All Entries in the "Op-ed" Category
Op-ed: Legislature faces challenge of housing crisis
By Sen. Alison Clarkson After many long floor sessions debating and passing bills to the other body, the legislature has pretty much completed crossover, that point in the session where all bills that have any chance of making it into law have to be passed from the House to the Senate or vice versa. It […]
Sunshine Week 2022: Government transparency is the key to restoring public trust
By Secretary of State Jim Condos and Deputy Secretary of State Chris Winters Every year we join with government transparency advocates from around the country to celebrate Sunshine Week, March 13 – 19, serving as a reminder that a well-functioning government is built upon the public’s right to know. Good government is open government! Government […]
Op-ed: Rep. Tom Bock on action in Montpelier
Editor’s note: The following column was taken from Rep. Bock’s recent presentation on Town Meeting Day. By Rep. Tom Bock Schools have been operating under advisory guidance from the Agency of Education with authority for school districts to set their own requirements. The most recent AOE guidance, that schools should require universal indoor masking for […]
Op-ed: Senate panel seeks community unity, multi-member districts in remapping
By Sen. Alison Clarkson Every 10 years the results of the national Census requires each state to review the impact of any population change on their electoral districts. The Vermont Constitution requires that our state’s population must be fairly distributed to afford “equality of representation.” Covid delayed the national Census returns and, as a result, […]
Op-ed: Covid exacerbates, highlights inequality of working women
By Kellie Campbell, Ed.D. Vermont Commission on Women If you have been to a restaurant lately, you have probably seen signs on the door about being short-staffed and asking for your patience. Perhaps you are a parent who received a message from your childcare provider about having to close early or shorten hours due to […]
Op-ed: Fixing the state’s public pension system
By Sen. Alison Clarkson When the Pension Benefits, Design, and Funding Task Force was created last year, I was relieved. Our public pension system was in crisis. If we did nothing to fix the problems, Vermont taxpayers were looking at an unfunded pension liability of $4.5 billion, with that liability growing for the teachers and […]
Op-ed: A Q&A with Chester Planning Commission chair Cathy Hasbrouck
In early November of this year, Chester businessman Steve Mancuso, owner of Chester Electric and head of the nascent Chester Business Coalition**, asked a series of questions of Cathy Hasbrouck, chair of the Chester Planning Commission, which is working on updating the town’s bylaws, to clarify recent activities and the general direction of the […]
Op-ed: Does the First Amendment allow racist and personal threats of violence?
By Bill Schubart It’s time for a statute prohibiting hate-speech, online bullying and threats of physical violence. Five years ago, Rep. Kiah Morris (D-Bennington) resigned from the Vermont legislature, where she had earned the respect of her colleagues and a reputation as an effective promoter of equity and justice in Vermont. The online harassment began […]
Op-ed: Critical Race Theory is American history
By James Michael Brodie Across the country, lawmakers, educators (including the Board of Regents at my alma mater, the University of Colorado), and other interested parties are taking up discussions regarding Critical Race Theory and the 1619 Project. The conflict among many White Americans is whether or not to acknowledge what actually happened to enslaved […]
Op-ed Why is there a worker shortage?
By Jack Hoffman The Washington Post recently tackled the question a lot of people have been talking about. The headline read: “Why America has 8.4 million unemployed when there are 10 million job openings.” What was refreshing about the Post story was that it didn’t offer the usual explanation about the mismatch between jobs and […]
Rep. Tom Bock: Cares Act, ARPA funds give historic aid to Vermont
By Rep. Tom Bock Because of Covid-19, an unprecedented spending at the federal level, a vast infusion of federal dollars came to Vermont, leading to unprecedented levels of revenue for our state. In the spring of 2020, Vermont received $1.25 billion from the Cares Act and in the spring of 2021 we received $1.052 billion […]
Op-ed: Vermont’s legislative session falls
far short of the Democrats’ hype
By Sen. Randy Brock Imagine waking up one morning and seeing crumbs all over the floor, dirty dishes in the sink and the house full of flies because someone left the back door open. Which problem should you deal with first? None of the above — because the smoke and flames should have alerted you […]
Sen. McCormack: Climate change & infrastructure were two imperatives in Montpelier
By Sen. Richard McCormack Here’s a few highlights from the 2021 legislative session in Montpelier. Senators serve on two standing committees. My morning committee is the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Energy, and my afternoon committee is the Senate Committee on Institutions. The Environment: The big environmental issue, indeed the overarching existential issue of […]
Essay: What Memorial Day means to me
Editor’s note: The following essay by Miles Glidden was chosen as the best Memorial Day essay byhis peers from among all the Memorial Day essays that his class wrote. In non-Covid times, he would have read the essay during Memorial Day ceremonies held by the Chester American Legion on the Green in Chester. By Miles […]
Sen. Clarkson: What we learned this session High speed internet is essential; federal dollars will benefit all Vermonters
By Sen. Alison Clarkson The Vermont legislature adjourned Friday afternoon, May 21. We all agree that it was an historic session. It was the first legislative session to be conducted completely remotely during an international pandemic. And, despite our productivity, we all long to be back in the Statehouse doing the people’s business in person. […]
Op-ed: On science, liberty and nonsense
By Sen. Dick McCormack The Vermont legislature has only a few actual scientists and constitutional scholars. But the discussion of public health, including the matter of Covid vaccinations, is a scientific discussion. And some folks invoke questions of liberty in response. Strange duty for citizen legislators. But neither are we all farmers, ski area operators […]
Op-ed: What could go wrong? Senate Finance Committee bakes a broadband cake
By Sen. Randy Brock Imagine if you were baking a birthday cake and you had the benefit of having the Vermont Senate Finance Committee helping you. That’s what it’s like as we debate how to extend broadband throughout Vermont. The birthday we want to celebrate is coming soon and we have to make decisions about […]
Op-ed: 2 proposals would amend Vt. Constitution
By Sen. Alison Clarkson The Vermont Constitution is a living document and, as such, is allowed to be amended. However, the authors of our Constitution in 1777 did not make it an easy document to amend. It is a multi-year process, requiring review and approval in two consecutive legislative biennia (in this case 2019-20 and […]
Op-ed: Bock on legislative progress in Montpelier
By state Rep. Tom Bock Windsor-3-1 Nothing about the 2021-2022 legislative session in Montpelier has been business as usual. It began as no other like it, in total virtual mode with legislators “Zooming in” from 150 locales across Vermont. Despite these challenges, we are making progress on critical goals. Our focus continues to be on […]
Op-ed: Sunshine Week celebrates open government — even in a pandemic
By Jim Condos Vermont Secretary of State “Work Like There Are 625,000 Vermonters Looking Over Our Shoulders” Covid-19 has strained so many of our institutions over the last year. As our Vermont government agencies work to support our state through this crisis, we must always work to maintain the public’s right to know. Fortunately, in […]
