Barre voters return Thom Lauzon to mayorship

City Councilor and former Mayor Thom Lauzon will return as mayor of Barre, following the city’s delayed local elections on Tuesday.

Lauzon defeated fellow Councilor Samn Stockwell by a vote of 902 to 645 — or 58% to 41% — according to unofficial results provided by the city clerk’s office. Lauzon is a local accountant, property owner and developer who served as Barre’s mayor for 12 years before moving to his city council seat in 2018. Stockwell is a local poet who has also worked for social service organizations in the area.

Outgoing mayor Jake Hemmerick chose not to seek reelection after four years in office, citing health challenges and a desire to focus on his professional career. In an interview earlier this month, he described this year’s election as a divide between “old blood,” represented by Lauzon, and new blood, such as Stockwell, whom Hemmerick endorsed.

This year’s municipal elections were delayed because of post-flood budgetary concerns, and the flood became one of the defining issues of the mayoral race. This year’s $14.8 million budget passed, with 56% voting in favor and 42% against.

In the city’s three contested city council races, former school board member Sonya Spaulding won a Ward 1 seat over local Rotary Club president Eddie Rousse. Amanda Gustin, chair of the Barre Democratic Committee, defeated incumbent Michael Boutin for the Ward 2 seat. Incumbent Michael Deering defeated Jeremy Spiro-Winn, a member of the city’s homelessness task force, in Ward 3.

Two of the contests were decided by just a handful of votes. Spaulding prevailed in her race by 14 votes, and Gustin by six votes.

A measure that would have allowed 16- and 17-year-olds in the city to vote in future local elections did not pass, with 30% voting for it and 67% against. A ballot item that would move all future elections to May passed, 57% to 39%.

Cheryl Metivier won the vacant city clerk seat with 308 write-in votes.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Barre voters return Thom Lauzon to mayorship .