The fatal shooting of Hussein Mubarak on Burlington's Luck Street and the arrest of Abdiaziz Abdhikadir revealed a largely unseen dimension of Burlington’s escalating gun violence problem. Amid the unprecedented spike in gunfire, families that came to Vermont to escape conflicts abroad are now losing children to violence in its endemic American form.
Thomas Franco was an aspiring doctor when he realized that his real passion was policy. While a premed student at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, Franco volunteered at a free health clinic outside of Cleveland. Talking to the patients helped him recognize the societal inequities that lead to poverty and, in turn, poor health outcomes. It was just like this moment where I realized,
OK, if I m going to make a difference, and I am going to change the narrative here, I have to dig deeper, Franco said. That change in direction ultimately helped lead 25-year-old Franco to Rutland, where he lives with his partner, George Hodulik. A first-time candidate, Franco is one of 17 people including three incumbents running for six at-large seats on the city s board of aldermen.