Ballots cast, Waterbury voters share their opinions
March 5, 2026 | By Sarah Andrews | Correspondent Waterbury voters had an especially long list of items to decide at the polls on Town Meeting Day this year. They had two competitive races for three seats on the Waterbury Select Board, a school board contest between two write-in candidates, a bond vote for a major flood mitigation project and budget votes for both the Harwood Unified Union School District and the Central Vermont Career Center.
Roundabout contributor Sarah Andrews spent part of Tuesday’s town meeting stretch talking with voters after they cast their ballots and picked up their “I voted” stickers.
Here are highlights from her conversations.
Voters mark their ballots in the gym at Brookside Primary School on Town Meeting Day. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti
Holly Boucher is a longtime Waterbury resident. For her, town meeting is not something to miss. “This has been a tradition for decades. When you read the annual report, that's one thing, but to come and experience it and be part of it, that's another thing,” Boucher said. “You come together as a community to make it all happen. This is what makes it all real.”
On the select board race, Boucher was supporting Chris Viens for the three-year seat. “Chris Viens. You know, he's from town. You know those people. You know how they work. That makes a difference,” Boucher said.
On the Randall Meadow bond vote, Boucher said she voted yes knowing the plans still need more work. “A little more research needs to be done on that,” she said. “I think there needs to be clarification as to exactly what they want to do in that area. Do I feel that it needs to happen? Yes. But I think we need a little more research before we literally start digging.”
* * * * *
Melissa McKay said she was particularly eager to vote in the select board race. “I'm here to vote for the select board, specifically Don Schneider. He did such a great job for the elementary school, and I think his work in the community has been outstanding. I'm excited for him,” she said.
McKay also noted that she supports the Randall Meadow flood mitigation proposal. “I believe we need to do that for the town,” she said.
* * * * *
Joe Greene came out to vote and participate in town meeting. “It’s my town, you know, civic duty and all that stuff,” said Greene.
Greene didn't speak to any specific candidates for select board, but commended the efforts of those who did choose to run. “Were in a weird kind of dynamic right now, we just don’t have a lot of people wanting to step up and be candidates,” Greene said. “I value the people who are stepping up who want to be in that role for sure.”
His support goes beyond those running for office. “For Bill Woodruff to step in as interim [town manager] is a pretty big deal. We need a town clerk. We need a town manager,” Greene said.
An architect by profession, Greene has some experience with flood mitigation and he said he supports the bond for the Randall Meadows project. “Other than the projected cost to do it, I'm a big fan,” he said. “Does it have to cost $4 million? I hope not, I mean, if we’re just moving dirt around.”
Greene said he recognizes that the mitigation project affects the whole town. “For a lot of people, it doesn't affect them. But these are still our neighbors, these are our friends, and I think as a community as a whole, they need to be supported,” he said. “I definitely support it, and if they need my help with a shovel, I'm happy to go help dig.”
* * * * *
Natalie Sherman serves as a commissioner with the Edward Farrar Utility District. She said she was excited about this year's select board options.
Sherman said that Schneider's stability and thoughtfulness are important to her. “I'm glad that Don Schneider joined in as a write-in candidate for that particular seat,” Sherman said. “Don is a really good man, and he has a really good reputation for serving the community and serving our town. He’s been really good about providing good guidance when he works in conjunction with community affairs.”
For the one-year seats, Sherman said that all the candidates showed promise.
“I love that we have someone younger who’s coming on to try and fill that role, with Evan [Hoffman],” she remarked.
“Sandy [Sabin] has really stepped up and done some really good work with housing,” Sherman said. “[Martha] Staskus, boy, that’s another winner. She’s been really involved with the community and providing good, sound, clear assistance and support to the matters at hand.”
Sherman said that she voted yes for the Randall Meadow flood mitigation project. “We really need to do everything we can to help with that issue. We've got some great funding to try to help support the complete project that's proposed,” Sherman said. “We really need to do everything we can. I'm voting to help that situation.”
* * * * *
Lucas Goldfluss is a conservation specialist with the Winooski Natural Resources Conservation District who came to hear the discussion about the Randall Meadow mitigation proposal.
“It’s a lot of money, and I think people see the 2-3 million dollar budget and they get kind of scared. But with core services like firetruck or emergency services, flood resilience and disaster response, it doesn't seem like people are really batting an eye because of how hard we’ve been hit,” he said.
* * * * *
Ryan Geary is a longtime Waterbury resident and a participant with the VT 250 committee and the Waterbury Historical Society. He voted Tuesday because he said he felt strongly about the select board race. He expressed concerns about the comments that led to Viens’ resignation from his chair position on the select board in 2020.
“I am the father of two biracial children. The sole candidate [on the ballot] for the 3-year position, Chris Viens, has had a history of very divisive comments and suggestions,” Geary said. “I'm not wishing to see a return to that on the select board.”
As a father of two, Geary said he supports proposed budget increases to the school district. “I'd love to see the budget increase for the school district, absolutely,” Geary said.
Geary also expressed support for the Randall Meadow bond vote. “I think it's something we should definitely do and invest in. Everyone has been saying it, but an inch of water makes a huge difference,” he said.
* * * * *
George Seymour, another longtime Waterbury resident and employee at Green Mountain Power, attended his first town meeting on Tuesday. “This is the first town meeting I've ever been to, and you wanna know why? Because I worked for 43 years,” Seymour said.
“I voted, clearly, for Chris Viens. I’ve been in Waterbury since 1980, so I've seen changes that happened here, especially lately.”
Seymour was hesitant about the Randall Meadow flood mitigation project. He thinks that it's not enough to mitigate, but rather, we need to “live with it.”
“You can study this all you want, but don’t spend that kind of money to mitigate something that really is pretty questionable. You aren't going to screw with Mother Nature,” Seymour said.