The Covid-19 pandemic has upended Vermont’s town meeting tradition of in-person debate. But key local elections are still taking place across the state.
Here’s our rolling list of live Town Meeting Day coverage:
Statewide
As most of Vermont casts ballots, a few towns stick with floor meetings — In Stratton, Kirby and Addison, small groups held floor votes — mostly about postponing proceedings.
Burlington, Brattleboro, Montpelier and other municipalities approve pot shops — As of 9 p.m. Tuesday, at least 10 municipalities had approved retail cannabis shops on Town Meeting Day.
Burlington
Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger narrowly wins fourth term — The Democrat received 43% of the vote — more than the 40% required to avoid a runoff — while Progressive City Council President Max Tracy finished with 42%.
Burlington City Council adds new independent member; other councilors keep seats — Progressive Perri Freeman and Democrat Joan Shannon win reelection to the Burlington City Council. Independent newcomer Mark Barlow won the North District seat by 156 votes.
Burlington voters approve “just cause” eviction protections, cannabis sales, ranked choice voting — Voters approved all of Burlington’s seven ballot items — including new eviction protections, retail cannabis sales, and regulatory powers to impose carbon taxes on buildings.
South Burlington
South Burlington voters approved a $55.6 million school budget Tuesday, in addition to several other measures that would allocate funds to the city’s schools and roads. The budget was approved easily, 3,145 to 2,764 — despite significant struggles to get a school budget passed in previous years.
Winooski
Winooski voters call for halt to F-35 training flights — Voters approved a ballot measure Tuesday urging Vermont to halt training flights of F-35 fighter jets in densely populated areas such as their city. The vote was 723-354. What isn’t clear is what, if any, effect their plea will have.
Essex
Town of Essex rejects a municipal merger with Essex Junction by just 17 votes — Though it passed in the village of Essex Junction last fall, the town of Essex voted 3,751 to 3,734 to reject the merger proposal spearheaded by the town selectboard.
Barre
Barre votes to prohibit non-official flags on city property — After a long debate over whether to raise the Black Lives Matter flag in City Hall Park, voters approved a charter change that will prohibit non-official flags from flying on city property.
Rutland
Incumbent Mayor David Allaire cruised to victory in his bid for a third two-year term, besting half a dozen challengers. Also, a 17-person race for six seats on the city’s Board of Aldermen ended in a tie for the final spot on the panel, setting up a recount. If that recount doesn’t settle it, a coin flip may be how it’s eventually settled, according to city officials.
Bennington
Bennington voters elect 3 to selectboard and reject a mayoral question — Jim Carroll and Tom Haley won the most votes for seats on the board, while Gary Corey narrowly beat Tina Cook, who would have been the first Black person to serve on it.
Newport
Monette wins Newport mayor race; city residents approve new water tower — Paul Monette won a sixth straight term as Newport mayor Tuesday night, finishing with more votes than his two challengers combined, according to the city clerk.
St. Albans
Town hall, swimming pool, major streetscaping project approved in St. Albans — Voters in St. Albans Town approved a new town hall, and St. Albans City voters approved a year-round swimming pool and the final piece of the city’s streetscaping plan.
Pawlet
John Malcolm, Rich Hulett and Jessica Van Oort have won seats on the Pawlet Selectboard. Daniel Banyai, the owner of Slate Ridge, finished last. “I’m very proud of us for standing up to a bully,” said Van Oort.
