By STEVEN JUPITER
BRANDON—Vermont’s U.S. Representative, Congresswoman Becca Balint, visited Brandon on Wednesday, August 20, to hold a discussion about democracy at the Brandon Free Public Library and view the flood-mitigation infrastructure that Brandon installed after the devastation of Tropical Storm Irene.
Balint began her visit at Brandon Community Health, where she said she “had a great conversation” with the staff. She then came to the library, where a capacity crowd had gathered to share their thoughts on democracy, specifically in reaction to “Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America” by historian Heather Cox Richardson.
A former middle-school social studies teacher, Balint was in her element leading the discussion of the 2023 book, in which the author describes the dangers currently threatening American democracy.
“I’m not expecting we’re all going to agree,” she said at the beginning of the discussion. “I’m not looking for groupthink, but we need to wrestle with hard ideas.”
Attendees expressed their fears and frustrations regarding what they saw as attacks on democracy by the Trump administration. They brought up the Capitol riot of January 6, 2021, which many attendees saw as a harbinger of worse things to come. January 6, 2021 was also Balint’s first official day in office.
Balint called those events “traumatic” and stated that we haven’t fully grappled with the effects. She also noted that a plaque had been fabricated in honor of the police officers who were attacked that day, but Speaker of the House Mike Johnson still refused to allow it to be hung in the Capitol.
She also noted that several of the rioters who had been convicted, imprisoned, and then pardoned by President Trump returned to the Capitol and sat in the gallery in the House of Representatives to intimidate Republicans in the chamber. She added that many Republicans in Congress acquiesce to President Trump in order to avoid his wrath and threats of harm.
She also said that many Republicans mock Trump behind closed doors and are not “true believers,” though they show loyalty in public.
“It’s very scary to be in political office right now,” said Balint. “But if you’re not able to do the job, let someone else do it. We were the class [of new Congresspeople] who ran toward the fire.”
One attendee recounted the experiences of her Polish grandmother in the Nazi era, stating that the U.S. is “already well into authoritarianism.”
“Democracy is fraying,” replied Balint.
However, Balint also acknowledged that the Democrats have not agreed on their standard bearer in the fight for democracy, with the party divided as to who should be the public face of the party. But she advised attendees to stay the course.
“It’s messy and there’s no short cut,” she said. “We have an erroneous idea about courage, that it’s easy. It’s not. It’s scary. It only feels good in retrospect. Courage happens in uncomfortable moments.”
Balint also said that Democrats need to change the way they communicate with the electorate.
“Republicans speak in headlines. Democrats speak in footnotes,” said Balint, referring to the Democrats’ tendency to get lost in policy details while Republicans make more of an emotional impact.
“People don’t remember what you said, but they’ll remember how you made them feel,” she added.
After the discussion at the library, Balint took a tour of downtown Brandon, accompanied by a contingent of town officials and community leaders, including Deputy Town Manager Bill Moore, Selectboard members Cecil Reniche-Smith and Jeff Haylon, Water Superintendent Ray Counter, Brandon Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Bernie Carr, Downtown Brandon Alliance President Devon Fuller and Executive Director Fiona Slattery, and Kyle Medash, Western VT Floodplains Manager with the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources.
Rep. Balint had wanted to see the infrastructure that Brandon installed in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene, which caused immense flooding in downtown, famously lifting the original Brandon House of Pizza off of its foundation and depositing the building in the street.
Mr. Moore explained to Balint how Brandon was able to coordinate those flood-mitigation efforts with the renovation of the downtown that began in 2017.
The centerpiece of those efforts was “Swifty,” the overflow culvert that was built to allow excess water from the Neshobe to flow under Center Street to the lower falls behind Green Park. The culvert was named after Ethan Swift, who first proposed the concept. Mr. Swift was a Brandon Selectboard member who worked for the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, where he is still employed as program manager in the Watershed Planning Program.
“Swifty” performed as intended during the floods of July 2023, when towns such as Barre and Ludlow were inundated.
After viewing the culvert, Balint and her staff stopped in for maple creemees at Sweet Sappy’s and sandwiches at Morningside Bakery, both on Center Street.
During a pause in the tour, Rep. Balint stopped to chat with The Reporter. Our questions and Balint’s responses are given in abbreviated form below.
Reporter: Given that the current federal administration has been openly hostile toward Democrats and “blue states,” what is the value to Vermonters in having a Democrat as our sole U.S. Representative?
Balint: All I can tell you is that I was put in office because Vermonters felt like I would listen deeply to them and carry their voices with me in committee and on the floor [of the House of Representatives]. And I know from the calls and emails we get that people do feel like they are represented. Now, of course, there are people who disagree with the stances that I take, but I pride myself on being able to sit and talk and listen to anyone, and I’m always trying to make connections across the aisle. What I hear overwhelmingly from Vermonters is that they want me to do everything I can to preserve and protect democracy and their constitutional rights. I believe absolutely that we will navigate our way through this, and the only way we’re going to do this is to find common ground. Tell me about your family and I’ll tell you about mine.
Reporter: You were in Montpelier for many years. Now that you’re in Washington, with a more bird’s-eye view of Vermont, has your perspective on your home state changed?
Balint: The work that I do on the Budget Committee and the Judiciary Committee is still very Vermont focused. How is this piece of legislation that is moving forward going to impact Vermonters? Or how is this funding stream going to impact Middlebury or Brattleboro if those federal dollars don’t come through and they can’t finish their projects? So, in that way, I’m still very focused on life on the ground in Vermont. But one thing that has absolutely changed is the 24-hour news cycle in Washington, where people are speaking in committee just to go viral on social media and not because they actually have a point to make about the bill we’re debating. Still, the best way for me to communicate with Vermonters is through local media like you and the Rutland Herald and Vermont Public.
Reporter: What are you working on now that has you the most excited?
Balint: I’m continuing to fine-tune my omnibus housing bill that I introduced last session. We’re continuing to meet with housing partners across the state to make sure that we’re being very bold in our initiatives. We’re not going to be able to solve the housing crisis in Vermont on our own. Of course, I’ve not been alone in that, but I’ve been like a dog on a bone. A lot of the work that I’ve done to elevate housing is now going to be front and center in the vision for where we’re going. So that feels really good, and I’m going to keep doing that.
