2009 Burlington mayoral election

2009 Burlington mayoral election

← 2006 March 3, 2009 2012 →
Turnout	8,374 votes (Final Round)
Nominee Bob Kiss Kurt Wright Party Progressive Republican First round 2,585 28.8% 2,951 32.88% Final round 4,313 51.5% 4,061 48.5%   Nominee Andy Montroll Dan Smith Party Democratic Independent First round 2,063 22.98% 1,306 14.55% Final round eliminated eliminated
First round results by ward Second round results by ward Final round results by ward Kiss:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Wright:      50–60%      60–70% Montroll:      30–40%      40–50%
Mayor before election Bob Kiss Progressive Elected Mayor Bob Kiss Progressive

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Ballot Measures 2022 Proposal 5
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v t e

The 2009 Burlington mayoral election was held in March 2009 for the city of Burlington, Vermont. This was the second mayoral election since the city's 2005 change to instant-runoff voting (IRV), after the 2006 mayoral election.^[1] In the 2009 election, incumbent Burlington mayor (Bob Kiss) won reelection as a member of the Vermont Progressive Party,^[2] defeating Kurt Wright in the final round with 48% of the vote (51.5% excluding exhausted ballots).

The election created a controversy as a result of several election pathologies, after Kiss was declared winner as a result of 750 votes cast against his candidacy (ranking him last), over the objections of the 54% of Burlington voters who had preferred Andy Montroll.^[3]

Unlike the city's first IRV election three years prior, however, Kiss was neither the plurality winner (Republican Kurt Wright) nor the majority vote winner (Democrat Andy Montroll).^[4][5] This led to a controversy about the use of IRV in mayoral elections,^[3] culminating in a successful 2010 citizen's initiative repealing IRV's use by a vote of 52% to 48%.^[6][7][8]