Guma Picks Campaign Treasurer, Announces Friday Press Conference, Launches Ad Buys

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, 2/4/15 -- On Tuesday, Mark Montalban, a special education teacher who has lived in Burlington for three decades, accepted the role of Treasurer of the Guma for Mayor campaign. Today the first campaign ad appears in the weekly, Seven Days, and on Friday, Feb. 6, at 11 a.m., a press conference with the candidate will be held at the WOMM-FM studio and office of Big Heavy World, located in Burlington College.

Background graphic: Waterfront tree cut down in November.

Montalban and Guma have known each other since 1985, when Montalban and others moved to Burlington to launch a vegetarian restaurant on North Street, adjacent to Maverick Bookstore and Gallery, a small business launched by Guma that year.

The new ad contrasts the positions of Guma and Progressive candidate Steve Goodkind on basing of F-35s at the Burlington International Airport. Future ads and releases will focus on the reasons Guma thinks that Mayor Miro Weinberger should be replaced.

On this website, launched Tuesday, an opinion poll asks for responses to the question: What is the top reason to replaced the mayor? Choices offered include: too cozy with developers, avoiding the important issues, anything goes building boom, and lack of transparency. Visitors are urged to register their vote.

To date, the following invitations to public forums and debates have been received and accepted: Feb. 5, Ward 6 NPA, 7-9 pm; Feb. 10, AARP Debate, UU church, 6:30 pm; Feb. 11, Burlington Free Press forum, noon, streaming live; Feb. 12, Ward 2/3 NPA; TBA; Feb. 18, Ward 5 NPA, Champlain Elementary, 6:30 ; Feb. 19, CCTV/SD Forum at City Hall.

"I'm looking forward to Thursday at the Ward 6 NPA," Guma said. "I've been attending Ward 6 NPAs at the Greek Orthodox Church for decades, and ran for the City Council in the ward twice, in 1981 and 1989." 

In 1981, Guma was nominated by the Democratic Party and Citizens Party, whose City Committee he chaired at the time. He was endorsed in that race by Bernie Sanders and Phil Hoff. He received both the Progressive and Democratic nod in 1989, and was backed in that race by Mayor Peter Clavelle and Howard Dean, who was Lt. Governor at the time.