[T]wo months after announcing his retirement, Rep. Clem Bissonnette, D-Winooski, has decided to return to Montpelier after prevailing in an election he said he did not want to win.
“I asked the people not to vote for me,” said the six-term lawmaker, who earlier had said he was planning to retire and move out of his district. “On Wednesday morning I heard from people saying since you have not sold your house, why not go back and represent us, seeing you won.”
Bissonnette said, “So I decided to go back and represent Winooski since the people elected me.”
Hal Colston, a member of Winooski City Council who ran an unsuccessful write in campaign as a Democrat, was not pleased by that development. He said he feels betrayed by Bissonnette’s decision to serve after announcing he was not running for re-election.
“In my view I got bamboozled,” Colston said. “I don’t think Clem was honest in his decision process. That’s my view.”
After Bissonnette won the Democratic nomination in the August primary, the six-term lawmaker and his wife decided they would retire to the Northeast Kingdom.
However, the legislator and party officials did not meet the deadline for replacing him with another candidate, resulting in his name remaining on the general election ballot along with Rep. Diana Gonzalez, P/D-Winooski.
Colston said Winooski’s Progressive and Democratic parties began the process of selecting a candidate to replace Bissonnette.
In late September, the parties held a joint committee meeting at which they voted on the three candidates to take Bissonnette’s place: Mike O’Brien, who was Bissonnette’s deputy during his eight years serving as Winooski’s mayor; Marnie Owen; and Colston, who received 56 percent of the vote.
Colston said the biggest surprise of the election was the strong turnout for Bissonnette after he had stated publicly he was not running. Colston said an endorsement from Bissonnette would have resulted in Colston being elected.
“He refused to endorse anyone,” Colston said. “Yet he endorsed (Gov. Phil) Scott and he endorsed (Don) Turner,” both Republicans. “He says one thing and does another and it’s a pattern of him not being up front,” Colston said.
On the ballot, it appeared as if Bissonnette and Gonzalez were running unopposed — with only their two names present.
Bissonnette received 1,290 votes and Gonzalez got 1,949 — enough to send both back to the Statehouse next session. Colston received 945 votes.
In a move spurred by concern that Scott would choose a replacement to fill his seat, Bissonnette decided not to step aside and said he will return to Montpelier in January, according to a report in Seven Days.
