Monday, April 10, 2017
Dober, 53, served as a councilor from 2009 to 2013. Dober, who was formerly with the Vermont Air National Guard, decided not to run for reelection so he could spend more time building up his business, Backstage Pub and Restaurant in Essex Junction. "This was sort of just a little break," Dober said. "I bought a business and that business has stabilized."
Burlington will hold a special election in June, Ayres told Seven Days last week. The winning candidate would need to run again next Town Meeting Day to keep the seat; Ayres' term expires in March 2018.
Tags: Alex Farrell , Vince Dober , Dave Hartnett , Kurt Wright , Tom Ayres , Burlington City Council , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
The incumbent Ward 2 inspector of elections kept his seat by edging challenger Adrian Burnett in a special election. The two men tied in a Town Meeting Day vote, but on Tuesday, Champagne won in a runaway: 150-50.
When the poll workers at the Integrated Arts Academy at H.O. Wheeler finished counting the ballots around 7:15 p.m. and announced the unofficial results, Champagne let out a whoop.
The 53-year-old incumbent praised the "pride people have in the Old North End, and the amount of respect people have for voting."
Tags: Andrew Champagne , Adrian Burnett , inspector of elections , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
On April 4, incumbent Andrew Champagne will try to inch past challenger Adrian Burnett in a runoff election for the position in Ward 2. Voters can cast ballots at the Integrated Arts Academy at H.O. Wheeler in the Old North End.
The contest comes after the March 7 tally ended in a deadlock: 272-272. It's the first race in recent history with such a result, according to assistant city clerk Amy Bovee.
Tags: Andrew Champagne , Adrian Burnett , Town Meeting Day , special election , ward 2 , inspector of elections , Image , Web Only
Thursday, March 16, 2017
“VICE News Tonight” followed the former Rutland mayor Monday as he prepared for his last day in office. He lost his reelection bid March 7 to David Allaire by a big margin: some 776 votes.
The HBO show captured Louras packing up his things inside city hall, exchanging a hug with a colleague and driving off into the sunset in his Smart car (which bears an “I Love Rutland, VT!” bumper sticker).
Much of what he told Vice News during the four-minute clip echoed what he told Seven Days reporter Mark Davis. His loss was a referendum on his decision to relocate refugees to Rutland, he said, and he never saw it coming.
Tags: Chris Louras , Rutland , mayor , refugees , resettlement , immigration , Image , Web Only , Video
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
But Wednesday, as he processed his lopsided defeat to Alderman Dave Allaire, the chief opponent of his plan to bring 100 Syrian and Iraqi refugees to the city, Louras said he had been wrong on two key points:
One, the refugee issue was the only one that mattered to voters. And two, he was apparently mistaken in his oft-stated belief that the refugees' supporters outnumbered their opponents in the community.
Tags: Chris Louras , Rutland , election , Syrian refugees , Dave Allaire , Image , Web Only
Gov. Phil Scott took his hardline approach on school budgets with him to the polls Tuesday when he voted against the school budget in his hometown of Berlin.
So, too, did the majority of town voters. The $3.5 million elementary school budget failed by a tally of 208-173, school board chair Carl Parton said Tuesday night.
Students in middle and high school attend the U-32 school in East Montpelier.
Scott predicated his 2018 state budget proposal on level-funding school budgets across the state and urged voters to “do the math” as they voted at town meetings.
Scott said in a phone interview Tuesday night that after questioning the school board at the meeting, he concluded that the budget represented a per-pupil increase.
“Carl (Parton) couldn’t tell us exactly what the per-pupil amount was but it was at least 5 percent,” the governor said.
Tags: Berlin school budget , Phil Scott , Carl Parton , Chris Winters , Town Meeting Day , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
Nowak beat Jimmy Leas 1,811 to 1,512 in a contest in which Leas claimed the incumbent did little to protect city residents from airport noise and home demolitions.
Nowak thanked her supporters after the victory, saying via email that she was "very happy to be continuing on the SB City Council and very appreciative of the support I received from so very many residents."
Chittenden defeated Katie Langrock 1,843 votes to 1,584 in a race that also touched on the Burlington International Airport. Chittenden pushed for possible new governance over the the Burlington-owned commercial and military airport.
Tags: Jimmy Leas , Pat Nowack , Thomas Chittenden , Katie Langrock , South Burlington City Council , Image , Web Only
It also welcomes people regardless of their color, ethnicity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status and gender identity.
Longtime resident Jeff Forward introduced the non-binding resolution and explained to the crowd of about 180 people that he began by researching a sanctuary city resolution proposed in Burlington. Numerous other towns around Vermont planned to discuss similar proposals at Town Meeting in the wake of President Donald Trump's efforts to restrict entry of immigrants and refugees from six majority Muslim countries, including war-torn Syria.
Tags: Town Meeting Day , Richmond , Donald Trump , tax returns , town forest , sanctuary city , Image , Web Only
Sunday, March 5, 2017
Gill replaces Dottie Deans, who decided to step down before the end of her term in November. Gill is expected to seek reelection to a full term as party chair at that time.
Gill, whose first name rhymes with “castle,” is an attorney from Winooski, and is currently chair of the Chittenden County Democrats. He was an unsuccessful candidate for state Senate in 2016, finishing eighth in a Democratic primary for six Chittenden County nominations.
“Having a Pakistani Muslim chair of the party is a beautiful thing, especially during this time when we’re seeing so much hatred around the country,” said Conor Casey, the state party’s executive director. “And I think Faisal can be the glue that holds this party together during uncertain times.”
The party chair is an unpaid position tasked with party leadership. The executive director is a full-time paid staffer who handles the party’s day-to-day business.
Tags: Faisal Gill , Nick Clark , Conor Casey , Dottie Deans , Vermont Democratic Party , Mike McCarthy , Tim Jerman , Image , Web Only
Friday, February 24, 2017
The briskly-entitled Joint Committee on Campaign Finance Education, Compliance and Reform was created by Attorney General T.J. Donovan and Secretary of State Jim Condos. They chose to fill the panel with political insiders: Four of its five members are actively involved, or very recently involved, in partisan politics.
Donovan calls them “the experts” who know the campaign finance system. He rejects the notion that he’s given the foxes a majority on a Henhouse Reform Committee. “I think you have enough diversity on the committee, and we’re open to more members,” he said after the hearing. “But the point is to listen to Vermonters.”
The event was the first in a series of listening sessions around the state. Afterward, the panel will issue a report, which might include suggested legislation or changes to rules and procedures governing campaign finance in state elections.