Underhill voters elect man who died

Kevin Tarrant had hoped to make a difference in Underhill by running for the Selectboard, but he died one day before town meeting.

That didn't stop voters from electing him to a 3-year term Tuesday.

Voters were never told about Tarrant's death out of respect for his family and because of state campaign laws.

Tarrant, who had a 24-year military career and also flew for United Airlines, collapsed at his home Monday morning.

Town Clerk Sherri Morin said state election laws prohibit campaigning or discussion of candidates within a polling place. The voting booths are along the side walls in the gym at the Browns River Middle School. The town meeting is conducted in the center of the gym.

An announcement about the death of Tarrant, 55, might be interpreted as urging voters to cast their ballots in a certain way.

His widow, Catherine Tarrant, said she fully understood.

"He had been looking so forward to running for the Selectboard," she told the Burlington Free Press.

"God has given me a lot of strength," said Catherine Tarrant, the mother of four, who told the story of her husband's death at the kitchen table.

Tarrant, who filed a nominating petition, collected 371 votes on Tuesday. Peter Duval, who ran a write-in campaign, tallied 135.

Now the Underhill Selectboard is trying to determine how to fill the seat.

Selectboard member Dave Rogers, who has been the vice-chairman, said Thursday afternoon the town has several options. They include:

Appoint somebody to fill the seat.

Recruit applications from interested residents, conduct interviews and appoint one of them.

Hold a special election to fill the seat.

The board could appoint somebody, but the town would have to hold a special election if a resident submitted a proper petition, Rogers said.

Thursday night the Selectboard had its annual re-organizational meeting and decided to start the process by seeking interest from residents, Rogers said.

The board also scheduled two special meetings next week: Tuesday and Thursday at 6 p.m. at the town hall.

The board expects to appoint somebody by late next week but also has the option of calling for a vote, Rogers and Selectboard member Cliff Peterson said after the meeting.

They said interested persons should contact the Underhill town offices and leave their name with either Morin or Town Administrator Brian Bigelow.

Two residents, Peter Bennett and Seth Friedman, who was a on the Selectboard until Tuesday, both spoke at the meeting Thursday night about having a town-wide election to fill the seat.

Tarrant was seeking to fill a vacancy created when Friedman, who served three years, decided not to seek re-election.

Peterson and Rogers appear to have some difference over the transparency of the process.

Peterson said in a phone interview that the law does allow the board to go behind closed doors to interview candidates.

Rogers wants an open process.

"We are not trying to secretly select somebody," Rogers said.

While Tarrant won a 3-year term, any appointment would be until the next special or town election, Peterson said.

Rogers and Peterson are caught in an interesting legal twist. Under Vermont's open-meeting law, they cannot discuss filling the seat — or resolve the transparency issue — unless they are in a publicly warned meeting.

The only discussion they can have outside of a board meeting is to identify items for the agenda of the next meeting.

Morin said 120 registered voters would need to sign a petition to force a special election in the community of 3,020.

Tarrant, a retired lieutenant colonel, will be buried in the spring at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors, said John Workman of the A.W. Rich Funeral Home in Essex.

Wanted to serve

Tarrant, served 14 years on active duty with the U.S. Air Force and 10 years in the air national guard in Texas. He retired in late 2010 and took a job as an Instructor Pilot with the Air National Guard's Mission Training Center in South Burlington.

The Tarrant family arrived in Underhill on Dec. 22, 2010.

"We came right after the 22 inches of snow fell," Catherine Tarrant said. It was an interesting change for the four children, who had been born in Texas and New Mexico.

She said the family loves the area and her husband, who had served the nation, wanted to serve the local community.

"He had no agenda," she said.

He was impressed with the high quality of the people running and working for the town.

Tarrant, a Massachusetts native, thought his experience managing budgets, his general knowledge and developing plans for military inspections would be helpful as the town continues to move forward. He said his past work also developed teamwork skills.

The candidate and his wife spent part of Sunday completing campaign fliers. He had gone skiing at Sugarbush the day before with one of his sons.

"He was like a little kid on Sunday," she said. Her husband also was methodical.

They debated how many fliers needed to be printed and had to make sure they had enough paper, ink and paperclips. He also needed a paper cutter and wanted the fliers stacked in groups of 10.

After the fliers were cut, they were stuffed into a new shoe box for distribution.

"Our son had just bought some new Air Jordans," she said.

Their son, Thomas, 20, was looking forward to casting his vote for his father, she said.

It all changed about 7:20 Monday morning. He collapsed while sitting at the kitchen table working with a pen and a tablet, Catherine Tarrant said.

Their 14 year-old son, Tucker, an eight-grader at Camels Hump Middle School yelled to her to call 911.

"I think dad is having a heart attack," she quoted her son as yelling.

Another son, Gus, a junior at Mount Mansfield Union High School, began CPR.

Gus Tarrant, a member of the varsity football team, continued until first responders arrived and tried to shock him, she said. They continued to work on Tarrant, but in the end he did not respond.

She said their daughter Shanley, 22, who lives in Georgia, visited the family in Vermont in mid-February. Kevin Tarrant took his daughter to Massachusetts to see his relatives, including his parents.

Catherine Tarrant said she has been touched by the outpouring of support from the community and military.

She said one of her brothers in a small town in North Carolina posted a note on social media and was flooded positive, uplifting comments.

"The whole town is praying for us," she said.

Tarrant said she hopes her husband's story might stir a local resident to step forward.

Visiting hours at the Catalyst Church on Raceway Road in Jericho will be 5 to 8 p.m. Monday. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the same church.

Contact Mike Donoghue at 660-1845 or mdonoghue@freepressmedia.com. Follow Mike on Twitter at www.twitter.com/FreepsMikeD.