Schy says he'll run to unseat Hooper
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Gary Schy, shown standing in front of the North Branch river in Montpelier, says the city's fiscal problems and lack of transparency have prompted him to run for mayor. Kyle Martel/Times Argus |
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By SUSAN ALLEN TIMES ARGUS STAFF - Published: November 30, 2009
MONTPELIER – Montpelier resident and landlord Gary Schy, a self-appointed watchdog and critic of city government, says he plans to run for mayor on Town Meeting Day.
"People have been asking me … I've been hearing about it," Schy said. He believes someone needs to challenge incumbent Mayor Mary Hooper, adding, "I don't see anybody coming forward."
Hooper is currently the only announced candidate for the upcoming election. Montpelier resident and attorney Jon Anderson is considering the race, but has not committed to a run.
Schy, who has lived on Hubbard Street for 22 years, is a former accountant and owns 21 apartment units in Montpelier. He has run unsuccessfully for city council twice, and served on several city committees, including a citizens committee appointed in the wake of the failed 2007 reappraisal.
He said he is willing to step aside if a viable candidate comes forward to challenge Hooper, adding, "I don't want a three-way race if I feel that people are going to vote for change. I wouldn't want to split the vote with somebody."
He stopped short of saying he would step aside if that candidate was Anderson. "I wouldn't say I would commit to that at this point."
Schy said the recent disclosure of the city's $462,000 overpayment to Scott Construction Inc. of Newport was a key factor in his decision to run for mayor. The overpayment from the water fund was made in 2004, discovered by the city in 2006 and not fully disclosed by the mayor and City Council until last month while they focused on trying to recover the funds.
"It just was such a flagrant violation of so many things." Schy said of the situation. "It just is upsetting. It still is upsetting to so many people right now. So many people are upset by it."
He has spoken out at several City Council meetings about the situation, and is participating in a citizens committee – managed by State Auditor Thomas Salmon — drafting the charge for an audit of the problem and possibly the city's financial systems.
He said Hooper, along with the council and city manager, has blocked needed discussions of personnel issues facing the city in the wake of the Scott error. Perhaps, he suggested, city employees are too overworked or need other assistance to ensure they can do their jobs properly, or there is a lack of expertise to adequately handle the city's business.
"As mayor, I would at least bring it to the table," he said. "They don't even want to talk about personnel issues. They don't want to discuss it."
But he said the reappraisal fiasco was another factor in his decision to run for the mayor's post. He said the problem showed an inattention to problems by the mayor, adding, "This is wrong what was happening."
Finally, Schy said, he would facilitate – not dominate – council meetings.
"The mayor's position is not to try to dominate the City Council. The mayor is the chair of the City Council meetings," he said. But under Hooper, he added, "98 percent of the meeting is the mayor speaking and the City Council just sits and listens."
Schy admitted that his candidacy would be controversial.
"People are going to vote for me or they're not," he said. "I speak my mind. I'm not afraid to say what needs to be said."
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