BRATTLEBORO-Brattleboro faces no shortage of challenges. Our municipal-budget-to-population ratio puts us among the highest in the state. As a hub town to smaller surrounding towns, we shoulder burdens beyond our own.
Brattleboro suffers from statewide and nationwide challenges: rising homelessness; housing and affordability issues; the effects of the motel program and its post-pandemic wind-down; federal funding losses and threats; downtown safety challenges, which have also negatively affected local businesses; and an aging population.
Addressing these challenges and community needs requires thoughtful, pragmatic, capable, and balanced leadership. We believe Liz McLoughlin exemplifies this leadership, and we are voting for her for the three-year Selectboard position. With her professional and volunteer experience, she understands the big picture, process, and complexities of town governance.
We’ve known Liz for most of the 19 years she and her family have lived in town. We appreciate her quick wit and frankness. She is passionate about this community, having volunteered for the Groundworks Empty Bowls dinner and served on the Drop In Center board and the Brattleboro Planning Commission.
As a Selectboard member for seven years, Liz has worked with four town managers and a variety of board members to develop budgets and address challenging issues. She has taken time to learn about the workings of each town department and their challenges.
Her career in urban planning has been an incredible asset to the town. She recently negotiated with the state for a reduction in the cost of the Western Avenue bridge project when she felt it was overengineered, reducing the town’s share by $750,000.
As a current board member, Liz has not been afraid to advocate for tough decisions that balance Brattleboro’s needs with our ability to afford them. Among her accomplishments and priorities:
• Support for pay-as-you-throw (PAYT): She recently worked with her colleagues on the Selectboard to modify planned pricing, implementing modest increases that balanced affordability, environmental and budgetary sustainability, and public health.
• Focus on public safety through her leadership of the Downtown Safety Plan: Last fall, after listening to the public’s demands for immediate action, Liz worked with fellow board members to take the unusual step of implementing the plan they requested from the police chief without funding, asking Representative Town Meeting to retroactively approve the needed funds.
Going above and beyond her role on the Selectboard, she also initiated the grant process for embedding mental health workers from HCRS into the police department.
• Reform of the state’s motel program: Liz, working with our town manager, helped the town reduce its disproportionate usage of state vouchers from 19% to 10%. Brattleboro represents just 2% of the state’s population.
• Collaboration with the Legislature for state aid and with other community constituents to address affordability.
Liz is a leader who listens to constituents, solves problems, and has the fortitude to do the right thing even when facing minority disagreement. She has proven her willingness to rationally and efficiently work through those differences for the benefit of our community.
Steve Shriner and Janice Warren
Brattleboro
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