Status quo was the clear winner in Montpelier’s City Meeting election Tuesday as incumbents were re-elected in two contested City Council races and all ballot items were approved, including a vote to permit the sale of recreational marijuana next year.
In District 1, City Councilor Lauren Hierl won a second term by defeating former Bridge publisher Nat Frothingham, 618-328. The other contested race saw incumbent Dan Richardson win his first two-year term, defeating Alice Goltz, 578-222, in District 3.
The following incumbent candidates for city office were unopposed: Jack McCullough for District 2 Council (789 votes) and John Odum for a fourth term as City Clerk (2,488 votes). Also winning were Darragh Ellerson for Cemetery Commission (5 years); Barbara Smith for Cemetery Commissioner (2 years); and Brent Householder for a seat on the Central Vermont Public Safety Authority. Lincoln Frasca was unchallenged for a seat on the Parks Commission.
City voters also solidly approved a ballot item that allows the sale of recreational marijuana to adults when that law takes effect in 2022. The vote was 1,981 in favor, 847 opposed. The Legislature, as part of its Act 164 legalization and regulation bill, required each municipality to vote on whether to permit the sale. By law, recreational sales by an existing medical dispensary could begin as soon as May 1, 2022. The appointment of a board charged with creating rules for the sale of cannabis has been delayed and it’s unclear if that will affect the start of retail sale.
The city budget also passed easily, 2,398-444, despite efforts to defeat it as a way to call attention to police spending.
Voters also approved the Montpelier Roxbury Public Schools budget, 2,068-776, and the related capital reserve fund, 1,887-907.
Incumbents Amanda Lucia Garces and Mia Moore were elected to three-year terms on the MRPS school board. Incumbent Emma Bay-Hansen won the remaining one year of a school board seat to which she was appointed. Tammy Legacy was re-elected as school moderator as was Shelley Quinn as school treasurer.
The unofficial turnout was roughly 2,850 with most of that coming in the form of mail-in or drop-off ballots. That and the bitter weather meant that in-person voting was slow throughout the day, Odum said, but the overall turnout was in line with a “normal” Town Meeting Day vote.
Full results follow:
Cemetery 5 year
Darragh Ellerson 2383
Cemetery 2 year
Barbara Smith 2311
Park 5 year
Lincoln Frasca 2295
District 1 City Council
Lauren Hierl 618
Nat Frothingham 328
District 2 City Council
Jack McCullough 789
District 3 City Council
Dan Richardson 578
Alice Goltz 222
City Clerk
John Odum 2488
School Director 3 years
Amanda Lucia Garces 2132
Mia Moore 2079
School Director 1 year
Emma Bay-Hansen 2266
School Moderator (no write in candidate reached 30 votes)
School Clerk
Tammy Legacy 2219
School Treasurer
Shelley Quinn 2244
CVPSA
Brent Householder 2197
Ballot Items
Article 5 (city budget)
Yes 2398 No 444
Article 6 (school budget)
Yes 2068 No 776
Article 7 (capital reserve fund, school)
Yes 1887 No 907
Article 8 (mayor compensation)
Yes 2511 No 331
Article 9 (council compensation)
Yes 2462 No 375
Article 10 (school board compensation)
Yes 2384 No 445
Article 11 (school fund balance)
Yes 2357 No 446
Article 12 (Downtown Improvement Dist.)
Yes 1975 No 820
Article 13 (Library budget)
Yes 2457 No 404
Article 14 (CV Home Health & Hospice)
Yes 2658 No 199
Article 15 (Cannabis retail authorization)
Yes 1981 No 847
