.
Sarah Russell: The Homelessness Expert. As the Special Assistant to End Homelessness, Russell was a veteran of the front lines. Having previously worked at the Burlington Housing Authority and COTS, she brought deep institutional knowledge to the role, according to the Rotary Club of Williston-Richmond. She was managing a crisis she publicly described as “horrifying” and at a “breaking point,” a situation she directly linked to the state government’s scaling back of the emergency motel program, according to a report from CVOEO. Her departure removes a vital expert from the city’s response at a time of overwhelming need.
Ingrid Jonas: The Public Safety Reformer. Described as one of the mayor’s “marquee hires” by Seven Days, Jonas had a unique background. She was a 26-year veteran of the Vermont State Police, rising to the rank of Major, while also being a passionate advocate for social justice, according to Sarah Lawrence College Magazine. She was hired to build a new community safety system and was deeply involved in the search for a permanent police chief. Her exit leaves a void in the effort to find a “third way” on public safety that balances reform with order.
The simultaneous loss of the mayor’s political strategist, her top homelessness expert, and her public safety innovator suggests a foundational breakdown.
Burlington’s “Dual Crises” by the Numbers
To understand the pressure these staffers were under, one has to look at the data. The “dual crises” of public safety and homelessness are not just political talking points; they are a statistical reality.
The Public Safety Breakdown
According to a December 2024 Burlington Police Department report, the 53 months following a June 2020 resolution to reduce police headcount saw a dramatic surge in crime compared to the 53 months prior. The number of sworn officers fell from 92 to 64, while crime soared:
Gunfire Incidents: Up 369%
Overdoses: Up 371%
Stolen Vehicles: Up 364%
Murder & Attempted Murder: Up 200%
Aggravated Assaults: Up 44%
This is the environment Ingrid Jonas was hired to fix. The drug crisis fueling these numbers is also severe. While Vermont saw a welcome decrease in fatal overdoses in 2024, fentanyl was still involved in 93% of the 183 fatalities statewide, according to the Vermont Department of Health.
The Homelessness Emergency
The challenge Sarah Russell faced was just as daunting. While the overall number of Vermonters experiencing homelessness dipped slightly in 2024, the number of people living unsheltered—on the streets, in cars, or in tents—jumped by 62% statewide, according to a CVOEO report.
In Chittenden County, the trends from 2023 to 2024 are stark, based on data presented to the Burlington City Council:
Unsheltered Population: Up 29%
Individuals with Substance Use Disorder: Up 35%
City officials noted in March 2025 that an estimated 250 people were sleeping outside in the county on any given night, a 6.5-fold increase since 2023. This surge is directly attributed to the state ending its pandemic-era emergency motel housing program, which has overwhelmed the local shelter system.
A Perfect Storm of Pressure
The resignations didn’t happen in a vacuum. They were the result of a collision between the administration’s ambitious goals and a set of harsh realities.
1. A Fiscal Straitjacket: The city is facing a severe budget crisis. The FY2025 budget had a $14.2 million shortfall, and the FY2026 budget began with an $8 million deficit, according to Seven Days. This led to the layoff of 18 city employees in May 2025, a move the mayor called the “hardest week of being the mayor.” Russell and Jonas were tasked with solving monumental problems in an environment of deep cuts, being asked to do more with less.
2. A Mandate vs. Reality: As the city’s first Progressive mayor in a decade, Mulvaney-Stanak has a mandate to tackle issues like housing and policing reform from a progressive perspective. However, this agenda is colliding with widespread public anxiety over crime and disorder, creating a difficult political tightrope.
3. Systemic Overload and Burnout: The sheer scale of the crises has outstripped the city’s capacity to respond. The mayor herself described the staffers’ work as “nearly-impossible” in an internal email obtained by Seven Days. This combination of overwhelming workloads, insufficient resources, and intense public scrutiny is a recipe for extreme professional burnout.
What This Means for Burlington: Questions Vermonters Should Ask
The exodus of Magee, Russell, and Jonas marks a critical turning point for the Mulvaney-Stanak administration and the city. It creates a crisis of confidence and a significant capability gap. As the city moves forward, here are the key questions Vermonters can use to assess the response and determine the best path forward for their community:
How will the vacancies be filled? Will the mayor be able to attract qualified, experienced candidates to these incredibly difficult jobs? The caliber of the new hires will be the first and most important signal of the administration’s ability to stabilize and move forward.
Will the strategy change? Does this moment force a fundamental reassessment of the city’s approach? Watch for whether the administration doubles down on its current progressive strategy or adopts a more pragmatic, crisis-management posture that prioritizes stabilizing basic services within the city’s limited budget.
How will the next budget address the crises? The city’s budget is a moral document. Will the next budget find new resources to tackle public safety and homelessness, or will it be another round of painful cuts? The administration’s fiscal choices will reveal its true priorities.
How will the administration communicate with the public? Moving past this crisis will require clear, honest communication. Will the mayor’s office provide a transparent account of its strategy for rebuilding her team and tackling the city’s problems? Building public trust and a broad consensus will be crucial for any future policy initiatives to succeed.
The resignations were a shock, but they also provide a moment of clarity. They have laid bare the profound challenges Burlington faces. The path forward depends on the city’s ability to confront these challenges with realistic strategies, adequate resources, and a rebuilt team capable of navigating the difficult road ahead.