Updated March 4 at 12:09 p.m.
RUTLAND CITY — Voters elected Tom Donahue as Marble City’s next mayor, a choice made through a rare write-in ballot.
Faced with a blank line for the mayoral election ballot measure, 1,323 voters inked the name Tom Donahue for Rutland’s highest post, according to unofficial results issued by the City Clerk’s office Tuesday night. Donahue won with 40.4% of the 3,276 write-in votes cast for mayor.
Seldom seen in the city, the write-in election was triggered by the unexpected resignation of former mayor Mike Doenges’ halfway through his second term. Doegnes said he left the role Feb. 27 due to a rare job opportunity in technology sales with his former employer.
According to the city charter, a new mayor to succeed Doenges needed to be chosen by write-in ballot given the timing of the resignation only days before Town Meeting Day, according to a legal opinion penned by attorney Matt Bloomer.
Since the Doenges’ announcement in late January, at least eight people entered the race for mayor. Donahue will serve for a year until Town Meeting Day in 2027, completing the rest of Doenges’ term.
Donahue gained endorsements from Gov. Phil Scott and the local municipal and school department workers union AFSCME Council 93 Local 1201, as well as a letter of support from the Fraternal Order of the Police Lodge 410.
Donahue said his focus in the coming months is to pursue more development in the city’s downtown through the Tax Increment Financing District and apply for a Tier 1A Act 250 exemption to help facilitate more housing, commercial and industrial development in Rutland.
As the newly elected mayor, Donahue also wants to improve Rutland’s reputation for public safety through expanding the police force and investing in proactive policing .
“I believe that voting for our next mayor was really important, and the voters got to decide who their next leader is,” Donahue said. “I’m really thrilled about that, and obviously thrilled that I’m the one that they selected.”
Donahue will step down from his professional position as chief executive officer for social services organization BROC Community Action and from his seat on the Board of Aldermen.
The legal opinion and write-in election garnered criticism from some as the resignation announcement left only a month for candidates to campaign and voters to vet them.
At the polls, Cindy Dunigan, a long-time resident who works for the Rutland City Public School System, said it was difficult to get comprehensive information on the candidates in such a short time. Dunigan turned to social media and candidate endorsements to guide her vote, she said.
Dunigan said she hopes Rutland’s new mayor can overcome the circumstances of the write-in race and “doesn’t have to govern under a black cloud of how the election went down.”
David Alliare, who earned second place with 1,000 votes or 30.5% of the vote, served as mayor for six years prior to Doenges and held the role of the Board of Aldermen president during Doenges’ resignation.
Earlier this month, former Rutland Mayor Chris Louras requested the board to vote on a resolution to accept Doenges’ resignation date only after Town Meeting Day. That would have meant that board president Allaire would assume mayoral duties for the next year, but the resolution failed.
Doenges said it would be inappropriate to change the resignation date, and hundreds of Rutland residents had already cast ballots with write-in votes for mayor based on the directive of the legal opinion.
Henry Heck, a former City Clerk and board of Alderman member, garnered 8.1% of the vote. Heck challenged Doenges for the mayoral post last Town Meeting Day and lost with 43% of the vote.
Other write-in candidates include Rick Redington who gained 2.8% with 91 votes, Robert Reynolds who gained 23 votes, Lane Patorti who gained 22 votes, Luigi Illiano who gained 16 votes, and Harper Ennis who gained 9 votes.
While not an officially declared candidate, Louras garnered 6.3% of the vote, with 206 votes.
While a write-in election is unusual, Carolyn Laird, a 26-year old Rutland native, said she is encouraged by the civic engagement of Rutland residents and the number of candidates who stepped forward to guide the city forward in the year ahead.
“This is so crazy, but honestly, I think that this is great, because I don’t think we’d have this many people if they didn’t actually all care,” Laird said. “It’s so nice to see this many people who want to be involved.”
