Winooski’s Mayor Kristine Lott announced Tuesday she would be stepping down as of Sept. 15. She is expecting her first child and said she is looking forward to prepare for a new chapter in her life.
“This was not an easy decision — the seven years I have served my neighbors has been the honor of a lifetime,” Lott stated in a press release.
Deputy Mayor Thomas Renner will serve as interim mayor until Winooski residents elect a new leader next Town Meeting Day.
Lott, 40, who is from Michigan, came to Vermont in 2009 and has lived in the Onion City since, she said. She served on the City Council before she was elected mayor in March 2018, beating fellow council member Eric Covey.
At the time, she said she was excited to be the first woman to be mayor of Vermont’s most diverse city. She draws an annual stipend of $1,700 for the volunteer position.
Lott first got involved in government when she volunteered to be on the housing commission in 2017 “just to be a part of problem solving around housing issues and to be more connected, more engaged in my community,” she told VTDigger on Tuesday.
And community seems to have become the cornerstone of her term there. She has reached out and participated with residents at various levels — from building ties with the local mosque to joining a clean-up crew to pick up dog waste.
“Local government, it’s supposed to be by the people, for the people,” said Lott. She sought to hear directly from constituents and plugged the feedback back into the system to make decisions that benefitted the community, she said.
“Kristine was good about connecting with and listening to a wide range of community members, which is such an important aspect of governing,” City Manager Elaine Wang wrote in an email. “With me, as the Mayor is Council’s liaison to the City Manager and staff, she struck a great balance between acting as a partner while maintaining the authority of Council.”
Wang said she first met Lott for a chat in a local cafe in 2022. Wang had just been hired after a nationwide search but hadn’t started work yet.
“She signaled a good mix of high expectations, yet interest in being supportive, which was buoying me as a first-time manager,” Wang stated.
The community engagement is what Lott remains most proud of.
In her first year as mayor, Lott said she visited the local mosque to foster a relationship that has lasted, and joined a downtown riverbank cleanup where volunteers cleared dog poop from the area.
“I was really interested in just doing more community engagement and adding more transparency and outreach. And I think we certainly have made improvements there,” she said. “That has been really rewarding for me, to build more relationships and see more people engaged in local government.”
Mukhtar Abdullahi recalled meeting Lott at the Islamic Community Center of Vermont during her visits, where she always wore a head covering.
“A lot of people come to us, most of the time they’re looking for something,” he said. “For her, she comes in, she makes eye contact, respects the people, listens to them, never interrupts. She’s a wonderful, wonderful human being.”
As a Somali and Mai Mai language liaison in the Winooski School District and a prevention educator at Winooski Partnership for Prevention, Abdullahi said he has crossed paths with Lott many times since, and that she has either helped directly or guided the community in the right direction.
Lott has always been welcoming, supportive and accessible, even on short notice, he said, so he is sad to see her go.
Renner, who is about to step into Lott’s role, wrote in an email he has enjoyed her mentorship and will miss serving by her in the council chambers.
“Kristine is a dedicated public servant who has spent years working to make Winooski an incredible place to live, visit, and work,” Renner wrote, adding he is happy her expertise is just a phone call away.
Lott highlighted several achievements in Winooski during her term — from closing out the 20-year Tax Increment Financing debt that has helped invest in essential services, to zoning regulations that have led to more affordable and family-friendly housing amid a statewide housing crisis.
As she leaves behind multiple ongoing projects — the Main Street revitalization that’s expected to be completed this year, for instance — Lott said she feels good about leaving the council and interim mayor “in a good position” to keep advancing this year’s priorities and the upcoming budget process.
She hopes they will “continue the focus on deep community engagement in the decision making process,” she said.
“While I’ll always care deeply about public service and what comes next for this incredible community I call home, it is the right decision to focus my priorities and energy on family, career, and personal life,” she stated in the release.
Clarification: An earlier version of this story misstated the term length Thomas Renner will serve as interim mayor.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified who was hired as Winooski city manager after a nationwide search and was incorrect on the amount of the mayor’s annual stipend.
