Alyssa Johnson, Roger Clapp win in five-way select board race
Voters: ‘Yes’ to town budget, Ice Center funding, recreation planning, etc.
By Lisa Scagliotti and Abbie Kopelowitz
Editor’s note: This story was updated with comments from Mike Bard on March 3.
Planning Commission Chair Alyssa Johnson and longtime community volunteer Roger Clapp were victorious in Tuesday’s five-way race for two seats on the Waterbury Select Board.
According to Town Clerk Carla Lawrence, Johnson was the top vote-getter in the race with 724 votes. Clapp, who entered the race as a write-in on Feb. 20 received 414 votes. Elisabeth “Lisa” Walton came in third place with 365 votes; Flora Scott had 204; Matthew Abair won 190.
For a three-year seat, incumbent select board member Mike Bard was unopposed for re-election and won 837 votes. In both races, more than 200 ballots were left blank.
A total of 1,090 ballots were cast in the election, just under 25% of the town’s 4,406 registered, Lawrence said.
Aside from the races for the two select board seats, none of the other town offices on the ballot were contested. In fact, two offices that didn’t attract candidates to be printed on the ballot were filled with write-in candidates: Jacqueline Kelleher for a two-year seat on the Harwood Unified Union School District School Board and Deanna King for a seat on the Library Commission.
Lawrence was re-elected without opposition to her positions as clerk and treasurer. Other incumbents were returned to the Cemetery Commission, Board of Listers and Library Commission. (See results at the bottom of this post)
Roger Clapp. Courtesy photo
Reached Wednesday, Clapp congratulated his soon-to-be board colleagues. “Congratulations to Mike and Alyssa for receiving the top endorsements from Waterbury voters who've given us a clear indication that they want Waterbury to move forward with their extensive professional experience in rural development and planning,” he wrote in an email to Waterbury Roundabout.
Bard is retired following a career as director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development programs in Vermont and New Hampshire. Johnson came to Waterbury in 2017 as economic development director with Revitalizing Waterbury and currently is with the Vermont Council on Rural Development. She’s been on the Planning Commission for almost a year during which time the group has been immersed in updating the town’s zoning bylaw.
Clapp is president of Waterbury Winterfest having worked on the annual event since it began over a decade ago. His work experience includes nonprofit and government roles including heading the Vermont chapter of the March of Dimes, a stint in development for the Himalayan Cataract Project, time as state deputy commissioner of Deputy Commissioner of Agricultural Development and co-founder of the Vermont Fresh Network. Today he works at the PH International in Waitsfield which began as Project Harmony. The nonprofit looks to connect people around the world in civic and cultural exchanges.
Focus on inclusion fueled write-in
It’s that experience that fueled Clapp’s closest supporters to encourage him to run even after the deadline to get his name on the ballot. Maroni Minter, a co-founder of the Waterbury Area Anti-Racism Coalition formed in 2020, spent time ahead of the election waving hand-painted signs for Clapp to get voters’ attention. He was among a group of select board candidates and their supporters greeting voters outside Brookside Primary School on Town Meeting Day.
“I begged Roger to do this in the last minute,” Minter said, acknowledging the longshot nature of the race. “And that's why I am here, because I know that, historically, nobody's ever won office as a write-in candidate, but I'm going all out.”
Minter explained his support in the past year and a half of Waterbury’s inclusion efforts, and how he hoped that the winning candidates for select board positions would uphold those principles.
For example, the select board last fall decided to create and hang a banner near the town offices with wording from the Declaration of Inclusion that it adopted in January 2021 saying, “Waterbury, Vermont, condemns racism and welcomes all.”
That was in lieu of flying a banner stating “Waterbury Stands with Black Lives Matter” which had hung in 2020 and earlier last year. There was some public opposition to rehanging the banner when a request was made by WAARC members in October and the board opted to create its own banner and message.
The new banner with the inclusion message was intended to fly until Town Meeting Day after which point the board membership was likely to change and a new group could decide whether or not to let it remain.
Two of the other candidates for the one-year select board seats in Tuesday’s election -- Lisa Walton and Flora Scott -- spoke last fall at meetings regarding the banner where they were critical of either the new banner’s wording or the notion of flying the Black Lives Matter message.
In a pre-election survey from Waterbury Roundabout, Clapp said he would support the banner remaining up and elaborated on his views of its message: “According to a book recently published by the Waterbury Historical Society, Waterbury sent 250 volunteers to fight for the end of slavery between 1861 and 1865. In their honor, and for all those who have fought racism since, even to this day, I believe Waterbury would be well served to proclaim its commitment to inclusion.”
A busy year ahead
Clapp acknowledged the support of friends who encouraged him to enter the race and helped rally voters. “I'm just humbled and thankful for the outpouring of support I received on a hastily assembled write-in campaign,” he said. “I look forward to the opportunity to represent the residents of Waterbury and steward their interests through a transition in town management.”
The select board this year will launch a search for a successor to Municipal Manager Bill Shepeluk who intends to retire at the end of this year. Longtime Town Planner Steve Lotspeich also is looking to retire this year. Before he completes his tenure, Shepeluk has proposed a reorganization of town government that would incorporate the Edward Farrar Utility District as part of town governance. Decisions also lie ahead to determine how to spend approximately $750,000 in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding the town is due to receive this year.
Johnson agreed that it will be a busy year for local government. “There’s a lot of important work ahead, and I encourage community members to stay involved and provide input,” she said. “I’m grateful for the support and excited for the opportunity.”
Johnson and Clapp will join Bard on the select board along with veteran member Chris Viens and Dani Kehlmann, who was elected in 2021. Johnson’s move to the select board will also create an opening on the Planning Commission and a need for the commission to name a new chair.
The transition sees the two new members taking spots previously held by veteran select board member and recent Chair Mark Frier and member Katie Martin. Frier served seven years on the board; Martin opted not to run again after serving two one-year terms.
Acknowledging the evolving group, Bard on Wednesday said he’s looking forward to getting to know and work with Johnson and Clapp. He said he’s hopeful that everyone on the board will approach decision-making with similar common goals. “Ultimately to me everything’s about doing what’s right for your community, even if it’s not what you personally believe,” he said. “Common sense and logic need to prevail.”
The Waterbury Select Board is scheduled to meet next on March 21 when it will have its organizational meeting where decisions will include choosing a chair and vice chair.
In reporting results Tuesday evening, Lawrence had vote tallies for elections but not for the other ballot articles. She said voters approved all other items. Those included:
The proposed town budget of $6,482,625.
An appropriation of $100,000 from the town’s $1.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to the Ice Center of Washington West.
Allocating $50,000 for master planning for both the Hope Davey Park in Waterbury Center and the River Road park property where the Ice Center is located along with access to mountain bike trails, the dog park and a spot targeted for a new skateboard park.
More than two dozen articles totaling $57,900 to a myriad of community organizations and social service agencies. The largest single item is $20,000 to the Waterbury Area Senior Center which is in addition to $12,500 contained in the general fund budget.
Original story can be found at the Waterbury Roundabout.
