BRATTLEBORO — I'm voting for Tim Wessel to represent Windham County in the Vermont Senate because I've admired the work he's done as our Selectboard member for six years and because I'm excited about his independence.
I was especially impressed with the way Tim helped us navigate the height of the pandemic - one of the most challenging times in our recent history. He communicated clearly and reasonably at public meetings.
But his transparent communication on social media impressed me the most. Tim shared his thinking publicly. I was always impressed with his reasoning, and he helped change my mind more than once through his writing.
In this day and age of social media access, we need candidates who are prolific and cogent. Tim has demonstrated this time and time again.
I line up with Democrats on most issues. But I'm deeply concerned about the partisan divide in our country and in our state, where both Democrat and Republican leaders have been demonizing the other party lately. This makes me sick, and it makes me long for people who can focus on the needs of Vermonters instead of scoring partisan victories.
I wish there could more independently minded people in our government. And I wish that we could trust that we all want the best for the people in our state and work toward that end without worrying about who is in what party.
I think independents are more likely to listen to - and be listened to by - people aligning with the minority party. I think we need people who can unite, and a non-partisan is more likely to do that.
Tim is the kind of person who doesn't polarize. He brings people together to get things done.
I like Tim's ideas for getting more housing, more manufacturing, and more child care for working and middle-class families in a way that we can afford. And I think Vermont needs the unity of purpose that Tim's independence and transparency will invite during this time of great division.