Ali Dieng won the November general election for the Vermont House of Representatives in the Chittenden-18 district, defeating independent candidate Dave Hartnett.
That victory follows a political journey that began in August 2008, when Dieng moved to Burlington “with nothing more than a suitcase in hand.” Born in Mauritania in 1981 or 1982 and raised in Senegal, he had previously taught at an elementary school and engaged in grassroots organizing after returning to Mauritania.
Dieng relocated to the United States in 2007 to be with his wife, who was then pursuing her studies at the School for International Training. Years later in 2015, inspired by his experiences running a summer camp where he saw low-income children with little clothing or untreated injuries, he founded Parent University to teach immigrant American families about child safety regulations and life skills.
He also worked for the Burlington School District as their family outreach coordinator. Following the resignation of Tom Ayres, a special election was called, prompting Dieng to enter the race in 2017 as an independent candidate for the New North End Ward 7 seat on the Burlington City Council.
Although initially running as an independent, he secured the Democratic and Progressive nominations for the seat. While canvassing, he met Senator Bernie Sanders, whom he later recalled was “almost like a prophet sent by God to make the world a better place.”
Endorsed by Sanders and Burlington mayor Miro Weinberger, Dieng won the seat with 610 votes, becoming the city’s only non-White council member at the time. During his tenure, he chaired the Racial Equity Inclusion and Belonging Committee and opposed a November 2019 resolution for non-citizen voting, arguing that voting rights represent “the only aspect that will push them to become citizen[s].”
In June 2020, during the George Floyd protests, he voted against a measure to cap the number of police officers in the Burlington Police Department, supporting proactive police reform instead. Originally part of the Progressive caucus, he left in March 2020 to become an independent due to the partisan divide.
Dieng was re-elected in 2018 and 2020, and narrowly secured another term in 2022 by just two votes, which required election officials to certify the outcome on Town Meeting Day. He did not run for re-election to the council in 2024.
Beyond municipal politics, Dieng launched a 2021 mayoral campaign featuring proposals for tiny homes to address homelessness and a new Public Health Emergency Manager position, ultimately finishing third behind Weinberger with 1,830 votes. In June 2026, he announced his candidacy for the Vermont House of Representatives, naming education, healthcare, housing, and workforce development as his campaign priorities.
He is married to Angela Smith-Dieng, a Peace Corps officer whom he met in northern New York, and they have two children. Outside of legislative and civic work, Dieng plays soccer in the Elite 8 Soccer League and speaks six languages.
