To the editor:
Politicians are applying to us for jobs. They are supposed to work on our behalf, either in Montpelier or Warshington.
During this mid-term cycle, I have written to many of the candidates, asking for more information on their positions. Most of them couldn’t be bothered replying. I have never gotten a reply from Becca Balint in all her time in office. I have to assume that it is her policy to never reply to constituents.
I emailed Myers Mermel because I was intrigued by his description of himself as a man of peace. No Reply. I wrote him a letter. No reply. I’ve written to Gerald Malloy. No reply. I wrote to Christina Nolan. No reply. I wrote to Ericka Redic. No reply.
Granted, I tend to ask tough questions and be challenging on issues that are important to me. Like who is considering whether or not our policy regarding Ukraine (dating back to the coup we engineered in 2014) is likely to push the planet into WWIII.
I got a single thoughtful reply, early on, from Sianay Chase Clifford, or someone connected with her campaign. I’ve had an ongoing respectful email conversation with Liam Madden. And Mark Coester offered to have lunch with me. And, while I liked him very much and, post-pandemic, am totally on board with and absolutely adamant about his main issue of medical freedom (mark4vermont.com), I have to say he quite cagily avoided answering most of my questions directly during a long lunch.
I don’t understand why a candidate would have a “Contact” button on a campaign website and totally blow off someone who seeks more information and clarification of positions. Someone remarked to me that a candidate should feel honored by anyone who is interested in their campaign. You would think…
But then, my experience with Bernie Sanders’ office is that English is the second or third language therein. There has been a huge problem in that office for years with reading comprehension, in my experience. Peter Welch strikes me as having nothing but scorn for constituents. And I’ve never understood just exactly what Patrick Leahy stands for. The anthrax letter sent to his office in 2001 cowed him forever, in my opinion.
Jacqueline Brook
Putney