David Allaire, president of the Rutland City Board of Aldermen, says he wants to be the city’s next mayor.
Rutland voters won’t make that choice until March, but Allaire formally announced his campaign Wednesday. To get the job, he’ll have to unseat Christopher Louras, who’s been mayor for six years.
Allaire has served on Rutland’s Board of Aldermen for 15 years. But the 56-year-old advertising salesman says he wants to do more to set a vision for the city. He says his first priority would be to work more closely with the police on public safety.
"Creating an atmosphere where people feel safe, where people outside the city think of Rutland in a positive manner," Allaire said. "Those things aren’t necessarily the truth right now. I would like to see us get much more aggressive on patrolling our streets and dealing with what I believe is a very serious drug problem in the city."
Rutland Mayor Christopher Louras announced his plans to run for re-election last November.