Tom Donahue will be Rutland’s next mayor. He won the most votes in an unusual write-in campaign on Tuesday that was set in motion when former Mayor Michael Doenges resigned midway through his two-year term. A formal swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for March 15.
According to unofficial results, Donahue got 1,323 votes followed by David Allaire, president of the city’s board of aldermen, who got 999. Results for the other write-in candidates were not immediately available as of Tuesday evening. But it appeared the votes for Donahue and Allaire made up just 21% of all the write-in votes.
The victory concludes what many Rutland voters said was a frustrating write-in election, with some expressing confusion about the process on Town Meeting Day.
Donahue, a member of Rutland City’s board of aldermen is currently CEO of BROC Community Action, a job he’s held for a decade. Before that the 68-year-old was the longtime head of the Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce.
"I worked with over 600 businesses, from the smallest mom-and-pop to the largest," he told Vermont Public in an interview following his win. "And I know what those businesses, what their day is like. I know what their challenges are, and I know what they need to succeed."
Over his career, Donahue said he's also served on 34 volunteer boards, both local and statewide.
"And being CEO of BROC Community Action, I've worked with a huge segment of the population that we need to pay attention to," he said. "So I have all the sort of moving parts and pieces that you want, I think, in a mayor that's going to lead the city into the future and into success."
More from Vermont Public: Frustration mounts in Rutland over write-in-only election for mayor
Some Rutland voters, including Lisa Duffy, agreed. She said Donahue got her vote and believes he'll do a good job.
But as someone who recently moved to Rutland City from nearby Rutland Town, Duffy said navigating an exclusive write-in campaign for mayor was frustrating.
“It did seem to go down in a disrespectful way for city residents," she said.
Because of timing of the outgoing mayor's announcement, no candidates were listed on the ballot. Instead, eight people had publicly stated that they'd like voters to write their names in.
Another voter, Lorraine Dewey, said earlier in the day on Tuesday that trying to choose a mayor in this manner left her feeling shortchanged.
“Because you’re not making the most informed choice, that’s the big problem and you want to have someone that you vote for … and so if you don’t know who they are, it’s difficult,” she said.
But local businessman Robert Maguire said despite the strange campaign, he also believes Donahue will do a great job.
"I’ve known Tom my whole life and he’s always been so active in town and on many local volunteer boards. I know that he cares very much for our community and that he has the skills and the ability to get things done in the city," he said.
Donahue had also gone into the election with the backing of Republican Gov. Phil Scott, who announced his endorsement for Donahue last week.
As Donahue gears up to start his term, he told Vermont Public that he's grateful voters approved the city's budget on Tuesday, so that he can enter the mayor's office with the next spending plan in place.
