The four candidates for Rutland City mayor traded barbs Thursday and even talked of a rumored vote splitting plot, with the election’s winner hiring a fellow mayoral office seeker to work in his administration.
They squared off on WSYB radio in an hour-long, late-morning debate on the show, “On the Air with Tim Philbin.” Three challengers are campaigning to oust incumbent Mayor Christopher Louras, who is seeking a sixth two-year term.
About midway through the debate, candidate Michael Coppinger, executive director of the Downtown Rutland Partnership, said, if elected to the mayoral post, he would not engage in the “backroom deals” like others in the race.
Pressed by Philbin, the show’s host and debate moderator, to explain specifically whom he was referring to, Coppinger pointed to Alderman David Allaire, another mayoral candidate.
“Supporters of Mr. Allaire have said that I made a deal with the mayor to steal votes from Mr. Allaire, in order to assure that Chris would be back in office and that afterward he would give me a position in government,” Coppinger said, adding, “It’s not true.”
If offered a job by Louras, Coppinger said he would turn it down.
Allaire retorted: “As far as supporters of me or anybody else on the street talking about backroom deals, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Philbin then asked Louras, if he had planned to offer a job to Coppinger should he be re-elected.
“Negative,” Louras replied.
Another candidate, Kam Johnston, joined in.
“There’s no back room deal with me either,” he said, “because I attempted to get appointed unsuccessfully from the mayor on at least two occasions.”
Several questions focused on refugee resettlement in Rutland, a program President Donald Trump suspended through executive order shortly after two Syrian families arrived in the city.
Louras started exploring the possibility of Rutland becoming a resettlement site in the fall of 2015. However, most members of the Board of Aldermen and the public didn’t find out about it until an April 2016 news conference.
Louras defended his actions Thursday, saying that he knew if he brought it before the Board of Aldermen earlier they would have called for a citywide vote on the issue.
“We don’t get to vote on who our neighbors are,” he said. “I don’t think that’s who we are as a community, as a state, or as a country.”
Allaire said he would have followed a different path.
“My first stop, if this was presented to me, would be to go to the citizens of the city of Rutland and go to the Board of Aldermen and initiate a dialog,” Allaire said. “This is about the process, this is about trust, this is about leadership, and this is about respect.”
Louras later added that previously when immigrants came and settled in Rutland, including his own past family members from Greece, no citywide vote was taken.
The four candidates also exchanged views on other issues ranging from economic development to taxes.
Coppinger described himself as “the fresh face” in the field. Allaire and Louras have spent a total of more than 40 years in city offices, he said.
“There’s too much infighting and bickering for too long,” Coppinger said. “A lot of it is old grudges from the past that continue to be brought up and I believe I bring that fresh perspective and leadership to City Hall.”
Allaire, a 19-year veteran of the Board of Aldermen, shot back that Coppinger, who ran for mayor in 2007, served as an alderman in the past. Coppinger jumped in and said that was more than a decade ago.
Coppinger said he was the only candidate who has offered new ideas and proposals. He has pitched a 1 percent local option sales tax to fund needed infrastructure improvements.
“It may not be what people want to hear,” he said, “but that is how we bring more revenue in.”
All the other candidates said they would not support a local option tax.
Allaire, who lost two previous mayoral elections to Louras, said he would bring openness and transparency to the office. Allaire promised to work with regional organizations and take advantage of the city’s tax stabilization program to help attract businesses and increase city property values.
Both Coppinger and Louras said the city needs to maintain a highly skilled workforce in order to support existing businesses and attract new companies.
Johnston, who has run for mayor before, referred to himself as “John Q. Public,” and characterized the other candidates as status quo. He pledged to cut the city budget and rein in spending.
“Every time I step forward and say, ‘hire me’ there aren’t enough of the silent majority that are pissed off enough to come out and vote,” he said. “There are 10,000 registered voters and only 3,000 vote in March elections.”
In addition to running for mayor, Johnston is seeking three other offices, including seats on the city school board, Board of Aldermen and city assessor.
“I’m actually hedging my bets,”Johnston said, “and saying to the public, ‘If you want to hire me, I give you alternatives.’”
Louras said now is not the time for a change in mayor’s office. He said it’s time to build on momentum and continue on path the city is on.
“We’ve been successful, we are a destination, we are the envy of the rest of the state, and in our opiate response we are the envy of the rest of the nation,” he said. “We’ve got to build on that momentum.”
All four candidates said they would not support a “sanctuary city” designation for Rutland.
“Wow,” Philbin, the moderator, said, “we got something they all agreed on, I think the planets are going to collide.”
