My political agenda, revealed
2023-03-28
Dear friend,
Your Vermont State Representatives are voting on 13 bills today. That doesn't include votes on specific amendments, which could be several on each bill. In addition, the House and Senate convened in a Joint Assembly early this afternoon and voted on new six-year terms for Vermont's Chief Justice, four Associate Justices, and seven Superior Court Judges.
How should your Windham-6 Rep decide on each of these votes? Yea or Nay?
A resident who posted a comment on my blog last week had some opinions on this matter. They wrote:
"You have given no consideration to opposing viewpoints. If you have, please tell your constituents how you voted against your personal desire because your constituents wanted something different.
crickets.... crickets
You think you know what we want, but you don't."
The comment ends with a suggestion: "What would I do in your position? Well, I think I would do some research and see what it would take to get a poll (like survey monkey) out to every registered voter in my district before every vote before you in the House. And then I would call my biggest opponents or most vocal opponents and get their opinion. You know why? Because I would not be in it for the power or prestige or my personal agenda. I would be truly trying to represent what my district's residents wishes/desires are about a given topic."
I can't speak for any other elected leaders, but I can tell you my "personal desire" or "personal agenda" don't feel relevant to how I do my job day-to-day.
To put this in context, the House has been in session from 10 a.m. this morning and is still going strong as I write this at 6:15 p.m. Here are the bills on today's Action Calendar that I will vote on by day's end:
H. 102 The Art in State Buildings Program
H. 125 Boards and commissions
H. 206 Miscellaneous changes affecting the duties of the Department of Vermont Health Access
H. 213 Creating a study committee on mobile homes and mobile home parks
H. 270 Miscellaneous amendments to the adult-use and medical cannabis programs
H. 291 The creation of the Cybersecurity Advisory Council
H. 414 Establishing an unused drug repository for Vermont
H. 472 Miscellaneous agricultural subjects
H. 31 Aquatic nuisance control
H. 158 The beverage container redemption system
H. 205 Establishing the Small Farm Diversification and Transition Program
H. 222 Reducing overdoses
H. 480 Property valuation and reappraisals
What's your "personal desire" to vote Yes/No on any of them?
Legislators are people, just like regular Vermont residents. We all have a professional background and a personal background and a relationship with constituents that inform who we are and how we vote.
When it comes to that list of bills, I have no idea how I would vote until I study the bill. I have no idea what those bills are about until I read them. I did not, and I guess that most people did not, have an opinion on H.213 or H.205 or H.291 until we took a look at it.
When I read a bill, I consider how it would affect residents in Halifax, Whitingham, Wilmington, and everyone across Vermont.
I don't have an "agenda" on a bill until I consider whether it supports the Vermont Constitution. I talk to residents, committee members, and experts. I talk to members from my party and from another party, knowing that everyone has a considered perspective that I can learn from.
Just today, considering H.483, I spoke with the head of a Christian school that receives public tuition about their enrollment and hiring practices. I spoke with the representative of a secular Independent School about how they handle IEPs. I heard from constituents who serve on school boards or work in the schools. I asked several Representatives about details of the bill. I have a stack of emails and phone calls telling me how a resident wants me to vote.
"Call my most vocal opponents"? I don't have opponents. I have neighbors.
In order to give neighbors a chance to poke holes in my thinking, I've devoted multiple newsletters to considering H.483 (see open borders — for education dollars? and accountability for education dollars).
Tomorrow the House will debate and vote on H.483. At that point, I take the personal responsibility I swore to in my oath of office and I make my decision.
I do expect that over time, I may develop a political "agenda." If I run for office in 2024, what would be my top five priorities? What innovations do I want my fellow humans to consider? I have some ideas in energy, justice, healthcare, criminal justice, corrections, and other fields.
What does that mean in my day-to-day in the Legislature? Not much. None of those 13 bills are bills that I identified as part of "my" agenda. I'm not a sponsor or co-sponsor on any of them.
The work I'm doing is the work that's in front of me.
What's in it for me and "my" interests? Given the downsides of the job, I'm not sure.
The best reward so far has been the meaningful conversations with Vermonters. I love meeting people and learning their story. Along with that, I've enjoyed contributing to committee conversations on a daily basis.
***
Regarding the SurveyMonkey idea, we poll our registered voters every two years for the Legislature and statewide positions. It takes a lot of work for the Secretary of State to run an election, and yet it is flawed. Turnout isn't what we'd like, and there are policy details to wrestle over, like whether to mail ballots to everyone or not.
I wouldn't know how to begin to verify the registration status of voters using a SurveyMonkey to tell me how to vote.
I will continue to follow through on my oaths to the U.S. and Vermont Constitutions, which established our republic and our state as representative democracies. I will conduct myself as a "faithful, honest Representative and guardian of the people, according to the best of my judgment and ability."
Keep those emails and comments coming. I read every one, and respond as often as I can.