[B]ENNINGTON — Upsets ruled the day in both the Selectboard and school board races, two of the most closely watched contests around the county.
School district voters executed a clean sweep Tuesday, tossing out three incumbents and electing four newcomers, one unopposed.
The winners of three-year board seats were Daniel Monks, who is Bennington’s assistant town manager; Christopher Murphy, a social worker with the state Department for Children and Families; and Chaila Sekora, who works for State Farm Insurance and is the president of the Molly Stark Parent-Teacher Group.
Longtime board member and Chairman Ken Swierad, Marie DeCoff and Gene Rowley, all incumbents, lost out.
Meridy Capella ran unopposed for a one-year unexpired term.
In the Bennington Selectboard race for two seats, newcomers Carson Thurber, who works in the Southwestern Vermont Health Care development office, and Chad Gordon, a math teacher and assistant football coach at Mt. Anthony Union High School, were victorious. They garnered 1,280 and 785 votes, respectively.
Incumbent Michael Keane, with 666 votes, was ousted, and three challengers, Mike Bethel, 589, Vickie Lampron, 495, and Tracy Kramer, 198 votes, failed in their bids.
Incumbent Justin Corcoran did not seek re-election.
Rescue Squad funding request
The Bennington Rescue Squad has succeeded in its bid to receive town funding for the first time.
The squad, which mounted a campaign that included numerous signs around town, secured voters’ approval Tuesday for $207,459 in funding. Squad officials had approached the Selectboard in the fall to report annual budget deficits that were eating into the organization’s reserve fund.
The item, which was placed on the ballot through a petition drive, was easily approved on a vote of 1,332 to 936.
While Selectboard members indicated they would support some funding for the squad, the figures mentioned in discussions were well below the $200,000 the organization said is required from Bennington to avoid budget deficits.
After more than the required 435 voter signatures were obtained to place the request on the ballot, there was talk of possibly withdrawing the ballot question if the Selectboard were to place a lower amount in the town budget as a line item. The figure mentioned was approximately $33,000.
The rescue squad ultimately decided to stick with the original request in Bennington, for which it had already secured a ballot spot. The funding marks the first time the town has supported the local nonprofit emergency response organization.
Squad officials had noted that Bennington is one of only a few Vermont communities that didn’t directly fund an ambulance service.
$3.2 million bond
Also in Bennington, a $3.2 million bond to purchase a former factory building and convert it for a new DPW facility sailed through, with 1,313 voting in favor and 898 opposed. The approval is not expected to result in any increase in the fiscal 2018 town budget. Town officials reported that most comments were favorable.
The town had recently been considering spending more than $5 million on a needed new DPW facility before the former Plasan factory at 78 Bowen Road became available. The total cost of the purchase and renovation will be significantly lower than to build a new facility.