RUTLAND — Six challengers will face off against Mayor Dave Allaire on Rutland’s Town Meeting Day ballot March 2, the most crowded field in recent memory.
Aldermen Chris Ettori and Sam Gorruso are running, as are former school board member Kam Johnston; local business owner Marge Johnston; Matthew Godnick Seager, who runs an educational travel company; and Kathleen Krevetski, who wants to grow the economy by expanding access to local food.
The mayoral race is not the only crowded section of the ballot. Seventeen people are competing for six seats on the Board of Aldermen, seven vie for three seats on the school board, three candidates are running for city treasurer and seven hope to become the city assessor.
November’s races were equally crowded, with 10 Rutland County candidates vying for three state Senate seats.
Hopefuls did not need to collect the customary 35 signatures this year before declaring their candidacies, so they didn’t have to go door-to-door in the pandemic. That, along with heightened levels of political awareness both nationally and locally, likely contributed to the increase in participation.
After serving for 19 years on the board of aldermen, Allaire was elected mayor in 2017, beating longtime incumbent Christopher Louras after a heated citywide debate about refugee resettlement and transparency. In 2019, Allaire was re-elected, beating Michael Messier 1,707-657.
Here’s a look at the six challengers to the incumben mayor.
Chris Ettori
Ettori, the first to announce his candidacy, is serving his third term on the Board of Aldermen and said he’s considered the step for a long time.
“While I think not having to get signatures this year encouraged at least a few candidates to get in the race,” he said, “there is clearly a sense that Rutlanders are looking for changes at the top.”
Ettori helped start the Wonderfeet Kids’ Museum, serves in the Downtown Rutland Partnership, and represents the board of aldermen on the Rutland Redevelopment Authority.
He describes himself as fiscally conservative, and has advocated trimming the city’s budget. Ettori has also pushed for inclusivity measures, including resettling Syrian refugee families and voting against a referendum trying to reverse the school board’s decision to change the Rutland High School’s mascot.
Ettori received a master’s degree in mediation, which he believes would come in handy during a moment of division in the city.
Sam Gorruso
Gorruso cites his 40 years of experience in sales and business management, along with several stints on the board of aldermen, among his qualifications for the mayorship. He says rising expenses within the city have become burdensome to homeowners.
“As a business person, Rutland should be run like a business,” he said in a statement. “If a business has high prices, people will buy elsewhere.”
Gorruso is the publisher of Sam’s Good News, was previously general manager of a local radio station, and has been vice president of Regional Ambulance Service Inc. since 1993.
“We need to market Rutland to people to come live here and help our shrinking population,” he said. “We need to market Rutland to businesses and industry to bring jobs to Rutland, and
we need to improve Rutland’s image.”
Kam Johnston
Johnston, who served previously on the Rutland City Board of School Commissioners and is running for multiple positions within the town government, holds a degree in public administration. He said he’s proud of pushing for implicit bias training while a school board member. He was motivated to run for mayor, he said, because of Covid-19’s economic impact on Rutland residents.
“People really are either well off, and therefore haven’t really felt the consequences of it, or are so financially underwater that they’re just turned off to politics altogether,” he said. “The issue is that people really aren’t talking about the fact that we should be taking care of Main Street, not just Wall Street.”
Marge Johnston
Kam Johnston is also acting as a press assistant for his mother, Marge Johnston, who has declined to speak with the media in a symbolic gesture that points to the first time she competed for the mayor’s office, in 1993, and was excluded from debates.
In a statement, she said she seeks to stand against sexism and wants to break the glass ceiling by becoming the first-ever female mayor of the city. She’s also running for city assessor and treasurer.
“She did every job under the sun because opportunities when she was in the workforce were not as forthcoming,” Johnston said of his mother. She has a background in physical education and would advocate for wellness initiatives.
Kathleen Krevetski
Krevetski’s pitch for mayor rests primarily on her passion for two issues: clean food and clean water. As a former nurse at Rutland Regional Medical Center and a board member of the Vermont Farmers Food Center, she’s an advocate for wellness and wants to improve public health by promoting regenerative agriculture and improving the market for local farmers. Krevetski has also urged Rutland City to stop fluoridating its water.
“Rutland city needs a path forward, and I can offer that. That’s going back to agriculture,” she said. “That is our salvation. We have the biggest asset anywhere: We can provide our own food.”
Though some have bemoaned the crowded mayoral field and the ease with which candidates can join the race, Krevetski is happy to see increased participation.
“Running is a noble, courageous thing because it offers us choice,” said Krevetski, who said she chose to run for mayor instead of a seat on the board of aldermen because of the division among the latter group.
Matt Seager
Seager, who owns an educational travel company that provides gap year experiences to students, wants to improve the city’s workforce.
“There’s a lot more the city could be doing for itself,” he said. “I think there are some really good career opportunities out there in Rutland that are going unfulfilled. You think of strong leadership, and you think of someone really advocating for the city … that’s something that I really want to focus on.”
While the odds of a newcomer defeating Allaire or a sitting alderman seem unlikely, Seager points to “stagnant” executive leadership and a divided board and says it’s time for new blood.
“It’s just become a toxic situation,” he said. “With all due respect and appreciation for their work and their efforts, I think it may be time to bring in someone from outside the rail and try to unify the city a little bit.”
