Lucia McCallum collaborated with Waterbury Roundabout reporter Cheryl Casey on this story. Community News Service is a University of Vermont journalism internship

By Cheryl Casey and Lucia McCallum

As the country prepares to elect its 47th president, the biggest choice on the Election Day ballot happens to be depicted along a quiet street in Duxbury. 

Next-door neighbors on both sides of the presidential race decided to put some time and creativity into supporting their candidates this campaign season. The result is juxtaposed displays that boldly present the choice at hand by neighbors who have remained friendly despite their competing views.

It began with a single Trump 2024 sign at Tonya and Brian Boudreau’s house. Next door while mowing the lawn in September, Sara Whitehair contemplated campaign lawn signs and whether she wanted to display one ahead of the election, too.

Given her home’s spot in her neighborhood, the Whitehairs’ yard is in a good location for signs and her family has placed various signs near the road over the years. In the past, though, Whitehair said they have struggled with signs going missing. “We’re on a busy corner, a lot of traffic goes by,” she explained, “and a number of signs have been stolen.”

The Boudreaus next door said they also have struggled to keep past lawn signs from being stolen or thrown in the ditch. 

And campaign seasons tend to be particularly popular times for lawn signs to vanish. News outlets across the country have been reporting in recent weeks about the uptick in sign theft and vandalism. Just type “campaign lawn signs stolen” into your preferred search engine for a taste of the nationwide shenanigans and their consequences. 

Not wanting to risk losing signs but eager to add her political message to the neighborhood, Whitehair decided to “just go big.”

Big — as in the whole side of her house.

Just two words

Whitehair said she and her husband were already in the midst of some renovations and painting the house a shade of blue was part of the plan. On a Friday in late September, as her husband left for camp for the weekend and her daughters went about their usual school day, she applied the first coat of blue paint to the broad side of the house. The next day, as she painted the second coat, she thought about her message.

“The whole time I struggled with … ‘Do I really want to stir things up and potentially get some backlash?’” she recalled. 

The Boudreaus already had a banner up supporting former President Donald Trump’s campaign. And this was just as headlines emerged about Hurricane Helene hitting the southeast U.S. Whitehair said that news prompted her fears of what might happen to climate action under a Trump administration and that “really pushed me over the edge.” 

Eventually, she decided to add something simple but direct in white paint: “Vote Kamala.” 

To execute the message, Whitehair’s daughter Maya, a senior at Harwood Union High School, got involved and enlisted a few friends to help design and lay out the lettering using a projector. Soon the two-word message was emblazoned on the River Road side of the house in roughly 2-foot-tall white letters against the royal blue background.

Both mom and daughter were proud of the effort and the result. “I really feel strongly about it,” Whitehair said.

During a recent visit, Whitehair stepped back to admire her work, saying it reminded her of the strategies of the “Take Back Vermont” campaign more than two decades ago. In the summer of 2000, the message protesting the state’s then-new civil unions law popped up painted on barns, garages, porches and placards. 

“They can say what they want; I can say what I want,” she declared. 

Although Maya worried that the bold step might not land well with her dad, he later posted on social media: “Can’t say I’m not proud.” 

Whitehair admitted, “He was very psyched.” 

A civil, friendly competition 

Despite the dueling appearances, the neighbors say there’s no bad blood over the election hanging over them. “We’re never not friendly,” Tanya Boudreau said.

“We do get along, we’re all friendly,” Whitehair agreed.

That doesn’t mean it hasn’t been bit of a contest. 

After Whitehair’s “Vote Kamala” message was complete, a new sign appeared on the Boudreau’s deck: a large hand-painted “Trump-Vance” sign made of plywood. It was further embellished with red, white and blue lights. 

Brian Boudreau, who has a background in carpentry, built and hand-painted the sign and said he has enjoyed what he’s seen as a competition of political decorations. “I’m just fooling around having fun, and I support Trump,” he said.

“Good for them,” Whitehair said, taking in the scene. “We’re all expressing our rights that we can say these things, and it should be okay.” 

Whitehair emphasized that it was important to create a positive message for her candidate and not against the alternative. “I don’t need to go down that path of negativity and hatred,” she said. “I think there is too much of that in this country as it is.”

Boudreau echoed Whitehair’s sentiment of civility when asked how he thinks their political differences compare to larger divisions across the country. 

“I think we’re probably handling it the way everybody should, don’t you think?” he asked. “I mean, just because somebody’s a Republican or somebody’s a Democrat, it doesn’t mean that you hate each other.”

Boudreau makes no attempt to agree with his neighbors’ politics, but he does attest to their character. “I disagree with their views wholeheartedly — I mean, I’m totally anti-Kamala,” he said. “But you know what? They’re nice people. They’re good parents.”

Both neighbors agree that their aim is to call attention to the election, and they hope neighbors and passersby alike will see their efforts as a reminder to cast their ballot. 

“Go out and vote,” Brian Boudreau said. “Everybody’s vote matters.”

After the election, both neighbors plan to do away with their decorations. Whitehair said she’ll fill in the white lettering with the blue paint and carry on with the renovation projects. Boudreau said he may replace his sign with festive decorations for Christmas. “I’ll take it down no matter who wins,” he said. “It’s not going to do any good if Trump loses. It doesn’t do any good if he wins.”