By Russell Flannery

It was less than a year ago that Rutland’s top city leader appeared in place for two more years.  Mayor Mike Doenges was re-elected for a second two-year term on March 4 last year, topping Henry Heck.  That result was upended when Doenges shocked voters on January 29 this year by saying he would quit the job effective Feb. 27 to seize a “rare opportunity” that aligns with his long-term goals and “is right for me and my family.”  He in fact hadn’t earlier planned to “pursue a long-time political career,” Doenges wrote in a letter announcing his resignation.

The subsequent legal and political back and forth have delivered the final result most expected after Doenges surprise exit:  the next mayor will be elected for a one-year term through a write-in ballot on March 3 next month. Among the better-known candidates, Tom Donahue, currently on the Board of Aldermen and a long-time public figure in Rutland, quickly declared himself as a candidate.  Heck, a former city alderman who himself quit from that post last year, formally joined the fray while speaking at a Board of Aldermen meeting on Tuesday. 

The latest to formally enter the battle went public on Wednesday: current Board of Aldermen President Dave Allaire, a former elected mayor himself, who said on Facebook: “Over the last month our City has been in an upheaval with the resignation of the Mayor and now this unreasonable crazy write-in election on March 3^rd.”

“I have always tried to do what was best for this City so therefore responding to the many requests I have had from all of you out there I (am) announcing that I am a declared candidate for Mayor and I ask for your write-in support on March 3rd. Thanks for everything this City has given me and I am ready to answer the call.” 

Allaire added a photo of himself with his wife Audrey while the two were at a golf tournament in Connecticut during his tenure as mayor. “Tomorrow we will be married 43 years. I am very lucky. Any success I have had is solely because of her,” he said. 

Beyond the divisions hanging over city leadership, the problems facing Rutland are formidable. Voters are being asked on March 3 to approve a city budget whose increase from a year earlier is twice the national rate of inflation.  Walmart – one of Rutland’s top businesses – reportedly plans to relocate from downtown to Rutland Town, a move that could hurt city revenue at a time of a shrinking population and ahead of an upcoming city property tax reassessment that is likely to bring higher overall tax bills to many residents.

Like many other struggling Vermont cities and towns, Rutland also has been strapped onto a downward economic trajectory by a state legislature in Montpelier that has resulted in among the highest tax burdens in the U.S., a crisis in state education funding, excessive environmental regulations and a resultant shortage of workers and housing. In some respects, it’s no surprise that Doenges wants to move on. 

A risk with so many of Rutland’s big-name politicians running on a write-in ballot on March 3 was laid out by Ray LaMoria, a retired Rutland police detective, on Facebook in response to Allaire’s decision. “I’m concerned that there (are) so many good candidates including yourself for Mayor that it is going to split the vote and provide the opportunity (for) someone who shouldn’t be mayor (to) get elected. Too bad you guys couldn’t coalesce around one candidate with the same values for this one-year position.”  A reported 13 candidates will also be on the ballot for five open Board of Aldermen seats.

Stay tuned for an interesting 13 days in Rutland!  

Russell Flannery is a MSJ and UVM graduate, and a former long-time senior Forbes editor who lives in Rutland.