Windham County native son has bipartisanship in his blood

From the Deerfield Valley News, Oct. 27, 2022

Michael Pieciak, Democratic candidate for Vermont treasurer, stopped for lunch with voters at the Whitingham Municipal Center in Jacksonville Friday as part of a daylong tour of the Deerfield Valley. Pieciak was joined by local Democratic candidates Tristan Roberts, who is running for Windham 6 representative, and Windham County Senate candidates Nader Hashim and Wendy Harrison.

Pieciak said he and the other candidates at the table were examples of Vermonters who have the temperament to work with colleagues across the aisle to pass bipartisan legislation.  He touted his eight years as Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation under two administrations - he was appointed by Democratic Governor Peter Shumlin in 2016 and continued to serve in the same role under Republican Phil Scott - as an evidence of his bipartisan success.  

A Brattleboro native, Pieciak said bipartisanship was instilled in him at home.  “My mother was a Democrat who founded a soup kitchen, my dad was a Republican business person,” he said.  “It gave me an appreciation for the need to engage with people and listen to all sides.”

Pieciak said that though the state treasurer is an elected position, it is an apolitical office, much as his position as DFR commissioner was.  He said reforming the state’s retirement system, ensuring communities have vibrant economies, and funding for state colleges were among his priorities, as well as how climate change will impact Vermont industries such as maple sugaring.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was Pieciak and his team at DFR that tracked outbreaks of the virus and provided the statistical information, analysis, and modeling that others in the administration used to formulate their prevention strategies.  Vermont was nationally recognized for its successful COVID-19 response, including its vaccine roll out.  
Pieciak said the pandemic and Vermonters’ response to it left him more optimistic than ever for Vermont’s future.  
“Vermont responded in a way that was so community-oriented, a shining example to the nation,” Pieciak said.  
Part of that optimism, he said, was not only the way Vermonters adapted to virtual employment, but the number of people who discovered they could keep their urban, out-of-state jobs while working from the safety and quiet of Vermont.  He said the pattern unlocked “unlimited potential” for the state.  Before the potential can be fully realized, however, he said there are remaining barriers.  

“Housing and child care are holding us back,” he said.  “People moving here put pressure on people living here, the front line retail jobs, puts pressure on housing, but over the next few decades we’re not going to see a slowdown in people wanting to move to New England.  People are fed up with the effects of climate change, and we’re fortunate to have some of the least impact here in Vermont.”

Pieciak said Vermont can respond by strengthening the state’s financial position, focusing on the construction of housing, and providing more child care options “so people can get to work, and so people don’t have to spend all of their income on those things.”

A Halifax voter who identified himself as “Blaise,” said Vermont will need more and better broadband coverage.  He described his own struggle to find a solution for high speed internet access, and his frustration in hearing state officials claim Vermont has 100% internet access. “I’m one that still doesn’t have it,” he said.  “When I called the governor’s office, I was informed that anything over 95% coverage was considered 100%!”

Roberts, who serves as Halifax representative to the DVFiber board, noted that the area is currently going from zero to multiple high speed internet options, but he said some rural property owners may incur high installation costs for running lines to their homes.

Ann Manwaring, former chair of DVFiber, said DVFiber’s service was on its way to the area’s rural customers.  “Before the end of this year we’ll have a small beta group of customers in Readsboro,” she said.  “And from Readsboro, you can’t go anywhere but Whitingham.  That program is in place now largely through the ARPA money.”

DVFiber is the Deerfield Valley Communications Union District’s fiber internet company.  The communications union district is a utility municipality that includes towns throughout the Deerfield Valley and southern Vermont.  “The goal is to become a community-owned fiber network created by the towns that have opted to join us,” Manwaring said.  “They appoint the members of our governing board.” Manwaring said commercial providers have spotted that money that’s going into fiber communications in the area and have set their sites on southern Vermont, too.  She said it was a challenge for DVFiber as a municipal utility.  “You never see competition for a sewer system,” she said.  “There’s an element of how we have to run that is very different in terms of a municipal corporation.”

Roberts noted that outgoing representative John Gannon and Rep. Laura Sibilia, of Dover, advocated for state support of CUDs.  Manwaring said the same kind of effort to overcome “economy of scale thinking” was needed to solve the state’s housing shortage.  

Blaise also asked if Vermont was doing anything to keep people in the state.  Pieciak noted that, relatively recently, the state provided cash incentives for people to move to Vermont, including remote workers.  “Post-pandemic, there’s a demand to move to Vermont now,” he said.  “That momentum is here, and that’s why I’m saying I’m optimistic.  People want to be here, but they can’t find a house here.  And folks who are here can’t find child care.”

Pieciak said local zoning can be updated to encourage housing, particularly in villages and downtowns.  He also said it was time for Act 250 reform.  “Act 250 was to protect the environment,” he said.  “I think one of the things we can do now is to build downtown housing.  It reduces our carbon footprint to have people walking more, and it’s a nice way to live.”
Pieciak also noted that the Legislature has acted to ensure towns have resources to build water and sewer infrastructure to support increased housing density in villages and downtowns.  

Whitingham resident Sherry Adams said broadband is important for people who can work from home, but she said not everyone can work from home.  “In Whitingham there is no place for anyone to work, really,” she said. “Things are getting better, but nobody wants to drive to Brattleboro for work.”

Roberts said agriculture is one of the area’s potential economic strengths.  Pieciak said agriculture and recreation were two things that help support rural economies. “I see a lot of communities using ARPA or other money to provide outdoor attractions,” Pieciak said.  “There are things we need to do to invest in agriculture to make it easier to make a living.” 
Adams said agriculture is currently suffering from the effects of inflation.  “A bale of hay has gone up twice this year, to $9 a bale,” she said.  “If you’re getting 200 bales, that’s a lot.  And you can’t afford a vet even if you can find one.  And if you do find one, you’ve got to drive miles to get to one. If it’s an emergency, you’ve got to go to South Deerfield (MA).”

“It’s the same issue with health care,” Pieciak said.  “It’s getting harder and harder to get to an appointment.”

Harrison said there were things happening in economic development in southern Vermont.  She suggested towns like Whitingham could contact Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation or the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development for assistance with development grants and other programs. 

Adams asked the candidates about their opinions of Proposition 5, which if approved by voters in November would add a 22nd article to the Vermont Constitution guaranteeing the right to reproductive freedom. “I’m in favor of it,” said Roberts.  “I support women, who have said clearly ‘We want this.’”  

Adams also asked candidates about a phrase in the amendment stating that reproductive liberty “shall not be denied or infringed unless justified by a compelling State interest achieved by the least restrictive means.”  Many have found the phrase confusing or ambiguous.  Legislators and constitutional law experts have said the legal language requires courts to apply “strict scrutiny” in reviewing laws that would attempt to limit reproductive freedom.

“It’s a legal standard, but it means more to lawyers than it does to the voters,” Roberts said. 

“It was put into Proposition 5 by the Legislature on the advice of attorneys to make it harder to pass legislation that restricts reproductive rights,” said Harrison.  “It makes it a stronger amendment, but there’s a lot of misinformation going around.”

Hashim said he also supports the amendment, and noted that when he served in the House of Representatives, the Legislature was working on laws to codify Roe v. Wade in Vermont law.  “I remember Republicans saying we were just looking for monsters under the bed,” Hashim said. “They said there was no threat to Roe v. Wade.”

Candidates agreed with those in the room who suggested that the legal language should be accompanied with an explanation in plain terms to avoid confusion.