Cary Agin
Staff Report
No one was interested in being a Woodstock village trustee last month. Now there are at least two write-in candidates vying for the three-year term.
Two village business owners, Cary Agin and Dr. Michael Malik, want to be written on the ballot at the annual Trustees Meeting on Tuesday, March 15.
“We have a race,” said Trustee Jeff Kahn, who is running unopposed for a two-year seat on the board.
Agin, 39, is an optician who owns Eyes on Elm, the eyewear boutique in Woodstock. He started his business four-and-a-half years ago and has lived in Woodstock two years. He views the trustee seat as a learning opportunity.
“It will help me to understand more about the place I’m calling home,” said Agin, who lives in the Village with his family.
Dr. Michael Malik
Malik, 44, the owner of Woodstock Chiropractic and Functional Medicine, moved from Rhode Island with his wife and three children a year-and-a-half ago. He’s running to make the village’s struggling business economy thrive.
“As a business owner I love to see thriving local businesses that cater not only to tourists but also local residents,” he said. “I hate to see vacant spaces in the village — we need to keep Woodstock thriving.”
Both candidates missed the Feb. 8 cut-off to file petitions. The relative newcomers to Woodstock didn’t know that the trustee seat was open and didn’t get paperwork together in time.
The position was vacated by Chris Miller, who served six years.
“This is one of the first times this has happened,” Miller said. “Usually the outgoing trustee… is tasked with finding a replacement for himself, and I didn’t do that.”
Trustees were elected from the floor prior to 2006, the year the village voted to elect officers by Australian ballot. This required candidates to file petitions with at least 10 signatures to appear on the ballot.
“I don’t think this method prevents people from running,” said Kahn, who was in favor of moving to Australian ballot voting at the time.
“I think perhaps there hasn’t been any big issues and that kind of keeps (the trustees) out of people’s minds,” said Kahn. “We haven’t been receiving a lot of complaints, which is nice.”
Both candidates have to get at least 10 write-ins.
“Two write-in candidates is great interest,” Municipal Manager Phil Swanson said.
Agin is Miller’s neighbor.
“I know him to be interested and I know him to be committed to being involved. He seems openminded and thoughtful,” said Miller.
“It’s too bad that the race isn’t on the ballot,” Kahn said.
This article first appeared in the March 10, 2016 edition of the Vermont Standard.