Laura Chapman is a civic volunteer, social justice activist, and works with human-services nonprofits that help neighbors in need. She is a former member of the Putney Selectboard.
PUTNEY-Running for office has always required personal sacrifice. It has never been easy, but in this moment of social media commentary and unregulated AI, fake or twisted material can be used to relentlessly bully almost anyone.
Local candidates who want to share information and engage in public debate of ideas now also have to deal with personal defamation on public platforms from far and wide. And it is not just limited to them. Their families, friends, and political teams also face it.
Yet these candidates keep showing up. I don't take that for granted, and I don't think the rest of us should.
To everyone on our ballot for Tuesday, Nov. 3: Thank you. I hope we can find our way to a more dignified process someday, but until then, I am recognize your endurance.
As someone who has worked to alleviate the impacts of inequity and poverty throughout most of my adult life, I especially want to thank the candidates who represent community solutions. I have actively supported each of the following candidates' campaigns because I see them supporting Vermonters in meaningful ways.
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To Mike Mrowicki, my local representative in Putney and Dummerston: Thank you for decades of showing up, from coaching in the Putney Recreation League to running after-school programs, volunteering with the Putney Foodshelf and as a guardian ad litem, and spending years helping ensure the Vermont State Youth Council would be created because young Vermonters asked for a voice.
Thank you for supporting all members of our community through community suppers, the personal care you bring to each person who needs to access services, and the way you show up for those services when they are threatened, like our local birthing center and affordable housing. Your service is appreciated.
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To Nader Hashim: I've helped manage more than one of your campaigns, during which I've watched you listen to people from all walks of life. Thank you for your years as a Vermont state trooper and for bringing what you learned about how poverty and the justice system collide to the state House of Representatives and now the state Senate, where you chair the Judiciary Committee.
Thank you for studying the law for four years on top of everything else and for passing the bar exam on your first try while serving as a senator so that you could become a lawyer and better serve us all.
Mostly, thank you for showing up with consistent, enormous patience to work well with people who disagree and are sometimes even abusive toward you. Every time, you've shown me the work was worth it.
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To Amanda Janoo: I am so incredibly impressed by you! Thank you for stepping up as a first-time statewide candidate and for bringing an economist's mind to a race that needed new ideas.
Thank you for serving on the boards of the ACLU of Vermont and Rights & Democracy, and for starting the Wellbeing Economy Alliance of Vermont, service that lets you come to this race with a nuanced local perspective.
Thank you for believing in participatory democracy, for trusting everyday Vermonters to help shape their own future, and for wanting to give town meetings and our local communities a bigger voice in the decisions that affect them.
Thank you for listening to every person at the table, the way you did on a rainy night in Putney when about 20 of us crammed into a cozy home, and for turning what you hear into plans, like hiring a nurse or doctor in every town and keeping our schools in our communities.
Thank you for believing, as you've said, that neighbors show up for each other and that our economy can, too. Thank you for believing we can do more than manage our decline; we can build a better Vermont together.
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To the candidates I believe in but haven't worked closely with, Wendy Harrison, Mike Pieciak, Sarah Copeland Hanzas, Molly Gray, Tim Ashe, and Becca Balint: Thank you for the work you've done, and for putting your names on the ballot when doing so invites ongoing abuse.
To the Democratic sheriff, judges, state's attorney, high bailiff, justices of the peace, and everyone else on our local ballot who's willing to serve: Thank you, too.
What I appreciate most about every one of you is that you believe we can do better for all of us, not just some of us. You show that public service still means listening to people, working with those who see things differently, and doing the unglamorous work of keeping a community running.
And finally, to my community at large - my neighbors - thank you for showing up in the many ways that you do. We make governance what it is, either through participation or lack of it. I see so many of you stepping up, and I'm grateful.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Learn who's on your ballot, check what people say about them against the record, and bring a neighbor with you.
This Voices Viewpoint was submitted to The Commons.
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