Thank you Kate Donnally.
2023-01-28
Dear friend,
I was both heartened and disheartened by the resignation yesterday of Representative Kate Donnally of Hyde Park.
You know those bonds in your life you have with the person you sat next to on the school bus on the first day? Special people like that?
By chance, I sat with Kate to my left on the first day, as captured here.
Legislators watch the proceedings on Jan. 4, 2023
Donnally was four weeks into her second term. I was sad to lose a colleague I hadn't had a chance to work with yet, with whom I hadn't even had a conversation.
I am also disheartened that the stresses of being a legislator were not resolvable by someone as capable, committed, and authentic as Donnally.
Here's an excerpt from Donnally's column announcing her departure:
This work became an impossible juggling act. One of the strengths that I brought to this role was the many hats that I wear in my life. Ironically, the Legislature, as it is currently designed, does not allow you to sustainably wear a multitude of hats. It asks you to forgo money, stability of schedule, accessibility to family and more with little regard to the mental, emotional, and familial toll that these demands require.
From my first day of service, I have wrestled with the competing needs of my life and family with those of legislative work. I have tried again and again to bring these varying needs into balance. I have wanted so badly to find that elusive sweet spot that allows me to continue to do this work that I love without sacrificing my mental health and the health of my marriage and family.
I have finally come to the painful conclusion that such a balance simply does not exist. It ultimately became a choice between the Legislature and my life as I know it.
Donnally echoed these themes and expanded on the honor she felt serving in a letter to the Speaker and the Clerk of the House read yesterday by Clerk Wrask:
You can read the whole letter, as well as what else the House did yesterday, in the full Jan. 27, 2023 House Journal.
Yet, I'm heartened anytime someone makes the choice to say out loud what they need and what their family needs, and to make that hard choice. Leaving can be hard, even when the person, job, or family you're leaving is stressful or even bad for your health. I respect Donnally's choice.
My best wishes to the citizens of Hyde Park and Lamoille District 2. I'm sure that they will be well-served when the Governor appoints a Rep for for Lamoille-2 to fill out the term. It is traditionally of the same party as the the departed legislator. Donnally is a Democrat.
The topic of legislative pay comes up a lot around the State House, even before Friday. Representatives make $17,000, plus per diem expenses, for their work in the January to May session. A bill in the Senate, S.39, would give us health insurance for the first time and would open up further exploration of this topic. For reference, here's how legislative compensation works around the 50 states.
Have you ever faced a tough decision like Kate's? I'd love to hear your thoughts on that, legislative pay, and anything else on your mind today.