![Thom Lauzon - ANNE WALLACE ALLEN ©️ SEVEN DAYS](https://media1.sevendaysvt.com/sevendaysvt/imager/u/blog/40907362/lauzon_april_2024.jpeg)
- Anne Wallace Allen ©️ Seven Days
- Thom Lauzon
Lauzon earned 902 votes, or 58 percent, to easily defeat his only opponent, Samn Stockwell, who garnered 645 votes, or about 41 percent.
Both Lauzon and Stockwell serve on the city council. But Lauzon said on Wednesday that his previous tenure as mayor, which ended in 2018, convinced voters to choose him. He'll replace outgoing mayor Jake Hemmerick, who did not seek reelection after one two-year term.
“I think what it really came down to is people having a little more faith that I’d be ready to go on day one because I have sat in the center seat for 12 years,” Lauzon said by phone as he collected his 150 or so yard signs on the day after the election.
Related Barre Voters Will Choose Between Thom Lauzon and Samn Stockwell for Mayor
![Barre mayoral candidate Samn Stockwell in the city's north end, which was badly damaged by last July's flooding Barre mayoral candidate Samn Stockwell in the city's north end, which was badly damaged by last July's flooding](https://media1.sevendaysvt.com/sevendaysvt/imager/u/square/40849909/election1-1-76325b08ede8d3f7.jpg)
“The north end has to be a priority,” Lauzon said. He wants to create a firm plan for construction so work can get under way as soon as possible and has asked
“Redeveloping the entire north end is not something that is going to happen in two years,” Lauzon said.
Lauzon, who owns more than 50 properties in the city, campaigned on his strengths as someone who knows his way around numbers and construction projects. Stockwell, who teaches English and poetry at the Community College of Vermont, emphasized social issues on the trail, saying she wanted the city to do more to address affordable housing and to ensure Barre is a welcoming place for all. Stockwell would have been Barre’s first openly gay and first woman mayor.
Stockwell said after the election that her priorities hadn’t changed.
“The issues I raised were good, and with new council members, we’ll continue talking about the poverty rate, the need for housing across the spectrum and the need to acknowledge the impact of climate change,” she said.
Related Barre to Sell Two Parking Lots for $1 to Housing Developer
![Barre City Manager Nicolas Storellicastro at the Seminary Street parking lots. Barre City Manager Nicolas Storellicastro at the Seminary Street parking lots.](https://media2.sevendaysvt.com/sevendaysvt/imager/u/square/40715670/nicolas_storellicastro_in_barre_2024.jpeg)
A salaried city manager appoints and supervises department heads, negotiates contracts for the city, and makes recommendations to the city council.
Candidates for the mayor's office do not run as members of political parties.Barre, often called Barre City to distinguish it from neighboring Barre Town, is a city of about 8,500 people with an annual budget of about $12 million. In recent years, the city has become a destination for newcomers seeking affordable housing.
Related Thom Lauzon Is Barre's Mayor — and Its Biggest Developer. Is That a Problem?
![](https://media2.sevendaysvt.com/sevendaysvt/imager/u/square/7883519/lauzon-nadel.jpg)
"Poets make good leaders," Trader said of Stockwell. She added that she hoped Lauzon could use his experience to develop new housing.
"Thom is a developer and knows a good thing when he sees it," Trader said. “They’re both passionate about a better, stronger Barre.”
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