Herlihy wins seat on selectboard in Tuesday voting

Of Charlotte’s 3,444 registered voters (as of this past November), 1,123, or 33 percent, voted in Tuesday’s Australian ballot voting.

This election resulted in a change to the town’s selectboard with JD Herlihy defeating Kelly Devine 786 to 260, taking just over 75 percent of the votes cast in that race.

With Lee Krohn running unopposed to win the vacant seat of Jim Faulkner, who chose not to run for re-election, two of the faces on the board will be new to the town’s primary governing body.

Once again, road commissioner Junior Lewis was the biggest vote-getter, taking 1,040 votes. Lewis is the perennial top vote-getter in town elections and, as usual, he ran unopposed.

The second highest vote tally went to Mary Mead, who ran unopposed for a one-year term as delinquent tax collector and was confirmed in that role with 988 votes.

A charter that will change Charlotte to give residents the right to vote on changes to land-use regulations was approved by the town 694 to 335. More than 67 percent of town voters supported this article.

The authority to approve land-use regulations was given to selectboards by the state Legislature last year. Any change or creation of a town charter has to be approved by the Legislature, so giving authority for land-use changes to Charlotte voters is not a done deal.

Possibly the biggest news of the March 4 voting is that Champlain Valley School District voters approved the district’s budget for fiscal year 2026 with expenses of more than $102.7 million. This is estimated to increase per pupil spending to $15,535, a projected 3.3-percent increase.

Of the 23,835 total register voters in the district’s five towns of Charlotte, Hinesburg, Shelburne, St. George and Williston, 6,358 voted on the district’s ballot. The school budget was approved by 4,494 of those voters for a winning margin of more than 70 percent.

Voting Results: March 4, 2025

CANDIDATES FOR TOWN OFFICES

Selectboard, two-year term
(vote for not more than one)
Kelly Devine 260
JD Herlihy 786
Write-in 7

Selectboard, three-year term
(vote for not more than one)
Lee Krohn 933
Write-in 17

Auditor, three-year term
(vote for not more than one)
Richard Mintzer 889
Write-in 5

Cemetery Commissioner, three-year term
(vote for not more than one)
Jessie R. Bradley 950
Write-in 2

Cemetery Commissioner, two years of three-year term
(vote for not more than one)
Peter Demick 911
Write-in 7

Cemetery Commissioner, one year of three-year term
(vote for not more than one)
Lisa Hauenstein 895
Write-in 1

Charlotte Library Trustee, five-year term
(vote for not more than one)
Hylah Patton 913
Write-in 3

Delinquent Tax Collector, one-year term
(vote for not more than one)
Mary A. Mead 988
Write-in 6

Road Commissioner, one-year term
(vote for not more than one)
Hugh Lewis Jr. 1040
Write-in 2

Town Moderator, one-year term
(vote for not more than one)
Charlie Russell 883
Write-in 20

Trustee of Public Funds, three-year term
(vote for not more than one)
Ruth Uphold 902
Write-in 0

TOWN ARTICLES

Article 11 asked residents to approve a charter for Charlotte giving residents, instead of the selectboard, the authority to vote on changes to town land-use regulations.
IN FAVOR 694
AGAINST 335

CHAMPLAIN VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT BALLOT

Article VII asked school district voters to approve the school board spending $102,724,062 to run the district school for the next fiscal year. The district estimates the proposed budget will result in spending $15,535 per pupil, which is an 3.3 percent increase in per-pupil spending from this year.
YES 4494
NO 1843

Article VIII asked if district voters will authorize the school board to allocate its current fund balance of $1,747,254 as revenue for future budgets.
YES 5155
NO 1148