At a weekend caucus that drew about 100 participants, Burlington Progressives nominated three candidates to run for city council this March. The races for the four "district" seats — which are made up of two city wards apiece — were uncontested. But at least two of the candidates will face Democratic competition come Town Meeting Day. The elections will be hard-fought among Burlington's two major political factions, with both jockeying to bring the council until their party's control. Democrats currently hold a majority on the council, which is down to 11 members owing to a vacancy in the East District. [content-1]For that seat, Progressives chose Kathy Olwell, a former longtime school board member and retired social worker. She'll face Democrat Allie Schachter, the development director for the Flynn, in March. Progs picked Jennifer Monroe Zakaras, a climate change researcher, to challenge Buddy Singh, a Democrat and loan officer, in the South District. Incumbent Councilor Joan Shannon, a Democrat who has held that seat for more than two decades, is not running for reelection. Incumbent Councilor Melo Grant was tapped for another term in the Central District, where she's running unopposed. The Dems' candidate dropped out of the race, though party leaders said they will try to find a replacement in the coming weeks. The Progs will do the same in the North District since their candidate, Zachary Overla, withdrew the day before the caucus. That leaves the Dems' pick, incumbent Councilor Mark Barlow, without a challenger. A two-term independent, Barlow is running as a Democrat this election cycle. At the Progressive caucus on Saturday, party cochair Nick Brown said their candidates will fight for the most vulnerable Burlingtonians. "With so much on the line and so many people hurting right now, we can’t afford business as usual," he said. "This is our opportunity to flip the council, lead with a bold vision and govern to make Burlington a city where everyone can thrive." The hourlong caucus kicked off with a speech from Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, the city's highest-ranking Prog, who touted her administration's efforts in tackling tough budgets and seemingly intractable public safety issues. She said Progressive councilors can help this work by being collaborative and using data to drive their decisions. [content-5] Candidates then had five minutes to make their pitch, though most went over the time limit. All three discussed Burlington's public safety challenges, including the need to consider…