[9] Clarence Davis, a member of the Progressive Party, did not seek reelection to the city council from the 3rd district in the 2010 election.

[10][9][11] She was the only Progressive member of the fourteen-member city council following the resignation of Marisa Caldwell in 2010, which was the lowest amount for the party since 1981.

[16][17][18][19] Mulvaney-Stanak ran for the Progressive and Democratic nomination for a seat in the Vermont House of Representatives from the Chittenden-6-2 district during the 2020 election.

[20][21][22][23] In 2020, Mulvaney-Stanak was selected by a unanimous vote of seven to be assistant chair of the Vermont Progressive Party's caucus in the state house.

[26] On March 5, 2024, she won the election by almost 1,000 votes, beating Democratic nominee Joan Shannon, and assumed the mayoral office on April 1, 2024.

[1] Mulvaney-Stanak is the first woman to be mayor of Burlington, as well as the first open member of the LGBTQ+ community to assume the position.

[27] In June 2024, Mulvaney-Stanak was criticized for being the beneficiary of a special food drive which provides her and her family free weekly dinners.

[6][28] Mulvaney-Stanak appointed public defender Jessica Brown to serve as city attorney, a position which had been vacant for two years.