Newsletter January 10, 2021

Oath of Office affirmation ceremony 1/6/2021

Hi there Hartford constituents,

The first week of any legislative session is filled with meeting new faces, speeches from state wide office holders, and seating of the next class of representatives- yet it was even more historically significant this year because of all of these ceremonial activities were done via Zoom. Navigating this different virtual world has it’s own set of challenges, and I’m sure many of you are already experiencing in these obstacles in your day to day lives too! There are many silver linings though, and for me as second term legislature the biggest positive comparison I can see from the previous session is that I am at home with my partner and in our community. Sure, the perk of having my husband Dylan bring me lunch is huge, but I also get to attend community meetings online and emit far less CO2 with telecommuting.

I wanted to highlight a few significant events that would be relevant to you as my constituents:

1) I was seated as a member of the House Transportation Committee for a second biennium. I am actively working on legislation to modernize our transportation infrastructure and systems here in Vermont, and soon I will be able to share these policy recommendations with you.

2) You are lucky to have not one but two state representatives serving you in the legislature, and Rep. Kevin “Coach” Christie continues to be my seat mate and the senior representative from Hartford. Rep. Christie will be continuing in work on the Judiciary Committee. He has also taken on a major leadership role with his chairmanship of the Social Equity Caucus.

3) I would be remise to not mention the horrible, tragic and seditious actions that took place in our nation’s capitol this week, and I too spent the better part of Wednesday glued to my TV in disbelief. There is so much to say on this topic, but I think you will find that the resolution passed by the House in conjunction with the Senate, Governor Phil Scott and our Federal delegation responds well to this moment. While 130 of my colleagues and I agreed with this resolution, I am disheartened that a small minority of 16 chose not to concur. You can read the full resolution here.

4) I wanted to end on a positive note, and truthfully I can find no brighter spot in last week’s activities than the swearing in of a full women lead compliment to House, Senate, and Ltn Governor leadership. Congratulations to my friends Rep. Jill Krowinski (Speaker of the House), Sen. Becca Ballint (Senate Pro-Tem) and Ltn Governor Molly Gray.

Thank you taking the time to read this update, and do not hesitate to reach out to me if you would like to talk. I am here to serve you, and it is a privilege to do so.

All the best,

Becca