By Kolby LaMarche

With Town Meeting Day fast approaching on March 3, and ballots already out, the race for Ward 8’s City Council seat has grown increasingly contentious, with accusations of misinformation and personal attacks against Democratic candidate Ryan Nick. 

A statement circulated by local Democrats earlier today decried what they call negative messaging, while social media posts from a University of Vermont student group criticized Nick’s background and campaign funding.

The note, sent to Burlington residents via email, expressed concern over the discourse surrounding Nick’s challenge to the Progressive incumbent. 

It highlighted that in recent weeks, hurtful misinformation about Nick and his family had appeared on platforms like Front Porch Forum, “alongside paid attack ads and an Instagram post from a popular student organization that maligned his character,” Democrats alleged. “This is unacceptable – full stop,” they continued. 

The email went on to praise Nick for running a positive, issues-focused campaign rooted in respect and called on neighbors across the political spectrum to reject negativity. It also encouraged recipients to support Nick by volunteering at the polls on Election Day.

The referenced “ads” appear to stem from posts by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at UVM, a group known for advocacy on international issues but now weighing in on local elections. 

In one post, SJP questioned Nick’s public image, alleging that despite portraying his campaign as progressive, anti-ICE, and pro-tenant—including featuring a quote from New York Mayor  Zohran Mamdani on his website—Nick had received substantial funding from corporate interests. 

Interests the SJP, apparently, doesn’t endorse or like. They include frequent Burlington Democrat donors such as Patricia Pomerleau, Brain Boardman, Rick Harrison, and other business-connected Burlingtonians. 

The post further claimed these donors viewed Nick as a “great investment” and accused his campaign of flooding social media with deceptive messaging.

When residents raised these criticisms, the post continued, Nick’s team responded by complaining about “negativity” instead of addressing the concerns directly. 

SJP described this as a standard tactic of the Burlington Democratic Party, suggesting it avoided substantive engagement. 

The student group highlighted, too, Nick’s role as a landlord and partner in his father’s real estate firm, JL Davis Realty. It pointed out that his campaign had been funded by tens of thousands of dollars from Burlington’s real estate elite and other monied interests. 

The Progressive incumbent, Marek Broderick, has championed renter protections and opposed certain development projects. The SJP Instagram, just days prior to the Nick post, posted a collage of supportive images and text in favor of Broderick’s campaign. 

Broderick too hasn’t been immune to criticism. In a recent TV debate, one caller – allegedly a constituent of Broderick, communicated her displeasure in what she called a total failure in communication; she hadn’t been contacted by her representative at all. 

Broderick apologized to the caller, noting he has done his best to be transparent and communicative. 

Negative campaigning in municipal races is rare but not unprecedented, especially in Burlington, where close-knit party lines can blur council elections. Take the race mentioned herein, for example, where two left-leaning candidates are seemingly duking it out to be more progressive than the other.

The Burlington Democratic Party has not issued an official statement beyond the circulated email. SJP, for its part, has used its platform to mobilize students, framing the election as tied to larger themes of equity and accountability, the group said. 

With polls opening in just days, the outcome in Ward 8 could influence the City Council’s balance, currently split between Progressives and Democrats.