Montpelier Mayor John Hollar has announced he will seek a second term. Montpelier has a city manager and the position of mayor is to lead the city council. Hollar is also a partner with the law firm Downs Rachlin Martin. His statement announcing his re-election bid is below. He previously ran uncontested.
Announcement of Plan to Seek Re-election
Someone asked me recently if I appreciated being mayor of Montpelier because, he said, this is an extraordinary town. He wanted to make sure that I knew what a privilege it is to serve as mayor of this great community.
I was pleased to tell him that I am honored to be able to serve as Montpelier’s mayor. It is an honor to be mayor of a community that has become a rarity in the American landscape: a city with a thriving downtown, engaged and activist residents, strong schools and beautiful public places. A city with low crime, little traffic, and great walkability. A city that places a very high value on community. A city that is supported by dedicated city staff and volunteers serving on many city committees, all of whom keep our city functioning at a very high level.
I am announcing tonight that I am running for re-election.
Montpelier is fortunate to be represented on this city council by such talented and dedicated individuals, and working with you, and with our hard-working city staff, we have made some very significant accomplishments in the last two years:
We have made great progress on three major projects that have been a priority in Montpelier for years:
We acquired the property at One Taylor Street (known as the Carr Lot) last week and are moving full-speed-ahead on project design and development.
The bike path extension from Granite St. to the Central Vermont Memorial Civic Center on Gallison Hill Road is well underway.
The downtown biomass heating distribution system has been largely completed.
These are amazing accomplishments for a community of our size in only two years. And at the same time, we have made progress on other major council goals:
‘¢ With this year’s proposed budget, our two-year average tax rate growth will be less than 1.5%. That is less than one-third the rate of growth of previous years.
‘¢ At the same time, we have greatly increased our spending on roads and sidewalks, thanks to the focus of Councilor Guerlain and many others. We are beginning the process of rebuilding our roads and making sustainable annual investments in our infrastructure.
There is, of course, a great deal more to be done. We need to see each of our major projects to completion. We need to fulfill our goal of making Montpelier a nationally known bike- and pedestrian-friendly community ‘ which we will do thanks to the vision of Councilor Edgerly-Walsh in promoting a dedicated alternative transportation fund. We need to address our parking challenges. And we need to fulfill the vision of an enhanced downtown with the help of the Downtown Improvement District.
I look forward to working with each of you on these and many other challenges over the next two years.
Montpelier Mayor’s Office, Jan. 9, 2014