Trust Tristan to listen, get results

From the Deerfield Valley News

I’m writing in support of Tristan Roberts, who is running for what is currently John Gannon’s position in the Vermont House of Representatives, representing Halifax, Whitingham, and Wilmington.

I was delighted to find that Tristan was running for the position because he was one of the finest students I taught at Marlboro College in the late 1990s. More to the point at present, however, was his positive and active participation in the college community. As editor-in-chief of the college newspaper, he published articles representing a variety of student, faculty, and staff concerns. Most notable was his coverage of the president’s controversial expansionist policies, always with attention to their potential effect on Marlboro’s core democratic values. As a member of the college selectboard at a time when the college population tended to divide on many issues, Tristan maintained the trust of all sides, mainly because he could always be trusted to listen to the people talking to him as opposed to simply formulating his own position. It’s a rare skill and one much needed in the current political atmosphere.

In the 20-odd years since his graduation, Tristan has lived in Halifax, running a sustainable design business and maintaining an active role in his community. He is a member of the Halifax Selectboard, the chair of the broadband committee, and informally he is active with his neighbors in such projects as maintaining Halifax’s cemeteries, with easily visible results.

That’s Tristan; he’s always willing to put in the kind of time it takes to improve situations and to get people talking to each other and working together. Give him your vote in August and November. You couldn’t do better.

Laura Stevenson

Wilmington