Town offices more popular than school board for upcoming elections
January 25, 2022 | By Lisa ScagliottiFeb. 13 UPDATE: This story was updated to clarify which HUUSD School Board seats are up for election in the valley. Also, Jacqui Kelleher in Waterbury has announced she is running as a write-in for the two-year term.
The Town Meeting Day ballots are coming into focus as local candidates filed to run for office this week and municipal and school officials finalize budgets and other articles they will present to voters.
The annual local elections will be held as early as possible this year as the first Tuesday in March falls on March 1. The deadline for candidates to file to run for local offices was 5 p.m. on Monday.
According to town clerks who collected candidate forms, both Waterbury and Duxbury will have races for seats on their select boards.
The opposite is true for the Harwood Unified Union District School Board, however, where seven seats will be on the ballot across five of the district’s six towns yet only three people have filed to have their names on the ballot.
In Waterbury, school board member Scott Culver, who was appointed to fill a vacancy in July, did not file to run for the remaining two years in that term, Town Clerk Carla Lawrence said.
A second Waterbury seat will be on the ballot for a full three-year term and Victoria Taravella put her name in to run for that spot. Taravella applied last summer when the board had the vacancy appointment to make. Waterbury’s two other seats are not up for election this year.
In Duxbury, board Chair Torrey Smith is stepping down and not seeking another term. No one filed to run for that seat, according to Town Clerk Maureen Harvey. Duxbury’s other representative on the school board is Cindy Senning who also joined last summer to fill a vacancy through Town Meeting Day. She has filed to run for the one year remaining on that term, Harvey said.
Both Fayston and Warren have school board seats on the ballot as well, but neither attracted any candidates by Monday’s deadline, according to town clerks in those communities. Those are seats held by board Vice Chair Tim Jones (Fayston) and Jonathan Clough (Warren).
In Waitsfield, Roberta “Bobbi” Rood has filed to run for a three-year term, Town Clerk Jennifer Peterson said. Incumbent Jeremy Tretiak currently holds that seat and is not seeking another term.
Although the deadline has passed for candidates to file to get their names listed on the ballot, candidates may still conduct a write-in campaign. Lawrence explained that a write-in candidate needs to receive just 30 votes or a number of votes equivalent to 1% of the voter checklist to win, whichever is smaller. In Waterbury, that would be 30 votes, she said.
Select board opening attracts candidates
Few local offices will have contests unless new contenders decide to run as write-ins.
In Waterbury, a four-way race will decide two one-year terms on the select board. Mark Frier and Katie Martin both opted to not run for re-election. Lawrence said four candidates filed for those positions: Matthew Abair, Alyssa Johnson, Flora Scott and Elisabeth “Lisa” Walton.
Michael Bard is also running unopposed for another three-year term on the board, Lawrence said.
All other spots on the ballot are uncontested.
Duxbury’s ballot
In Duxbury, four of the town’s five seats on the selectboard are on the ballot. Three candidates have filed for two one-year terms: incumbents Mari Pratt, currently board chair, and Craig Gibbs, who was appointed in December. The third contender is Jamison Ervin.
Incumbent Mike Marotto is running unopposed to serve out the remaining year of a three-year term. Also, former board member Richard Charland was the only candidate to file to run for a three-year term, Harvey said.
Both towns will conduct all of their Town Meeting Day business by paper ballot, foregoing in-person gatherings due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and provisions the state has put in place to take public health precautions into consideration.
Voters in each community will act on municipal budgets and a handful of special articles.
In Waterbury, voters will find a budget that calls for a tax rate of no more than 53 cents per $100 of assessed property value. That’s the same amount authorized in 2021. Last summer, when the select board set the tax rate, it settled on 52 cents.
Waterbury’s budget makes use of about half of the $1.5 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds targeted for Waterbury. One appropriation would use $600,000 to update a water system for the Kneeland Flats Mobile Home Park. A separate ballot question will ask voters to consider appropriating $100,000 to the Ice Center of Washington West for capital improvements. Town officials have until 2026 to decide how to spend the whole sum.
In Duxbury, in addition to a budget of $1.14 million, voters will consider whether to spend an additional $145,000 on a new tandem truck for the Highway Department. Voters also will consider whether the town should pursue a solar power installation on 3.5 acres formerly used as a town gravel pit. One more measure regarding zoning regulations is still being finalized, Harvey said.
Town officials have until Friday to post warnings for the March 1 election. Town reports containing election details and reports from municipal officials and organizations that receive tax dollars will be printed and posted online in the coming weeks.
Select boards in both Waterbury and Duxbury will hold informational meetings on Feb. 22 that will use Zoom for the public to participate to hear presentations on the town budgets and ballot items. Voters will also be able to vote early by mail or at their town offices once ballots are available next month.
School board finalizes budget this week
The Harwood Unified Union School District School Board met Wednesday and completed complete work on the $42.65 million budget that it will put on the March 1 ballot. Voters also will be asked to approve putting a surplus $1.5 million from 2021 towards maintenance. Read more about the school ballot in Education.