1789 Vermont Republic gubernatorial election

1789 Vermont Republic gubernatorial election

←  1788 October 8, 1789 (1789-10-08) 1790  →

Nominee Thomas Chittenden Moses Robinson Samuel Safford Party Independent Anti-Administration Independent Popular vote 1,263 746 478 Percentage 43.3% 25.6% 16.4%

Governor before election Thomas Chittenden Independent Elected Governor Moses Robinson Anti-Administration

The Vermont Republic gubernatorial election of 1789 took place in September. ^[1] Though incumbent Governor Thomas Chittenden won a plurality of the popular vote over his main competitor, Vermont Supreme Court Chief Justice Moses Robinson, the Vermont Constitution required that the legislature choose if no candidate won a majority. ^[1]

The Vermont General Assembly met in Westminster on October 8 to count the votes of the freemen for governor of the Republic of Vermont, lieutenant governor, treasurer, and members of the governor's council. ^[1] Joseph Marsh was easily re-elected as lieutenant governor, and Samuel Mattocks was chosen for another term as treasurer. ^[1]

For the first time since the founding of the Vermont Republic in 1778, Chittenden found himself in political difficulty. ^[2] Shortly before the election, he had granted Ira Allen title to the town of Woodbridge (now Highgate) but had neglected to first obtain the approval of the governor's council. ^[2] Chittenden was accused of malfeasance for supposedly favoring a clique led by the Allen family with respect to land grants. ^[2]

As a result of the controversy, On October 9, the legislature chose Robinson, the first time Chittenden had not been elected governor. ^{[1] [2]} Robinson served a one-year term, but the controversy over the Woodbridge land grant abated, and Chittenden was returned to office in 1790. ^[2]

Results

1789 Vermont Republic gubernatorial election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	No party affiliation	Thomas Chittenden (incumbent)	1,263	43.34
	Anti-Administration	Moses Robinson	746	25.60
	No party affiliation	Samuel Safford	478	16.40
	No party affiliation	Joseph Marsh	94	3.23
	No party affiliation	Ebenezer Marvin	87	2.99
	No party affiliation	Stephen R. Bradley	76	2.61
	No party affiliation	Jonathan Arnold	47	1.61
	Pro-Administration	Isaac Tichenor	35	1.20
	Anti-Administration	Gideon Olin	32	1.10
	No party affiliation	Paul Spooner	11	0.38
	Anti-Administration	Nathaniel Niles	10	0.34
	No party affiliation	Alexander Harvey	8	0.27
	No party affiliation	Noah Smith	6	0.21
	No party affiliation	Joseph Smith	5	0.17
	No party affiliation	Job Smith	4	0.14
	No party affiliation	John Strong	3	0.10
	No party affiliation	Timothy Brownson	2	0.06
	No party affiliation	Samuel Mattocks	2	0.06
	No party affiliation	Aaron Barlow	1	0.03
	No party affiliation	Daniel Held	1	0.03
	No party affiliation	Jonathan Hunt	1	0.03
	No party affiliation	Jonathan Robinson	1	0.03
	No party affiliation	Joseph Wood	1	0.03
Total votes			2,914	100

References

1. Walton, E. P., ed. (1875). Records of the Governor and Council of the State of Vermont. Vol. III. Montpelier, VT: J. & J. M. Poland. pp. 185–186 – via Google Books.
2. Bushnell, Mark (December 21, 2008). "Chipman puts a hole in Allen myth". Rutland Herald . Rutland, VT.