Dear Editor,
A broad cross section of Vermonters gathered in the State House cafeteria to express their displeasure with the direction the state’s political leadership is taking them. (And that was April 25; things have not improved since.)
Feeling ignored or otherwise discounted and marginalized, and in some cases, even mocked, the diverse group chose the cafeteria to voice their concerns recognizing that the politicians could not get away with eating Vermonters’ lunch without at least having to look them in the eye.
Rising property and municipal taxes; disregard for our forests, rivers and lakes and agricultural soil; underperforming schools; inaccessible healthcare; the politicization of fish and wildlife and the accompanying discrimination against rural back-to-land lifestyles; the exploitation of our mountains and farms by industrial energy interests and their subsidy through spiraling electricity and fuel costs were among the topics uniting the tripartisan/independent voters and their children. They called on their fellow Vermonters to join them in holding the politicians accountable who are challenging their very ability to live and exist harmoniously in the state they love, in freedom and unity.
“We have to ensure that our legislators are not choosing special interest agendas at the expense of Vermonters. We need a Vermont plan that serves people and the environment that does not attack, punish and penalize. Vermonters are coming together to stand up for our right to afford to live in Vermont. We demand legislative accountability from a supermajority steamrolling Vermonters. We are asking for sound legislation that serves Vermont and the people who live here and love our state,” said Alison Despathy of Danville.
“Our hunting, fishing, and trapping community is a critical contributor to the health of our wildlife and the ecosystems we share with them, and it is not negotiable as a political game piece. While it’s fine for people to express their opinions, it is irresponsible for legislators to move bills that will obstruct a demonstrably functional system, make decisions about, and politicize how we manage wildlife,” said Michael Covey of Williamstown.
“Vermonters see that the legislative agenda is driven by the interests of industry and developers, not constituents. From the buildout of industrial-scale corporate ‘renewables,’ to the lifting of Act 250 water and soil protections in municipalities, to the attempt to eliminate citizen participation at the Public Utilities Commission, this agenda will destroy our forests and fields and rural culture if we don’t stop it,” said Suzanna Jones of Walden.
“Politicians in prioritizing corporate profit forsake the ecology of our home for the economic benefits of the few, leaving only poverty and pollution to trickle down on the rest of us, and, if we allow it, risk transforming what is left of Vermont, already a playground for the wealthy, into just another line item in the elites’ investment portfolios. … Our lives are one with the water cycle, one with Vermont’s forests, her soil and wild ones, and we have an obligation to defend those downstream, literally and figuratively, against the political interests seeking to exploit us. And that, my brothers and sisters, we will do,” said James Ehlers of Winooski.
“It appears that the majority of the legislature now operates from a position of privilege. No working class Vermonter could possibly support adding hundreds of millions of dollars to the cost-of-living for Vermonters through legislation. Vermonters have seen the cost of living skyrocket far exceeding the increases in our income.
“We are taking action by being here today, but it cannot end here. We must encourage everyone we know to engage their legislators and tell them that we do not support a Vermont where working class Vermonters cannot afford to live and where the Vermont culture is under attack,” said John Rodgers of Glover, a former State of Vermont senator.
John Rodgers, Glover
Alison Despathy, Danville
Mike Covey, Williamstown
Suzanna Jones, Walden
Meghan Wayland, Barton
James Ehlers, Winooski
