City Council Candidate Profiles | Chad Bushway

This article was written by Doug Phinney and Jenny Koppang

Seven candidates are vying for two open seats on the Winooski City Council this Town Meeting Day. The top two vote-getters will be elected to two-year terms. This election will be the first in the city to allow non-U.S. citizens the right to vote, a result of an amendment to Winooski’s charter that ensures that all residents can have a voice in municipal elections. 

These interviews have been lightly edited for length and clarity. 

Chad Bushway (he/him)

Q: How old are you and how long have you lived in Winooski?

I’m 49. I’ve lived here since 2004. My wife is a native from Winooski, she was born and raised here, same with her parents. Our kids grew up and graduated in Winooski.

Q: What’s your education/profession and work background?

I’ve worked in the automotive industry pretty much my whole life. My wife and I also do foster care for DCF—we’re a home provider for people.

Q: Why are you running for Winooski City Council?

I've seen a lot of great improvements in the 20 years that I've lived here, and I'm at that age where I'd like to give back and be part of the growth of Winooski.

Q: What do you see as the most important issue facing the city of Winooski?

I think it’s important not to grow too fast as we do more housing and stuff—that we’re capable of providing things like accurate parking, that we’re capable of handling the growth—that we don’t grow too fast.

Q: Winooski has an acute housing crisis. What ideas do you have for creating more affordable housing?

To make housing affordable, you have to keep property tax down. I don’t think you can have both. If landlords are heavily taxed, they have to pass that on to the tenant to hit a break-even point. For someone to buy a house in Winooski, for it to be affordable, the property tax has to be lower. It plays a big part. That’s one of the things: to make sure we can accomplish our goals without raising property taxes any further.

Q: Winooski is schedules to receive $2 million in American Rescue Plan funding. How would you like to see that money spent?

I would like to see a majority of it going to investments in our water and sewer system. A majority of the system is quite old. The rest of it I would like to see going towards essential workers.