[B]ARRE — Lucas Herring, a City Council member, is running for mayor. He made the announcement at a press conference at the American Legion Post in Barre Tuesday.
Herring is the first to make a bid a run for the seat since longtime Barre City Mayor Thom Lauzon said he was unlikely to seek another term.
Speaking to 20 well-wishers, including fellow Barre City Council members and Lauzon, Herring said he hoped he could unify the council, which has split on major issues facing the city.
“Councilors need to get along,” Herring said. “I’m in my fourth term on council, and have seen some differences in opinion, but have not seen the loss in trust like I do today.”
Concern over a lack of transparency, including around potential conflicts of interest related to Lauzon’s development business, has roiled the council this year.
Herring referred to a recent letter to the editor by a councilperson critical of the council as evidence of discord.
In a letter to the Times Argus published Aug. 1, Councilor Sue Higby called for greater transparency from the council and indicated that pushing for better communication with the public had been met with “awkwardness, defensiveness and sometimes even combativeness.”
Herring, who has served for six years on the council, said he would ask the council to adopt rules to help establish more civil discourse. “We need to take responsibility for our actions and the trust between councilors needs to be restored, because it is the best interest of the city,” he said.
Herring said investments in infrastructure and support for new developments will be among his priorities.
“We have survived a depression and weathered storms, we’ve seen development in both city and private infrastructure,” Herring said. “The city needs to fix and protect assets within our borders, not only will this give future councils less to worry about, but it shows we care about protecting our residents, their property, and our neighbors down stream.”
Herring praised Lauzon for his interest in developing properties in the city. The city has been “heading in the right direction” since Lauzon took office in 2006, he said.
Lauzon owns $6.5 million in city real estate and as mayor has been the city’s biggest developer, according to a story by Seven Days. A downtown development he proposed last summer, which included one of his properties, was shrouded in secrecy. When the council became divided over whether the development would benefit the city, Lauzon suddenly dropped the proposal.
According to Herring, new development, particularly new additions to the housing stock, are necessary to lighten the property tax burden on homeowners.
Barre’s municipal tax rate has increased from 1 percent in 2012 to 1.5 percent in 2017, the city’s annual report shows.
“The grand list will grow, which is needed for residents if they want to see the increase in property taxes decrease,” he said.
Herring also said he supported putting a local options tax on the ballot as a way to ease the tax burden on homeowners. Voters rejected a local options tax by a slim margin in 2017 and efforts to revive the proposal have been contentious.
Herring said that a local options tax has worked in 20 other towns in Vermont and fears that a tax will hurt businesses are unfounded.
“Despite the critics, those communities are still doing fine economically with no substantial evidence showing business would suffer because of it,” he said.
Lauzon says Herring is a good fit for mayor. “First and foremost you have to work hard, and the one thing that Lucas has proven to me over the last six years on the council is that he’s always willing to work hard,” Lauzon said. “I hope the new mayor is better. I hope they take it further.”
Herring has said he will vacate his council position at the beginning of March.
