Letter to the editor: Addison candidates say they won’t vote as a block

I had an opportunity to communicate directly with Tim Buskey about his concerns that there were three candidates running as some sort of “voting block.” I thought it might be helpful to also share my thoughts with your readers, as I am one of the three candidates he was concerned about.

The lakefront town of Addison this year boasts the highest per capita interest in running for office in Addison County, with nine candidates vying for three selectboard seats, including three incumbents. 

The recent oversight in the town of Addison’s election process, failure to remember selectmen’s terms, was unfortunate. However, if I read the Vermont statute correctly, the selectman… “serves until a successor is elected.”

Arguably Addison County’s liveliest Town Meeting Day election this year may be found in the lakefront town that shares its name with the county, Addison.

The five-member Addison selectboard has pointed to a misprint in Addison’s 2022 town report as the issue behind the board’s decision to juggle selectboard term lengths on the town’s March 5 ballot. 

You will note an anomaly in the number of selectboard positions up for election this year. In a typical year, there would be no more than two board members up for election. This year, we have three. 

Three incumbents on the Addison selectboard face challengers for their selectboard seats in Town Meeting Day voting.

The February Addison Town Historical Society meeting at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 11, will feature a special guest speaker, local historian Bernard Noble.

A free open house will be held at the DAR’s John Strong Mansion in Addison on Saturday, Aug. 12, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and again from 2 to 3 p.m. 

As Addison Northwest School District officials projected before Town Meeting Day voting, Addison homeowners are looking at major increases in their 2023-2024 Fiscal Year (FY24) homestead property tax bills driven by school taxes.

The Addison selectboard appeared to be ready on Wednesday, July 5, to take a key step to advance the voter-approved plan to renovate the town’s former town hall into a town office building and community center.

The John Strong Mansion/Museum, located at 6656 Route 17 in Addison, is open for the season.

The following arms-length real estate sales were recorded in Addison between January 2022 and April 2023.

Lea Krause, an 11th-grader at Vergennes Union High School, has once again earned a position on the National High School rodeo team representing Vermont.

My questions regarding the will of the people, as demonstrated in last November’s Town Hall bond vote, have been rebuffed at two successive board meetings with robust arguments regarding the legal restriction of the vote.