Editor’s note: This story by Keith Whitcomb Jr. first appeared in the Bennington Banner.
BENNINGTON — Primary elections were held Tuesday, deciding who will face off in the general election come November.
Assistant Town Clerk Cassandra Barbeau, who read off the results, said the numbers do not include write-in candidates, only what the voting machine counted. Write-ins will be tallied by poll workers. The numbers reported here are only the contested races.
Running in House District 2-1, for the Democrats, Timothy Corcoran II and Rachael Fields will be the party’s nominees with 812 and 340 votes respectively. They defeated Jackie Kelly, who had 222 votes.
Of the Democrats running for the nomination in District 2-2, Joann Erenhouse and Kiah Morris won, with 184 and 239 votes respectively. They defeated Jim Carroll, who got 164 votes, and Brandy Reynolds, who got 154 votes.
Running for the Democrat nomination to high bailiff were Frederick C. Gilbar and James A. Gulley Jr., both of Bennington. It’s a county-wide position, but the Banner only had results from Bennington, Arlington, Shaftsbury, and Winhall at press time. In Bennington, Gilbar got 535 votes while Gulley got 549. In Arlington, Gilbar got 20 votes, and Gulley got 20. In Shaftsbury, Gilbar got 30 votes while Gulley got 27, and in Winhall, Gilbar got two votes to Gulley’s three.
“I’m very gratified. I really didn’t know what to expect,” Erenhouse said. “I’m not a real political animal, and I got into the race a little late. It makes me feel good that a portion of the community appreciates what I’ve been doing for Bennington for the last nine years, and trusts me. I’ll definitely work really hard right now to make sure the people who have exercised their confidence in me will not be disappointed.”
Fields, who ran for Bennington Select Board in March and was criticized by her opponents for getting help with her campaign from Montpelier-based groups said that help likely made the difference in this race. She said her campaign made calls, sent out fliers, and went door-to-door.
“What happened a lot of times was I’d knock on somebody’s door and they’d say, ‘Oh, I just got a call from you.’ People are actually excited when you include them in the process and feel like you’re reaching out to them,” she said. “I do think that’s what made the difference.”
She said she had support from the Vermont National Education Association, Vermont Early Educators United, and her own union, the Vermont State Employees Association.
“It was wonderful to have people come out and participate and feel excitement about an election again,” said Morris. “I just want to encourage everyone to continue to be a part of this process and realize that we’re trying to build some change and build a strong future for this wonderful region and our state.”
