Most incumbents seeking re-election
Jan. 28, 2010
By Greg Elias
Observer staff
Newcomers will fill seats vacated by retiring incumbents, but there will be no contested races on the March ballot.
Monday was the filing deadline for local elected offices. Though terms expire for nine members of Williston’s town and school boards, no race emerged. All but two of the incumbents will seek re-election.
On the Selectboard, Jeff Fehrs and Chris Roy are running again. Fehrs, who has been on the Selectboard since 1998, filed for a three-year term. Roy seeks a second two-year term.
On the Williston School Board, incumbent Holly Rouelle is seeking a three-year term. Keith Roy is running for a two-year term.
Terms expire for two of Williston’s representatives on the Champlain Valley Union High School Board. Only one will seek re-election.
Board Chairwoman Jeanne Jensen will run for another three-year term. But Meg Hart-Smith, who has served on the CVU board for six years, is stepping down. She said last week that she wanted to give someone else a chance now that her children have graduated.
Polly Malik, a self-described “professional volunteer,” will run for Hart-Smith’s three-year seat. She said she learned of the opening through the Front Porch Forum, a Internet community bulletin board, and thought the School Board would be a logical extension of her involvement with the Williston School District.
“Partly, it’s because my (12-year-old) daughter will be over there in a couple of years,” she said. “I’ve always been involved with education. I volunteer whenever the school needs someone.”
Malik said she has for the past few years served as a “budget buddy” helping formulate the Williston School District’s annual spending plan. She also serves on the homeowner association board for the Meadow Ridge subdivision and on the Williston Federated Church board.
Another newcomer stepped forward to fill an opening on Dorothy Alling Memorial Library’s governing board. Ann Hazelrigg, a plant pathologist with the University of Vermont Extension, is retiring after 21 years to free up time to further her education.
Bo Tur is running uncontested for a five-year term as library trustee. Tur, a stay-at-home mom and former sales assistant at Morgan Stanley in New York City, moved to Williston four years ago. She has been attending library programs with her 17-month-old child and was approached to serve as a trustee.
“I just wanted to do something at the town level,” Tur said. “I’m not working right now and I wanted to get more involved.”
The remaining elected positions will be filled by longtime incumbents. Jerry Huetz will seek a third three-year term on the three-member Board of Listers, which oversees property appraisals. Kermit LaClair, who for many years has been town constable, will run for another one-year term.
Voters go to the polls on Tuesday, March 2. Balloting takes place at the Williston Armory.
ON THE BALLOT
Selectboard, three-year term
Jeff Fehrs
Selectboard, two-year term
Chris Roy
Williston School Board, three-year term
Holly Rouelle
Williston School Board, two-year term
Keith Roy
CVU High School Board, three-year term
Jeanne Jensen
CVU High School Board, three-year term
Polly Malik
Library Trustee, five-year term
Bo Tur
Lister, three-year term
Jerry Huetz
Town Constable, one-year term
Kermit LaClair