All incumbents maintain seats

Incumbent South Burlington City Councilor Meaghan Emery narrowly defeated council race newcomer Matt Cota for the three-year seat by a vote of 3,940 -3,866, unofficial tallies show.

This will be Emery’s sixth term on the council.

Thomas Chittenden ran unopposed for another go at the three-year seat, winning with 6,720 votes.

On the school side, incumbents Bridget Burkhardt and Alex McHenry – who each ran unopposed – secured another term in their two and three-year seats, respectively. Burkhardt received 5,918 votes; it will be her third term on the board. McHenry will be serve for his second term, having garnered 5,943 votes.

“It was really close,” Cota told The Other Paper late Tuesday night. “I’m proud of the campaign I ran. I’m overwhelmed by the number of supporters who wanted to see change.”

Councilor Emery awaited the unofficial tally at Tuttle Middle School, where she had already learned counts in the Orchard and Chamberlin districts pointed in her favor.

“It was a very hard won race,” Emery said. “I just have to thank everybody who had faith in me.”

Among Emery’s top priorities for the city is sustainability.

“We’re at an important deciding point in our community because we’re really going to see the future development patterns of South Burlington based on this race,” she told The Other Paper. “It’s very clear to me that the current pattern of building out is just not sustainable. I mean, that’s the reason I ran.”

Emery added she wants to keep the city affordable and hopes residents in the Southeast Quadrant feel secure. “I certainly have no intention of leaving them without the ability to recoup the value of their land,” she said.

Preliminary counts show Emery one each voting district but 7-2, the Southeast quadrant