Election results as posted by city clerk: Jimmy Leas 535, Andrew Chalnick 2436.
Hundreds registered opposition to F-35
535 voters registered their opposition to the F-35 training in our city.
The pain, injury, and suffering inflicted on working-class and ethnic minority portions of South Burlington and neighboring cities by Vermont’s military and political leaders was highlighted during the campaign both by Jimmy and by City Council candidate Lydia Diamond, who lives just 800 yards north of the runway in the Chamberlin School neighborhood.
At the debate at city hall, Ms. Diamond told of the trauma experienced by her grandchildren when the F-35s took off.
Lydia Diamond, city council candidate
Who has the power to halt the F-35 training in a city
Jimmy’s election campaign was able to reach a broad audience with the fact that all three levels of government, federal, state, and local, have the power to halt the F-35 training.
The state government has the power
The campaign broke new ground by identifying the constitutional provision (Art. 1, Sec. 8, Cl. 16) and federal law (32 USC 501) under which the states have express authority to control the conduct of the training of their own national guard units.
The state must conform the training to the discipline for the US armed forces
The campaign also highlighted the legal obligation of the states, under the same constitutional provision and federal law, and also under state law (20 VSA 361), to conduct the training according to the discipline for the US armed forces. That military discipline:
prohibits targeting cities full of civilians, such as with ear-and-brain damaging 115-decibel jets.
requires commanders to position military operations separate and apart from populated areas.
requires commanders to verify a military necessity before initiating a military operation; mere convenience is not adequate, especially for a dangerous training operation in a city where over 650 civilian families reported hurt, injury, and trauma.
prohibits using a city full of civilians to human-shield high-value military equipment, such as stealth nuclear-bomb-capable F-35s.
prohibits using an otherwise legal weapon in a manner for which it was not designed that causes unnecessary suffering, such as by training with the 115-decibel F-35 amidst densely populated cities.
Compliance with the military’s own discipline requires a halt to the state Air National Guard F-35 training in South Burlington—or in any populated area.
Local governments also have the power
During the campaign, members of the public also heard that the State of Vermont delegated (24 VSA 2291) power “to regulate the operation and use of vehicles of every kind” to cities, towns, and incorporated villages “for the purpose of promoting the health, safety, welfare, and convenience.”
This means that Burlington, South Burlington, Winooski, Williston, Richmond, and other local towns have state-delegated authority to adopt ordinances prohibiting the operation and use of the F-35 for training within their boundaries. As one example, local governments are authorized by the state to adopt ordinances that require separation of Vermont National Guard training from populated areas so as to avoid interfering with public health, safety welfare, and convenience.
Can this actually be true?
Any one of the above facts about state and local power may seem shocking and unbelievable. They may contradict things we were previously told about federal control and federal preemption. Not one Vermont official or local news reporter has ever investigated and informed the public about what is plainly written in the constitution, in US and Vermont laws, and in the military’s regulations. Not one has ever shared the link to the FAA web site that says “FAA does not have the authority to regulate the operations of military aircraft.” Which means the training operations of state national guard aircraft are not preempted by the FAA and can be regulated by state and local governments.
Even several F-35 activists remain disbelieving of what their eyes would tell them if they looked at the written words of constitution, federal law, state law, and the military’s own discipline.
How could it be that Winooski, and parts of Burlington, South Burlington, and Williston have been subjected to such an onslaught of pain and suffering from F-35 training by our own state national guard while not a single elected official or legacy news reporter ever breathed a word about the power the state and local governments actually have to put a stop to it?
No more can politicians pretend to be powerless
But now that this election campaign allowed the facts to come out broadly to the public, politicians and military leaders cannot go back to pretending to be powerless.
What you can do now
Local government is empowered to take the needed action to protect you and your children. Talk to your city councilors and select-board members. Tell them about the pain you or your children suffer.
Ask each of them to table an ordinance to prohibit the operation and use of the F-35 for training in the city. Ask them to hold public hearings on that proposed ordinance at which they can hear from the public about the harm to children and adults, as the Winooski City Council did in September 2021. And at which councilors can question commanders about the military’s own discipline that prohibits abusing civilians for routine training.
Talk to your neighbors about requesting establishment of an official city committee that reports to the city council and is tasked with proposing measures, including ordinances, to protect the Chamberlin neighborhood from airport abuse. No more depraved neglect based on class and race.
The fight continues.
Write or call your public servants and demand an immediate halt to F-35 training in cities.
Governor Phil Scott 802-828-3333 Chief of Staff <Jason.Gibbs@vermont.gov>
Vermont National Guard's Complaint Line: 802-660-5379 (Note: the Vermont Guard told a reporter that it received over 1400 noise complaints. But the Guard won’t release what people said).
Submit your report & complaint to the still active Fall 2021-Continuing Now online F-35 Report & Complaint Form: https://tinyurl.com/5d89ckj9
See all the graphs and in-your-own words statements on the F-35 Spring-Summer 2021 Report & Complaint Form (513 responses): https://tinyurl.com/3svacfvx.
See links to the graphs and in-your-own words statements on all four versions of the F-35 Report & Complaint Form since Spring 2020, with a total of 1670 responses from 658 different people plus 77 more so far on the form that remains active now.
Senator Bernie Sanders 800-339-9834 <Senator@sanders.senate.gov>
Senator Peter Welch 888-605-7270 Chief of Staff <patrick.satalin@mail.house.gov>
Rep. Becca Balint <RepBeccaBalint@mail.house.gov>
Burlington City Council <citycouncil@burlingtonvt.gov>
Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger <mayor@burlingtonvt.gov>
Winooski Mayor Kristine Lott <klott@winooskivt.org>
S. Burlington City Council Chair Helen Riehle <hriehle@sburl.com>
Williston Selectboard Chair Terry Macaig <macaig@msn.com>
VT Senate President Philip Baruth <Philip.Baruth@uvm.edu>
VT House Speaker Jill Krowinski <jkrowinski@leg.state.vt.us>
Attorney General Charity Clark <Charity.Clark@vermont.gov>
States Attorney Sarah George <Sarah.fair.george@gmail.com>
Vermont’s Federal Prosecutor <usavt.contactus1@usdoj.gov>
Adjutant General Brig Gen Gregory C Knight <gregory.c.knight.mil@mail.mil>
Major J Scott Detweiler <john.s.detweiler.mil@mail.mil>
Wing Commander Col Dan Finnegan <daniel.finnegan@mail.mil>
Vermont National Guard Inspector General Lt. Col. Edward J Soychak <edward.soychak@us.af.mil>
US Air Force Inspector General Lt. Col. Pamela D. Koppelmann <pamela.d.koppelmann.mil@mail.mil>
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall <Frank.Kendall@us.af.mil>
The fight continues