Montpelier’s longest-serving current City Council member is seeking to replace Mayor John Hollar when he steps down in March at the end of his third term.
Anne Watson announced her plans Monday flanked by the city’s last female mayor, state Rep. Mary Hooper, D-Montpelier, and the outgoing chairman of the Washington County Democrats, Jack McCullough.
Hooper praised Watson as an innovative thinker who listens to constituents.
“By building consensus we’ll go farther faster,” Hooper said.
McCullough said Watson was one of the forces responsible for “a real upsurge in dynamism” observable in Montpelier politics over the past few years.
Watson was appointed to the council in 2012 and has won election three times since then. As council president, she fills in when the mayor is absent.
She described the mayoral run as a natural extension of a career in public service as a schoolteacher. She teaches physics at Montpelier High School.
She said her professional life informs the approach she intends to bring to the mayor’s office.
“I think of the role of the mayor as being a facilitator, and that it’s not necessarily about me, it’s about facilitating discussion,” Watson said in an interview in City Hall after her announcement.
“That’s how I teach my classes, you know — I am not the kind of teacher who likes to get up and lecture. I would much prefer to have the students wrestling with things, and that’s sort of like here: I love it when we get really great dialogue, and that includes times when there’s conflict,” she said.
“I like to think I argue like I’m right but listen like I’m wrong.”
Watson said she’s been thinking for some time of running for mayor and that Hollar’s recently announced decision to vacate the position led her to act.
High-priority items for her include affordable housing, the natural environment and the town’s long-term financial stability, Watson said.
It’s important, too, to ensure that residents know they have a say in their local government, Watson said.
“I want to live in a place where people feel empowered,” she said. “It’s not just about my vision for the city, it’s about the Montpelier we want to build together. I can’t do it alone. The future’s not set in stone, and we all need to show up to build it.”
Watson appears to be the first Montpelier mayoral hopeful for the March election, but candidates aren’t official until they file the necessary paperwork, said Montpelier City Clerk John Odum.
But his office by law cannot accept the paperwork before Jan. 25. Candidates must file before Feb. 4, he said.
The mayoral election is on Town Meeting Day, which is March 6 next year.
