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By Hojun Choi
Marc Gwinn, the sole candidate for mayor in Montpelier, says building trust and productive dialogue between the city council, the city staff, and the community is his top priority — a goal he admits could take time to achieve.
“I’m hearing pretty consistent things on all three sides, which is that there’s some level of mistrust or broken trust,” Gwinn said.
The rising friction coincides with a time in which many residents are struggling with housing and affordability. And many businesses have yet to fully recover from the devastating flooding in 2023.
To mend the fracture in communication, Gwinn told The Bridge he wants to start by making himself available to the community.
“I’m meeting with members of staff. I’m meeting with all the council members, and I’m meeting with anyone in the public that will care to listen,” Gwinn said.
The 55-year-old financial adviser and musician is seeking to replace Mayor Jack McCullough, who during an early-January council meeting announced that he will not be seeking re-election in March. McCullough first joined the city council in 2018.
During his announcement, McCullough said some of the public discourse at city hall had turned “ugly and toxic.” He pointed to “unfounded personal attacks” that “poisoned the public dialogue, discouraged participation, and hampered progress.”
“Our community deserves excellent leaders, and this type of toxic discourse is discouraging great people from stepping up to serve our community,” McCullough said at the January meeting. “It divides us when we have so much more in common and so much good we can accomplish when we come together.”
In addition to a new mayor at the helm, this year will be the first time Montpelier has had a new city manager in three decades. City Manager Kelly McNicholas Kury started work this week.
Gwinn said high-profile city projects, such as plans to develop Country Club Road and the East State Street upgrades will depend on the ability of city officials, residents, and stakeholders to find common ground.
Doing so will require some in the community to “let go” of their past discontent in leadership, Gwinn said.
“I don’t want to look backwards unless looking back at how we got here can teach us a lesson about how to move forward,” Gwinn said.
His experience as a financial adviser prepares him well for conversations regarding vision, value, and priority, Gwinn said.
“The most important skill that I have is listening to understand how to guide people to a thing that’s important to them, not telling them what’s important to them,” Gwinn said.
Gwinn also expects his time on the stage as a musician to inspire his leadership style.
“On the stage, what I’m primarily doing is helping a room full of people facilitate a shared experience and keeping that experience focused on the joy in the room,” Gwinn said.
Gwinn, who has lived in the city since 2021, is the president of the Montpelier Rotary Club and served on the Montpelier Commission for Recovery and Resilience. In 2025, he lost a bid for the District 2 seat held by City Councilor Pelin Kohn by just four votes.
Although running uncontested saves him the stress of fundraising and debating, Gwinn said he had hoped to see more candidates interested and vying for the position. None of the city councilors up for re-election are facing challenges ahead of Town Meeting Day.
Despite the lack of contested races on the ballot, Gwinn urged Montpelier residents to vote and make their voice heard on March 3.
“Every vote matters, and we’ve still got a budget to pass. There are articles on the ballot that have a lot of people who are for and against,” Gwinn said. “If you think your vote doesn’t matter, you’re wrong. Your vote could be the one that makes the difference.”
