Politics section
More than 2500 turned out to protest today in Brattleboro. The number was according to a speaker at the stage at the common, and was probably an undercount, as people were still arriving. Indeed, Brattleboro was filled with people today. Cars filled side streets and church parking lots. Church bells were ringing out. There were people marching, chanting, singing, playing music and holding their signs and flags up as they marched.
Date: June 10, 2025 Watching ICE immigration protests on YouTube at https://youtube.com/watch?v=G2mPQ4qShoM hosted by Steve Lookner who may be a regular guy sitting in his garage in Massachusetts and arranging for people he knows to send him “Live” protest footage. There are big protests in Los Angeles, New York City, and maybe Charlotte, North Carolina, etc.
After debate on H.R. 2243, the House will begin debate on H.Res. 352.
After debate on H.Res. 352, the House is expected to recess.
At approximately 5:00 p.m., the House will take a second series of votes on the Motion to Table H.Res. 353 – Impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors, passage of H.R. 2243, and adoption of H.Res. 353 – under suspension of the Rules.
District 9 residents in Brattleboro are cordially invited to attend a forum to express their opinions about the revised budget prepared for a special Representative Town Meeting (RTM); the new budget is intended to replace an earlier version that was voted down by RTM and will, if approved, guide spending in the next fiscal year which begins 1 July.
The forum will be held in the Community Room (third floor) of the Brooks Memorial Library at 7 pm on Wednesday 14 May. RTM members from District 9 are encouraged to attend to hear their constituents’ opinions.
Elected politicians, on all the levels, and the people who support government on a daily basis often have nothing in common. There are no requirements to run for office except for age in some instances. It is one of the great elements of democracy and, for better or worse, we end up with people in power who may have no understanding of how government works. If they have enough money they can win office and once they are in it is hard to get rid of them, That is also what democracy is about.
As we lose our democracy on a national level this disconnect could not be clearer. Trump and Musk have no interest in learning what all the people do who actually do the work of our government. If they even had a shred of interest in trying to understand how government agencies work they might have somehow found a little bit of common sense and talked to all these people and asked them how they might be more efficient.
Any citizen can draft a proposed bill in Vermont, but only members of the Vermont General Assembly (the House of Representatives and the Senate) can introduce it for consideration.
The Vermont citizen needs to pray that any member of the House or Senate will be willing to introduce the bill.
It is proving to be a concerning statistic that in cities across the United States of America where homeless unsheltered people live, in view of tourists who cringe in sympathy, that this upsets tourists so much that they are now avoiding places where homeless people are suffering in plain sight.
Dear Governor Scott,
State of Vermont
It boggles the mind how your administration can be so deliberately indifferent and uncaring when it comes to those who are being or already have been evicted from the Vermont Hotel/Motel Program without those persons having anywhere else safe and secure to go inside, day or night.
The rationale used by your administration for not allowing everyone to stay in the program who are currently eligible as well as clearly in need and most vulnerable does not wash, nor does it pass the straight face test, either.
The fact is that it actually costs much more in terms of fiscal (read: funding), human, medical and other social related matters to do nothing for those the state could and should be assisting more humanely.
The Selectboard’s proposed budget raises property taxes by more than 12% and defers expenses—setting residents up for even higher taxes down the road. And over the past several months the Selectboard has chosen to deplete Town funds to hire new positions and cover new expenses. Brattleboro’s Representative Town Meeting (RTM) Finance Committee recently issued a clear warning: The Selectboard must take a more responsible approach to budgeting. I agree. We need longer term financial planning and political courage for responsible budgeting, and the Selectboard and Representative Town Meeting can help us get there.
The Selectboard placed an opinion poll on the March 4th ballot regarding the 2% of the Town budget allocated for human services. But there’s another 98% we need to consider. That’s where the biggest opportunities are for savings.The Selectboard should have taken the Finance Committee’s recommendations seriously. The committee exists to advise Representative Town Meeting members—the ultimate deciders on the budget. To increase the chances of the budget passing, the Selectboard should carefully consider the Finance Committee’s guidance.The Finance Committee expressed concern about the lack of a long-term financial plan and called on the Selectboard to direct the town manager to present a list of potential staff cuts for the coming budget and to identify cuts and deferrals that will likely reappear a year from now when we are considering the following year’s budget. The outgoing Selectboard chose not to implement any of these recommendations.
I HEREBY DECLARE A NEW 2025
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
FROM the ARBITRARY RULE OF TYRANT ELON MUSK, advisor to President Donald Trump
Declaration of Independence from all orders, usurpations of our tax dollars, directives and firings and threats by Elon Musk!
WE THE PEOPLE of the United States of America declare that
when in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
I am proud of Brattleboro voters who showed up on Election Day in unusually high numbers. At a moment when our country faces unprecedented challenges, the people of Brattleboro made clear they want a town we all can afford, a town where our young people can play safely, where we all have a warm place to sleep at night, and where we treat one another well. I congratulate my fellow candidates for putting themselves out there in this moment of political turmoil, and to Franz Reichsman and Richard Davis for their current service on the selectboard.
AGENDA
1. CONVENE MEETING
2. RECOUNT VOTE LOGISTICS
3. APPOINT RECOUNT ELECTIONS TEAM
4. ADJOURN
Good afternoon,
Please see attached for Brattleboro’s Official Town Meeting Day election results. There were no declared write-in candidates, and the winners are in bold.
WSESD official results will be released from the Central School District office as they are ready.
Thank you,
Hilary
Please see attached for Brattleboro’s Unofficial Town Meeting Day and WSESD election results. These are the results from the ballot tallies, not including write-in votes, and not including other towns’ results for the WSESD races. The projected winners are in bold.
Note that these are numbers that were crunched after a VERY long day. I will reiterate that they are UNOFFICIAL.
We do not have free and fair elections in Vermont because some candidates, even though their names are on the official election ballot and even though they fulfilled the legal requirements and submitted just as many petition signatures as all of the other candidates, are excluded from candidate debates and forums.
The public is deceived, we do not have free and fair elections when voices are suppressed and political issues of importance to voters are not heard.
Tim Wessel is running (again) for a one year seat on the Brattleboro Selectboard.
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You again? (just kidding)
I’m baaaack lol.
Tell us a bit about yourself. Who are you and why are you running for a one year seat?
The people of Brattleboro have elected me to the Brattleboro Selectboard 4 times. I served on the board for a total of six years, from 2017 until March of 2023. During those years I worked hard to be a voice of moderation, of fiscally conservative values, and I became a well-known supporter of both our Fire and Police departments. I’ve lived and worked at my own video production business in Brattleboro since 2007. I live downtown with my wife and young son, and my older son has returned to Brattleboro as well. I am deeply invested in my community. I love Brattleboro.
Cristina ShayOnye is running for a one year seat on the Brattleboro Selectboard.
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Tell us a bit about yourself. Who are you and why are you running for a one year seat?
I live right outside of Downtown Brattleboro with my two young children and Partner. We both work and struggle to make ends meet but are dedicated to providing affordable essential services to our community. My partner is an auto mechanic and I provide childcare, work as an assistant slate roof repairman, and mason’s helper. I also co-run The Vermont Village School which is a multi-generational village of families and individuals that come together to meet one another’s needs and learn together. On March 17th we will be starting a Civics Class at Brooks Memorial Library every Monday morning from 10-11am for the Spring season. All ages are welcome to come and learn how to “citizen”.
Most importantly, I am a Town Government nerd. I see how important the decisions made by our Selectboard are to all those who live, work, or visit Brattleboro. I was raised in a big city and am inspired by how accessible our local government is here in this small town. I chose to run for a 1 year seat because I support Oscar Heller and did not run against him.. AND because I do not feel represented by the two incumbents running to extend their term on the board.
Oscar Heller is running for a three year seat on the Brattleboro Selectboard.
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Tell us a bit about yourself. Who are you and why are you running for a three year seat?
Hi there! My name is Oscar Heller. I live on Elliot Street in an apartment I used to rent and now own. I’ve started two small businesses, 10F Design and Winterland Marketing, and we work out of the Hooker Dunham building downtown.
I’ve been involved with Brattleboro’s town politics for eight years. I think local government is now more important than ever, and I’ve always felt a pull to be involved and contribute what I can. I started on the Energy Committee, am currently a Town Meeting representative for District 9, and have served on the Finance Committee for the last six years, including this year as chair.
Sometimes we have a lot of useful words but have trouble putting them together. In the current case, however, they speak loud and clear. Let’s review the vocabulary and its implications:
Extremely anti-social views and behavior, coupled with a lack of conscience, are evidence that a person is suffering from sociopathy. It’s hard to tell if someone actually lacks a conscience, but anti-social behavior is easy to spot. People who habitually flout the laws and mores of their society, and who are, in fact, against those laws and mores, are behaving anti-socially. This may even be accompanied by misanthropy, which is the hatred of other people.
But just because you hate other people doesn’t mean you can’t love yourself. Narcissism is just that — excessive vanity and admiration of self. And of course, egotism follows, for surely such a fabulous person as oneself will be completely selfish and self-absorbed. It’s the mindset of the spoiled rich kid — I want it, give it to me now!
There are a number of qualities I look for in an elected official, whether local or on the larger stage.
I think it’s important that those who represent me research to learn the history and contributing factors for each issue they’ll deal with. They must talk to the people involved and affected and listen well to each. They need to relay comprehensive information to others clearly, in a concise, respectful way.
Oscar Heller will be a thoughtful member of the Brattleboro Selectboard, progressive in his values but mindful of the financial facts of life. I have served with Oscar for several years on the Representative Town Meeting Finance Committee (both of us have chaired in different years) and I know his abilities well. Heller is diligent and well-informed. He respects different opinions, listens well, and has an admirable ability to contribute to the development of reasoned decisions while maintaining group cohesion.
It is clear from this year’s Finance Committee work that Heller strongly believes in the necessity of multi-year financial planning and rigorous consideration of budgetary alternatives. He knows that nothing good can come from undisciplined spending.
