The South Burlington City Council voted 3 to 2 Monday night to support basing the F-35 at the Burlington International Airport.
The vote was a reversal of a position taken last year by the council to oppose an Air Force proposal to base the jet at the Vermont Air Guard facility in south Burlington. Two F-35 supporters were elected to the council in March.
Monday’s meeting ended chaotically as more than 150 people packed into the stifling Chamberlin School auditorium. More than 70 people spoke with two-thirds opposing the F-35.
Patrick Benner who chairs the Board of Civil Authority in South Burlington served in the Air Force in the 1970s and came to the meeting in uniform. Benner said the city’s economy will suffer if the F-35 doesn’t come to town.
“All of those air men and air women will be transferred to Utah,” he said. “All of those individuals will no longer be renting our apartments, renting our condos, shopping in our gas stations, and so on.”
Betty Rambur, a UVM nursing professor, disagreed.
“The voices over and over again tonight were talking about the impact on their homes and their community – their beloved community –and so it’s an issue of really respecting the individuals who are most vulnerable in our community,” Rambur said.
After the testimony, city councilors defended their views. Council member Roseanne Greco is an outspoken opponent of the F-35. Her impassioned speece received a standing ovation.
“If I have to do choose, and I do have to choose, I choose the people. I choose the children. Therefor, my vote against basing the F-35 in South Burlington is a vote for our children,” Greco told the crowd.
Three other councilors also defended their views. Chairwoman Pan Mackenzie called for a vote, saying that she would explain her position later. Greco objected, arguing that voting before the discussion had concluded was a violation of the rules of order.
“Hell no,” Greco declared when it came her turn to cast her vote on basing the F-35 in South Burlington.
After nearly four hours, the meeting was adjourned.
