by Renee McGuinness
For Vermonters for Good Government

State officials and representatives from Chittenden-22 and Chittenden-23 districts shamelessly engaged in partisan political rhetoric during a recent event billed as a policy forum.

Representative Rey Garofano hosted a community forum in Essex on Monday, June 2, to discuss The Impact of Federal Actions on Vermont. The free event, held in the T-Rex theater at Essex Cinemas, was “sold out” on Eventbrite, yet was less than half full during the event.

Garofano stated the intent of the forum was to provide the most up-to-date information on federal policy and its potential impacts on Vermont and was not a political event. As the event progressed, however, this proved to be untrue. While panelists presented solid statistics, the presentation appeared to be a road map for the re-election of incumbent Democrats by fomenting fear of the Federal Administration and distracting voters from the lack of meaningful work they should be doing.
Attorney General Charity Clark, Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas, and Treasurer Mike Pieciak were the panelists. Representatives Leonora Dodge,  Karen Dolan, Assistant Majority Leader,  Lori Houghton, Majority Leader, and Alyssa Black were also present.

Among the topics presented were the potential impacts of federal funding cuts on Vermont’s budget and economy, and laws and resolutions Vermont has passed to defend itself against perceived impending threats from the Federal Administration.
Representative Houghton provided state budget information. Vermont’s 2025 fiscal year budget was “close to $9 billion.” Thirty-six percent, or $3.1 billion, comes from federal funds, half of which goes to Medicaid. The other half goes to education, heating, transportation, and other state agencies. The $3.1 billion does not include federal dollars designated for SNAP benefits or non-profits.

Houghton said the legislature has gathered information from all the state agencies on the programs that rely on federal dollars, which programs they could eliminate or scale back, and which persons and groups would be impacted by the cuts, should Vermont need to cut its spending due to federal cuts. If a federal cut impacts a program or programs by $50 million or more, the legislature could be called back. This is a reactive approach and attempts to blame the Trump Administration for Democrat legislators’ inability to develop a trim state budget.

Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas alleged that the Trump Administration has compromised election security and is attempting to disenfranchise voters. Hanzas said the President’s Executive Order to preserve and protect the integrity of American elections, combined with the SAVE Act (Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility), encumbers people from being able to vote because proof of citizenship is too difficult for people who change their residence, register to vote for the first time, change their last name in marriage, are elderly, or live in a rural area.

Attorney General Charity Clark stated that her job is to uphold the Constitution and federal law, and to represent Vermont in court. She proudly announced that she has sued the Trump administration seventeen times on behalf of Vermont. Clark claimed the Trump Administration is attempting to dismantle the federal government, inventing fake emergencies to justify “wild tariffs,” usurping environmental laws, disenfranchising voters, illegally banning DEI funding, violating Americans’ data privacy, and unconstitutionally withholding money that Congress appropriated.

State Treasurer Mike Pieciak took informal polls, asking the audience to raise their hands if they think the country is on the “right track,” or the “wrong track.” Pieciak also asked the audience to raise their hands if they have been feeling a higher degree of anxiety, concern, or anger. “I see people with multiple hands going up. I think that person has three hands up,” Pieciak joked, to which Secretary of State Hanzas jokingly raised both hands and one leg from her seated position as an expression of the level of negative emotions against the Trump Administration.

Pieciak iterated concern over the potential impacts of federal funding reductions on Vermont’s operating budget and economy. He emphasized that one in five Vermonters works for a non-profit, and that 67% of non-profits could become insolvent if $600 million of federal funds that support non-profits in Vermont are cut.

Pieciak said he “gets heated” by the way non-citizen community members are treated, and helped establish the Vermont Legal Immigration Defense Fund to raise $1 million for organizations like Vermont Asylum Assistance Project to help non-citizens in deportation cases.

An hour of Q & A followed the panelists’ presentations. Other than four challenges to the Attorney General’s failure to uphold Title IX, the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), and federal immigration law, most of the small crowd in attendance were supportive of elected officials’ actions in response to the Federal Administration.

Persons who challenged the panelists were gaslighted, dismissed, and cut off, while panelists indulged in sympathy for audience members who expressed fear of the Trump Administration, spending extra time by offering back-and-forth dialogue and allowing multiple follow-up questions.

Rev Baker of Essex Junction thanked the panel for “touring around,” and asked what people can do to get involved. Charity Clark suggested protesting, and Mike Pieciak solicited donations to the Vermont Legal Immigration Defense Fund and suggested joining organizations like Indivisible and 5051, both of which are anti-Trump Administration groups that are organizing “No King” protests in June.

Yep. A forum on policy, indeed. No political commentary took place, folks. If pants literally caught fire when people lied, there would be no back-ends to wipe among the elected officials who participated in this “policy” forum.