Three key members of Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak’s staff are resigning, including two tasked with working on some of the city’s most pressing issues.
Joe Magee, the mayor’s deputy chief of staff; Sarah Russell, the special assistant to end homelessness; and Ingrid Jonas, the mayor’s senior adviser on community safety, are all leaving their posts, Magee told Seven Days on Thursday. The city plans to formally announce their resignations on Friday morning.
In an email to city staff obtained by Seven Days, Mulvaney-Stanak lauded the staffers for stewarding “nearly-impossible work” during their tenures.
“I am deeply grateful for the service of Joe, Sarah, and Ingrid; their dedication to this City, their passion for the work, and their contributions to our Mayor’s Office team will be missed,” she wrote. “I wish them nothing but the best in their future endeavors. Wherever they land, I know they will continue to have a positive impact on our community.”
Magee, whose last day is October 15, declined to comment on his resignation, only saying that he didn’t have any “immediate plans” for other employment. Neither Jonas nor Russell responded to interview requests. Mulvaney-Stanak was not immediately available for comment.
Magee said there’s no one reason for the resignations, which come about halfway through Mulvaney-Stanak’s three-year term, and that their timing is “largely coincidental.” He said the city has already hired someone for his position.
The staffing changes come as Mulvaney-Stanak faces immense pressure to address the dual crises of drugs and homelessness that have put strain on emergency responders and local businesses.
City Council President Ben Traverse (D-Ward 5) wasn’t aware of either Jonas’ or Russell’s impending departures when Seven Days contacted him Thursday afternoon.
In a brief written statement, Traverse said he is “deeply grateful for their service and commitment to Burlington.”
“While this is a big loss, I’m confident the City will still be able to consistently deliver on its mission,” he added.
Of the three staffers, Magee has had the longest tenure of civic service in Burlington. A Progressive like Mulvaney-Stanak, he served as the Ward 3 city councilor from 2021 to 2024. He was an outspoken advocate for people on the margins, including homeless residents and lower-income people. Magee worked on Mulvaney-Stanak’s mayoral campaign and was hired as her communications director shortly after the election, later being promoted to deputy chief of staff.
Jonas was one of Mulvaney-Stanak’s marquee hires, both for her decades of law enforcement experience and her placement as a key mayoral adviser. A retired Vermont State Police commander, Jonas was tasked with streamlining the city’s response to homelessness and crime. That included setting up the “Situation Table,” a program that convenes experts to rapidly connect offenders with services. She is also involved in the hiring process for a permanent police chief.
Russell joined city government in 2022 under former mayor Miro Weinberger. She has been on the front lines of Burlington’s worsening homeless crisis. She previously managed the city’s winter warming shelter with only one other city staffer and a handful of temporary workers. Last winter, she was part of a team that shuttled homeless people to an emergency shelter in the city’s New North End.
This post will be updated.
