I’m asking for help.
2023-10-06
Dear friend,
"If I see just one new face at the senior meal, I feel glad that we reached someone."
This was the quote of the day for me at the Windham Aging summit this Wednesday at the Brattleboro Memorial Hospital. I joined several other legislators as well as leaders of local organizations such as Rescue Inc., Windham-Windsor Housing Trust, and Senior Solutions.
The topic—how life is going around here for those of us getting older.
At the Windham Aging Summit at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital this week. Photo: Rob Szpila
The concern that came up over and over was how isolated people feel. Several attendees expressed concern about how hard it can be for seniors to find and get out for needed medical care. It is especially hard to get medical care at home, even though several attendees now in their seventies recalled a 1950s small-town Vermont childhood where that was the norm.
In Vermont of yesteryear, every Vermont town had access to healthcare in the home. For one speaker, theirs was named "Dr. Phil," but he was a real family medical doctor, not a character in a TV show. Real Dr. Phil knew your health from the moment of inception till now, and the health of everyone in your family. He might even know you well enough and have the bedside manner to hold you accountable for staying on your meds and eating right, and not drinking too much.
Between 1943 and 1948 the Saturday Evening Post sent Norman Rockwell on eight visits around the U.S. to paint the lives of "representative Americans." For "Family Doctor," in 1947, Rockwell painted the exact office of his own family physician in Arlington, Vermont, Dr. George Russell. The family is a local family and the dog is Dr. Russell's. Questioned on Dr. Russell's permitting a dog in the office, Rockwell said, 'nobody ever seemed the worse for it.'“
Real Dr. Phil would come to your home at 5 a.m. in the morning after dad called his house in a panic, mom having passed suddenly in the night. Dr. Phil would write the death certificate and call Frank's funeral home, and to talk dad through a difficult moment.
I have no illusion that 1950s America was paradise in any way. But Dr. Phil, or whoever your family doctor was, saw it all. He or she was in your corner and was there to talk with you about it.
For example, people had serious mental health issues that were taboo. In one story I heard on Wednesday, Dr. Phil looked at the cup of water and the empty bottle of sleeping pills on mom's bedside table and wrote "Massive brain aneurysm" on the death certificate. Questioned on his ethics, Dr. Phil gave dad the option of an accurate death certificate, or giving mom a Catholic funeral and burial with her family in the Catholic cemetery.
I had a burst of tears when I heard this story. Life is hard. Stories of extreme caring get me. Like the bell-ringing scene from Witness (1985)? I'm 😭 every time.
But there's also a sense of grief I felt in the room that some small-town strengths have been lost. And no wonder. Washington, D.C. has been stripping rural communities of our innate wealth and business opportunities for decades. (See, for example, How Washington Bargained Away Rural America.) Now our quality of life and our health is going. I feel a real sense of despair in some conversations that life simply isn't working in rural Vermont.
I'm not aware of any location in the U.S. where things are really working great right now. But consider any issue important enough to influence where you choose to live -- for example, housing affordability, job opportunities, income, childcare availability, childhood literacy, taxation rate, healthcare access, affordability for a working family.
As great as Vermont is in so many ways, on any of those issues there's somewhere in our country where things are working a lot better.
I learned Wednesday from about yet another worker shortage in Vermont. Though perhaps not always as revered as the family doctor, the small-town lawyer is also essential to our lives. The shortage of them is yet another cause of the backlog in our courts, Sen. Nader Hashim told me.
In the good-news department, congratulations to Sen. Hashim for becoming one of our newest attorneys by reading for the bar this summer!
Also good news, I learned from Marlboro Cares about their successful efforts to connect local seniors with a neighbor who can check in on them the morning after a blizzard.
It was in that context that seeing a new face at a senior meal was a metric of success. At a time when many in the room spoke to a sense that our community ties are fraying, a single new connection might save someone's life. According to Angela Smith-Dieng, Director of Adult Services for Vermont, having a negative view of aging translates on average to 7.5 years in reduced lifespan compared to someone with a positive view of aging.
***
Since being sworn in as State Representative for Windham-6 on January 3rd, I've learned that there are layers and layers to each issue, as show by the reports that I've written to you on education, corrections, law enforcement, and other topics.
In government, there's no obviously-good solution that pleases everybody. For example, I'd like to see the Town of Halifax find someone willing to gift or lease some land where we can have a town park and build a pavilion. Another Selectboard member, on the other hand, voices concern about committing ourselves to maintenance costs.
Being in public meetings where ideas can be poked at and assumptions questioned is hard work, but it's important. I've had my critics, of course, and I've enjoyed the work of dialogue.
What's obvious from outside observation is how politics is toxic. What's harder to explain from the inside is how familiar it is. And while family can be toxic, they can also be loving. There's a lot of care in the State House -- for each other, and for all Vermonters.
If I need mentorship on understanding an issue, there is always a wise elder in the chamber I can turn to.
Rep. Kevin "Coach" Christie of Hartford schools Rep. Roberts on day one of the 2023 session. Photo: Kelly Fletcher
I find it very unfortunate when dissent in politics is taken as a bad thing.
It's a good thing! As long as we're staying in a conversation with each other, we care about each other.
It not difficult, but it takes work and time to show up.
***
State office wasn't on my horizon until it came up suddenly last May.
When it did, I put myself forward. I ran and became one of the new faces in the Legislature.
My decision was so quick because I decided several years ago to center service in my life. Especially since I jump-started Halifax's Broadband Committee in 2019 with the amazingly dedicated David Jones and others, I've seen civic service as a personal duty to my neighbors, whatever their political persuasion.
Showing up for each other in the small ways -- a wellness check after a blizzard, bringing in a new member to a civic group -- build the relationships that make big things possible. I've noticed over a few years that as hard as things are, there are a lot of metrics buzzing with success.
Despite all these problems and the frustrations, I've been encouraged by my first year in the Legislature. Even while so many people I talk to are stressed and stretched thin, when we come together, with intention -- we can move mountains.
Rep. Roberts with the owner and staff of Almond Blossoms Schoolhouse, St. Albans, at a Montpelier legislator lunch with childcare providers in February. In May, the Legislature passed Act 76 to set up a sustainable funding source for childcare that pays a living wage.
I was one of a historically large class of fresh faces sworn in this January. I'm proud to say that our committees and the Legislature as a whole came together, youngsters and elders, and passed a lot of important legislation in 2023.
We:
sent relief to organic dairy farmersprotected teachers' pensions
protected our healthcare providers from prosecution
ensured the right-to-repair for farmers and loggers
invested in our energy future
protecting survivors of domestic abuse against abusive litigation
modernized adult protective services
improved healthcare access across state lines
removed hurdles to firefighters with cancer receiving workers comp
passed a landmark childcare bill
This is only a small sample. You can see more here:
My voting record: https://legislature.vermont.gov/people/single/2024/37371
Acts and Resolves so far this session: https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/acts/2024
***
Despite reporting back to you via 166 newsletters and countless phone calls and emails over the course of the last year, there's one topic I haven't broached via email. That topic is campaign finance, and my humble request for your donation.
I feel like we're all so sick of being asked for money, especially from our elected leaders, that I've tried to stay away from it. After raising and spending ~$12,000 in my first campaign, I haven't asked for support since. My feeling was -- do the job in front of you, and the money will follow.
I wanted to offer an outrage-free, commercial-free, real-time report from Montpelier, providing voters with transparency and that opportunity to watch me think in public. I'm asking for your support today because it's part of our political process in the U.S.A., and it would be irresponsible to leave it out.
I'm reluctant at times to ask for donations, because especially on a national level, it looks like campaign finance is broken. I would never want to buy into a system in which access to elected leaders is a luxury purchased only by the privileged. I'm grateful to the 92 donors to my campaign last year, and I'm quite sure you don't want that, either.
I tried to aim high in constituent communication in my first year. Not only in newsletters and town-hall meetings, but bugging State government on residents' behalf when the need arises. I wasn't perfect, but I hope I set a high bar. If I ever waver on accessibility, I'm asking you to hold me accountable.
Vermont pays legislators for mileage, meals and lodging, plus $13k in salary for the January-May, Tues.-Fri. session. There is no taxpayer funding for candidate expenses, nor did I receive party support in my first run.
I'm not self-funded, and while it would be great to be wealthy, I'm grateful that I had no choice but ask neighbors, friends, uncles, aunts, and cousins for money. It forced me out of my comfort zone. It forced me to describe how I planned to make a difference.
As I noticed at the time, risking rejection to ask a voter for $50 felt like good practice for asking at every turn in Montpelier for what Halifax, Whitingham, and Wilmington residents need, and what Vermonters need across our 252 towns.
As a legislator, the pay helps defray our family's costs.
To run something that looks like an "office" for this Vermont legislator, I rely on private, individual donations.
Rep. Roberts and other legislators prepare to take the oath of office on January 4, 2023. Photo: Kelly Fletcher
Every Representative pictured here is there with the financial support of their community.
That includes you. I'm asking today for your support.
By law, campaign contributions can't pay for my time with residents. That's my ante. But donations can help make it possible for me to:
Show up at the doorstep of a constituent who wants to share about her son's opioid addiction
Attend this week's summit on elder issues
At least put gas in the car when I take a day off of paying work to go visit the Maine Women's Correctional Facility, which has more in common with the famed "Norway" model than current Vermont practices
Purchase lunch and desserts from local vendors for a local Q&A events
Pay the monthly fees for my email newsletter and website
Pay these delightful people to help me with website support and editing and event needs
And lots of other stuff.
My goal is to raise $25,000 as expeditiously as possible. By contributing, and doing so today if possible, you will become a direct support to my work. You'll:
Keep the "Office of Rep. Roberts" lights on for another year.
Support me in staying focused on doing the work of my constituents and all Vermonters in the coming January-May session.
Give me the option to jump into the contested re-election campaign I anticipate in 2024. (That's an anticipation, btw, not a decision.)
How much?
Please only donate to me after you've given to charity. I'm able-bodied, and have a vegetable garden and goats on the pasture. I'll eat. But if you can spare it, I'd really appreciate as much as you can afford.
The max I can legally accept is $1,120. Can you spare $1,120 for a Vermont State Rep living and representing our shared values? If so, please give that much.
If not, work down to where it feels right. I trust your choices, and know this -- a donation of any amount, from $5 on up, is felt as a huge vote of confidence, and a helpful one at that.
Whatever the number, your donation says to me:
"We appreciate the work you're doing."
"Keep fighting for Vermonters!"
"Tristan -- I've got your back."
Thank you! I've got your back, too.
Thank you for reading this longer-than-usual post. I enjoyed sharing it with you. And remember...
Who keeps the lights on? You do!
Who keeps the lights on for the Office of Representative Tristan D. Roberts?
You do!
--> The donation page on my site is standing by, and it only takes about 30 seconds with a credit card.
--> Checkbook handy? Please write one out to "Tristan Roberts for Vermont" and mail to PO Box 97, W. Halifax, VT 05358. I pay no fees on checks.
--> If you like to Venmo, please Venmo @Tristan-Roberts-Halifax, with memo "donation." I also avoid credit card fees this way.
***
While I was writing this email, a farrier knocked on our door.
She had N.H. plates and seemed lost-ish. Thinking she was on the right track with our goats, she asked me if we have a pony in need of a hoof-shave?
Neigh. We don't.
She checked her app for the address she was looking for. I pointed her in the right direction.
Of course, every time I meet a horse person I have to ask. "Does a horse ever talk to you?" I asked.
"Whinny wants to!" she replied, as she drove away.
Hay -- I'm not above a dad-joke to bring a smile to politics.
Please throw your weight behind me: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/tristanroberts