Michelle Bos-Lun, a Democrat, is serving her second term in the Vermont House of Representatives and is running for a third term. She and Rep. Leslie Goldman (D-Rockingham) jointly represent Westminster, Rockingham, and Brookline. A high school teacher and youth program leader who moved to Vermont in 2003 for graduate school at SIT Graduate Institute, Bos-Lun holds a master's degree is in international education. In 2023 she completed a certificate from Vermont Law School in restorative justice practices.
WESTMINSTER-I spent most of primary day, Aug. 13, outside the polls in Westminster and Rockingham, two of the towns in the district where I serve as state representative for the Windham-3 district.
As a person who taught civics and U.S. government to teenagers for many years, it made me happy to see new voters exercising their right to engage in our electoral process.
Several 18-year-old first-time voters I have known for years came to the polls with their parents. It was an honor to witness their enthusiasm being able to engage in our democracy fully for the first time.
I enjoyed talking with people: both those I knew already, and some whom I met for the first time. People conversed with me about housing, about accessibility at the polls for individuals with disabilities, about animal welfare, about climate and clean energy, about school needs and educating our kids, about flood resiliency.
And about taxes.
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Unfortunately, on the topic of taxes, only one person spoke using the same communication style as I heard others use in all other topics of conversation.
All the others who named taxes as a concern expressed their thoughts with anger in a way I have never seen in 21 years as a resident and voter, or as a candidate or volunteer in a number of elections now.
In one case, a poll worker told me she witnessed a tirade directed at my volunteers and considered asking for police support, but decided the volunteers were able to handle the situation and didn't need intervention.
These voters expressed hostility about taxes both to me as a member of the Legislature and also to volunteers from my campaign (when I was not with them).
Never have I witnessed, or directly experienced, community members approaching others with verbal hostility, as I did this year.
As a person who has worked in restorative justice and conflict resolution, this change is a significant concern.
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I believe that most Vermonters, including my colleagues of all parties in the State House, want to engage constructively and respectfully with whomever we meet. That has been my experience, and I hope it can continue.
People running for office or volunteering to support those running for office are at the polls to talk with people. We welcome hearing concerns and can share ideas for possible solutions, if people are interested.
I know that taxes are difficult, but neither volunteers nor anyone serving or running for public office want to be yelled at.
The day after the election, I had a conversation with a gentleman who identified as a "moderate, conservative Republican." He was civil. I was civil. We had different perspectives, but they were shared in a respectful way.
I had another conversation on election day with a man who also identified as Republican and similarly conversed with me in a constructive way about his concerns.
This is how it should be: Let's talk, and let's listen to each other.
Could we aspire to always engage in this type of respectful communication at the polls and in other places in our communities?
Vermont, we can do better.
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Taxes bring up strong emotions. I get it. No one loves to pay taxes, but that is how we fund vital services, from educating our children to paving our roads, to helping meet health care needs in rural and urban areas, to keeping libraries and sometimes hospitals operational.
Addressing the needs of Vermonters and our environment is a complex task and is what we do as Legislators both in the State House and when helping constituents access state services.
It was clear that some voters do not understand that property tax rates are determined by voters approving school budgets.
And those budgets have been hit hard.
Our teachers need health insurance, and health care in Vermont is expensive. Our population is one of the oldest in the nation, and both insurance and costs of medical services are rising. Mental health needs for students in schools have also increased dramatically in recent years.
All those circumstances are factors in the cost of funding education.
We in the Legislature must support the needs of districts as determined by the voters - we do not have the agency to cut these approved budgets (as one person told me the Legislature should have done). The rates are determined by the needs that are approved by voters in districts around the state.
The Legislature did vote to utilize reserve funds to make the tax rate lower than it would have been just from voter-approved school board budgets, but I know for many Vermonters the resulting property tax rate was still difficult.
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I am a teacher and youth program director. My district mate, Rep. Leslie Goldman, is a retired nurse practitioner. We have both spent our careers in service to our communities. If someone has a concern about the policies coming out of Montpelier, talk to us, write an email, or leave a message, but please share your concerns respectfully.
Being a state representative is a difficult job. There are no easy answers. I do my best to address the needs of our community and all Vermonters.
I want clean and sustainable energy, community members who are thriving with a place to live and work, and health care that helps them feel their best.
I want our kids to be educated and have their needs met so that they can find their skills and passions and grow up to become contributing members of society.
I want enough teachers willing to teach that our next generation of Vermonters will be nurtured and educated and become active community members.
And, yes, we do have to make some changes to make living in Vermont sustainable for all.
When we meet at the polls or when I knock on your door this fall, I want to hear what you have to say. I want to engage with voters, and addressing difficult subjects is part of that.
But I don't want to be yelled at or have people yell at community members volunteering with my campaign.
I hope we can do this hard work in a mutually respectful way.
This Voices Legislative Update was submitted to The Commons.
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