Three-way race: EFUD gets its first competitive election

April 20, 2026 | By Lisa Scagliotti

For the first time since it formed in 2018, Waterbury’s Edward Farrar Utility District will have a competitive election at its annual meeting in May. 

One-year term candidates from left to right: incumbents Natalie Sherman and Rick Weston, and first-time candidate Valerie Rogers.

As of the recent filing deadline for the May 13 election, four candidates are on the ballot for three seats on the district’s five-member Board of Commissioners. 

Three candidates are running for two one-year spots on the board: Incumbents Natalie Sherman and Rick Weston are seeking re-election; first-time candidate Valerie Rogers also filed for a one-year term, making that a three-way contest. Incumbent Robert Finucane is running for re-election to one of the board’s three-year seats and he is unopposed.

The EFUD candidates have all shared letters to district voters with the Waterbury Roundabout, linked above. Find them in the Opinion section.  

May 13 election and annual meeting

EFUD is the separate municipal entity that runs Waterbury’s water and wastewater systems. It was formed in 2018 to succeed the former village government, which was dissolved at that time. 

Robert Finucane is unopposed for a three-year seat on the EFUD Board of Commissioners. Courtesy photo

Both Finucane and Sherman’s experience spans the governing boards from both the former village trustees and the current utility district commission. This is Weston’s third time running for a one-year seat. He was first elected in 2024 to fill a board vacancy after former commissioner Lawrence “Lefty” Sayah passed away the previous fall. 

The board election will be held from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the town offices on Wednesday, May 13. Early voting is also an option and ballots are expected to be available in person or by mail later this week. The district’s annual report will be available in both paper copies and online on the EFUD page of the WaterburyVt.com website by the start of May. 

In addition to the board election, the EFUD Board of Commissioners will hold its annual meeting at 7:30 p.m. on May 13 in the Steele Community Room at the municipal building. Only those voters attending in person may participate in voting on articles at that meeting. 

The annual meeting agenda includes accepting reports from the district officers, setting annual compensation for officers, and authorizing the board to borrow money in the coming year if needed for water and wastewater operations. See the annual meeting warning posted online here. 

Compensation proposed for the coming year for district officers is at the same level as what was approved for 2025: $2,000 per year for the board chair, $1,500 for each commissioner, and $3,000 for the clerk/treasurer, which is a position the board appoints. 

EFUD Commission Chair P. Howard “Skip” Flanders said he would like to include a presentation for the annual meeting program to highlight work the district will focus on in the coming year. He said it will highlight the individual for whom the annual report is dedicated this year. It also will likely include some information shared at recent community meetings to discuss issues around land use and environmental protection regarding land the district owns straddling the Waterbury-Stowe border, known as the Waterworks. The area encompasses over 500 acres of undeveloped highlands that are a significant watershed for the municipal water system. Due to increasing public use of the land and unauthorized activity in 2025 to build trails for biking, hiking and other recreational activities, the EFUD commission is looking to create a land-use policy for the area this year.   

Low voter interest 

EFUD’s elections and annual meeting typically attract a sparse voter turnout and participation. With one exception, since the district was formed in 2018, its annual elections have had between 16 and 44 voters cast ballots. Last year for example, 28 ballots were cast; in 2019, just 16 people voted in the election and in 2022, a total of 44 votes were counted. 

Two outliers were the 2024 annual election when 144 people voted despite there being no contested offices, and a special vote in October 2022 when district voters were asked to approve the sale of property on South Main Street to Downstreet Housing & Community Development to build an affordable housing project. 

That 2024 vote came amidst high interest in local elections that spring given multiple votes needed to pass the Harwood Unified Union School District budget. The 2022 special vote attracted 277 people who voted overwhelmingly in favor of the property sale. That 26-unit project is nearing completion now. 

Typical attendance at the in-person evening EFUD annual meeting is usually around 20 or so people, often including some district staff members who may not be voters if they reside outside of the district.

To vote in the board election or at the annual meeting, an individual needs to be a registered voter living in the EFUD district. The district currently does not have a published map depicting the boundaries. It generally encompasses Waterbury’s downtown and some properties along the Vermont Route 100 corridor, including a section of Blush Hill and an area near the intersection with Guptil Road. 

Interim EFUD Manager Bill Woodruff said staff at the Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission are working on creating an official map to show the district boundaries. He said he hoped it would be available prior to this year’s annual meeting. Once it’s complete, it will be posted on the district’s webpage on the town website. 

In the meantime, voters may contact the town clerk’s office to check whether they are an EFUD voter eligible to participate in the May 13 election and annual meeting.

Flanders encourages district residents to attend the meeting and participate in the vote. He said he’s optimistic that having a competitive race for the board’s one-year positions this year could mean greater participation and voter turnout than usual.

He recalled that the last competitive election in the district was 2011, when there was still a village board of trustees. That election logged 326 voters.  Sherman, in her first run for office, defeated former trustee Everett Coffey by 20 votes, 171-151, according to municipal records. 

A contest tends to attract more interest. “I think we could get 150 or so voters this time,” Flanders predicted.