Wanted: Candidates for local office by Jan. 29
January 19, 2024 | By Lisa ScagliottiThe deadline to file to run for local office on Town Meeting Day in March is quickly approaching and multiple positions still need candidates.
Across Vermont, anyone wishing to have their name on ballots for the March 5 election needs to file the required petition and candidate forms with their town clerk by 5 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 29, according to the Secretary of State’s office.
In Waterbury, voters will decide several key local offices in the upcoming election: three seats on the Waterbury Select Board are up this year as well as two of Waterbury’s four seats on the Harwood Unified Union School District School Board.
Waterbury Select Board Vice-Chair Dani Kehlmann. Courtesy photo
This week, Select Board Vice Chair Dani Kehlmann told Waterbury Roundabout that she has decided not to seek re-election. She is nearing the end of her first three-year term on the board. In an email message, she reflected on her time in public service but said personal commitments will make it difficult to continue to give elected office the appropriate time.
“This has been a really difficult decision, as serving the town has been an incredible honor. While I don't feel entirely ready to walk away, I need some time off to attend to my personal health and other priorities,” Kehlmann said. “I know that my focus and energy needs to be elsewhere in 2024, and I can't serve the town with only 50% of my best work, so I am stepping away for now.”
Kehlmann said she hopes to remain active in the community, possibly in a less-demanding role on a volunteer committee, and that she doesn’t rule out serving in elected office again in the future.
“It has been humbling and honoring to work for my neighbors through a pandemic, social justice advocacy, two life-altering floods, and so much more. The town of Waterbury is special, and I love it more than a person might should love a town!” she wrote. She spoke highly of Municipal Manager Tom Leitz and her Select Board colleagues as well. “This community deserves the very best, and I know that with Tom [Leitz] at the helm, and our incredible board members, we'll keep moving towards the best iteration of ourselves,” she said.
According to Town Clerk Karen Petrovic, Waterbury Select Board Chair Roger Clapp has turned in his paperwork to get on the ballot. He has served two one-year terms to date and has filed to run for the three-year spot that Kehlmann holds. Board member Kane Sweeney who is in his first one-year term has said he is collecting signatures to run again as well.
Petrovic said she has not received any other filings yet for the offices that will be on the ballot other than her own. She is running for re-election as town clerk and treasurer which will carry three-year terms going forward after voters last year approved changing the offices from one- to three-year positions.
The other town offices that will be on the ballot are:
Three Library Commission seats: One full five-year term; a two-year seat and a one-year seat from unexpired terms due to resignations.
One Cemetery Commission seat for a full five-year term.
One Board of Listers position for a three-year term.
So far, Petrovic said she has not had anyone express interest in the two school board seats. Terms for Waterbury representatives Marlena Tucker-Fishman and Kelley Hackett are ending this year and neither is running for re-election.
The Harwood board has 14 members. Each of the other five towns in the district have two seats. Waterbury, with the largest population in the district, has four seats. The board also uses weighted voting. Waterbury members’ votes carry the most weight at 9.75% each. The members from Fayston with the smallest population count for 5% each and the others fall in between.
On Monday, Jan. 29, Petrovic said she will stay open until 5 p.m. for any candidate petitions being filed up until the deadline.
Duxbury elections
Once again, Duxbury will hold its election using drive-through voting on Town Meeting Day, March 5. File photo by Lisa Scagliotti
Three seats on the Duxbury Selectboard will also be on the March 5 ballot. Like Waterbury, there are two one-year terms on the board and three three-year seats, one of which is up for election each year.
This year, two of the three incumbents say they are planning to run again, and one is not. Ann Harvey, who has a one-year seat, announced at last week’s informational town meeting that she will not run for another term. Jerry McMahan, who now holds a three-year seat, said he intends to file for one of the one-year positions. Patrick Zachary was not able to attend the meeting but Town Clerk Maureen Harvey had his petition to collect signatures for him to file for the three-year position.
Neither of Duxbury’s two positions on the Harwood school board are up for election this year.
Duxbury will have a number of other local offices on the ballot including: one seat on the town Budget Committee, a three-year seat on the Board of Listers, and one-year terms for delinquent tax collector and two constables.
Town Clerk Maureen Harvey said the town office on Monday, Jan. 29 will close at its usual time of 3:30 p.m. Any candidate filing a petition after that up to the 5 p.m. deadline can use the drop box outside the office door. Harvey said she will return at 5 p.m. to check the box.
In Duxbury, candidates need the signatures of 12 registered voters to get on the election day ballot. In Waterbury, the requirement is 30 signatures. The number is determined by the size of the town’s voter checklist, according to state law. It requires 30 signatures or a number equivalent to 1% of the voter checklist, whichever is less.
A similar requirement is in place regarding getting elected as a write-in candidate. Each office on the ballot has a spot for voters to write-in a name.
If any elected offices have no candidates file by the Jan. 29 deadline for their name to be printed on the ballot, there will just be a spot for write-in votes. To win election, a write-in candidate needs at least 30 votes or the number equivalent to 1% of the number of registered voters in the town, whichever is less.
A write-in can decide as late as election day to announce their desire to run for office.
For more information, potential candidates should contact their town clerk.