For opinion pieces on any topic.
Good afternoon,
Please see attached for Brattleboro’s Official Town Meeting Day election results. There were no declared write-in candidates, and the winners are in bold.
WSESD official results will be released from the Central School District office as they are ready.
Thank you,
Hilary
Please see attached for Brattleboro’s Unofficial Town Meeting Day and WSESD election results. These are the results from the ballot tallies, not including write-in votes, and not including other towns’ results for the WSESD races. The projected winners are in bold.
Note that these are numbers that were crunched after a VERY long day. I will reiterate that they are UNOFFICIAL.
We do not have free and fair elections in Vermont because some candidates, even though their names are on the official election ballot and even though they fulfilled the legal requirements and submitted just as many petition signatures as all of the other candidates, are excluded from candidate debates and forums.
The public is deceived, we do not have free and fair elections when voices are suppressed and political issues of importance to voters are not heard.
Tim Wessel is running (again) for a one year seat on the Brattleboro Selectboard.
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You again? (just kidding)
I’m baaaack lol.
Tell us a bit about yourself. Who are you and why are you running for a one year seat?
The people of Brattleboro have elected me to the Brattleboro Selectboard 4 times. I served on the board for a total of six years, from 2017 until March of 2023. During those years I worked hard to be a voice of moderation, of fiscally conservative values, and I became a well-known supporter of both our Fire and Police departments. I’ve lived and worked at my own video production business in Brattleboro since 2007. I live downtown with my wife and young son, and my older son has returned to Brattleboro as well. I am deeply invested in my community. I love Brattleboro.
Cristina ShayOnye is running for a one year seat on the Brattleboro Selectboard.
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Tell us a bit about yourself. Who are you and why are you running for a one year seat?
I live right outside of Downtown Brattleboro with my two young children and Partner. We both work and struggle to make ends meet but are dedicated to providing affordable essential services to our community. My partner is an auto mechanic and I provide childcare, work as an assistant slate roof repairman, and mason’s helper. I also co-run The Vermont Village School which is a multi-generational village of families and individuals that come together to meet one another’s needs and learn together. On March 17th we will be starting a Civics Class at Brooks Memorial Library every Monday morning from 10-11am for the Spring season. All ages are welcome to come and learn how to “citizen”.
Most importantly, I am a Town Government nerd. I see how important the decisions made by our Selectboard are to all those who live, work, or visit Brattleboro. I was raised in a big city and am inspired by how accessible our local government is here in this small town. I chose to run for a 1 year seat because I support Oscar Heller and did not run against him.. AND because I do not feel represented by the two incumbents running to extend their term on the board.
Oscar Heller is running for a three year seat on the Brattleboro Selectboard.
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Tell us a bit about yourself. Who are you and why are you running for a three year seat?
Hi there! My name is Oscar Heller. I live on Elliot Street in an apartment I used to rent and now own. I’ve started two small businesses, 10F Design and Winterland Marketing, and we work out of the Hooker Dunham building downtown.
I’ve been involved with Brattleboro’s town politics for eight years. I think local government is now more important than ever, and I’ve always felt a pull to be involved and contribute what I can. I started on the Energy Committee, am currently a Town Meeting representative for District 9, and have served on the Finance Committee for the last six years, including this year as chair.
Sometimes we have a lot of useful words but have trouble putting them together. In the current case, however, they speak loud and clear. Let’s review the vocabulary and its implications:
Extremely anti-social views and behavior, coupled with a lack of conscience, are evidence that a person is suffering from sociopathy. It’s hard to tell if someone actually lacks a conscience, but anti-social behavior is easy to spot. People who habitually flout the laws and mores of their society, and who are, in fact, against those laws and mores, are behaving anti-socially. This may even be accompanied by misanthropy, which is the hatred of other people.
But just because you hate other people doesn’t mean you can’t love yourself. Narcissism is just that — excessive vanity and admiration of self. And of course, egotism follows, for surely such a fabulous person as oneself will be completely selfish and self-absorbed. It’s the mindset of the spoiled rich kid — I want it, give it to me now!
There are a number of qualities I look for in an elected official, whether local or on the larger stage.
I think it’s important that those who represent me research to learn the history and contributing factors for each issue they’ll deal with. They must talk to the people involved and affected and listen well to each. They need to relay comprehensive information to others clearly, in a concise, respectful way.
Oscar Heller will be a thoughtful member of the Brattleboro Selectboard, progressive in his values but mindful of the financial facts of life. I have served with Oscar for several years on the Representative Town Meeting Finance Committee (both of us have chaired in different years) and I know his abilities well. Heller is diligent and well-informed. He respects different opinions, listens well, and has an admirable ability to contribute to the development of reasoned decisions while maintaining group cohesion.
It is clear from this year’s Finance Committee work that Heller strongly believes in the necessity of multi-year financial planning and rigorous consideration of budgetary alternatives. He knows that nothing good can come from undisciplined spending.
Below is some helpful information for the March 4th Town Meeting and WSESD School Board Director Elections.
Absentee Ballots
Absentee ballots for these elections were mailed by request. Please make sure to follow the instructions provided
with your ballot, including:
• Signing the certificate envelope and ensuring your ballot/s are inside the certificate envelope.
• Using a black pen to mark your ballot.
I’ve known Isaac Evans-Frantz for several years and I am glad he is running for Select Board.
Isaac’s Brattleboro roots run deep. He was born in Brattleboro, grew up in a low-income family and graduated from BUHS before going on to college.
His at times challenging upbringing gives him the experience to understand those in town who can’t afford huge increases in local property taxes. So I admire the way he has shown a light on the way the current Select Board has stonewalled the RTM Finance Committee and its recommendations. I know he will bring a more responsible fiscal outlook to the board.
A colleague on the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) Finance Committee and I undertook a comparative analysis of the funds Brattleboro’s Human Services Committee had to allocate and similar spending by our adjoining towns and Putney and also such spending by eight towns, four just larger and four just smaller than Brattleboro in population. Data were collected in all cases for the current fiscal year.
Because all Brattleboro voters will have the unusual opportunity to express their preferences so as to advise RTM which will set a sum for social services spending in the next fiscal year, I wish to share what we found.
Brattleboro provides human service organizations with more money ($367,810) than is allocated in the 13 comparison towns. Rutland is close, at $342,243, and this is more than double what any of the other towns spend for the purpose. Brattleboro also has the highest percentage of general fund dollars set aside for social service organizations—2%. Our nearest rivals are Dummerston and Rutland (1.2% and 1.3%, respectively). Restricting attention to our neighbors, Brattleboro’s social service spending per capita is over $34; on a per capita basis, Putney comes in at $16.27 and Guilford at $11.27; the other three are below $10 per capita.
As former members of the Brattleboro Human Services Committee, we are writing to encourage all members of the Brattleboro community to read the detailed, informative report to the town, from the current members of the Committee, which appeared in the February 12 issue of The Commons.
Article Vl, on this year’s Annual Town Meeting Ballot, asks Brattleboro voters to choose one of five town funding options for local Human Service organizations.
We think that voting to eliminate or drastically reduce the town’s share of funding of these organizations would be a short-sighted, major mistake, and would be detrimental to Brattleboro’s well-being. During the time that we served on the committee, each one of us came to more deeply understand and appreciate what a critical role the nonprofit organizations, whose funding requests we carefully reviewed, play in the healthy functioning of our community.
Many Vermonters are in the Benefits Trap. You can’t earn over a certain amount of money or you will lose your benefits, and the benefits have more financial value than the value of rent which could put you over the benefits limit by renting a room to someone.
In the Benefits Trap scheme of things, you are allowed to own one home (up to a certain value) and one car (up to a certain value). If you have an extra bedroom, and you rent it out, that is income, and poof! you could lose your benefits which have a value greater than the rent a person might pay.
Isaac Evans-Frantz is running for a one year seat on the Brattleboro Selectboard.
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Tell us a bit about yourself. Who are you and why are you running for a one year seat?
I was born and raised in Brattleboro, and I love this community. The gap between rich and poor, the opioid crisis, and the housing shortage are hurting us. We all want a community where we can earn a living wage, put food on the table, and let our kids play outside without fear of drugs or violence. We need a selectboard member who listens and helps us achieve a stronger Brattleboro. I will bring energy, hope and determination to the Brattleboro Selectboard.
Hello Neighbors,
I am running for re-election to a three-year term as a Representative Town Meeting (RTM) member for District 9 (formerly known as District 3).
I am asking you, if you feel comfortable doing so, to vote for me and, more, to encourage your friends in District 9 to do so as well.
I have been a member of Representative Town Meeting since 2019. Beginning in 2019, I have been elected every year to its Finance Committee which scrutinizes the Town budget to provide a report each year to inform RTM (and the public generally) of issues before that body votes on the budget article; in three of those years, I was chosen to chair the committee.
Brattleboro Town Meeting and WSESD School Board elections will be held on March 4, 2025. There are three major ways to vote in these elections.
Please note that the Town Clerk’s office hours have changed, and we are now closed from 12-1 p.m. daily.
Jill Stahl Tyler is running for a three year seat on the Brattleboro Selectboard.
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Tell us a bit about yourself. Who are you and why are you running for a three-year seat?
Hi, my name is Jill Stahl Tyler. I decided to run for Selectboard because this is my home.
When we built our house thirty years ago, we planted trees. From sapling to towering shade cover, we wanted to see them grow. Over the same decades, we’ve watched things change in downtown Brattleboro. As the crime situation has worsened, I wondered if we had to leave, and if someone else would enjoy the crisp yellows of the forsythia, the majestic first blooms on the magnolia, and the striking flowering crab apple that now spreads widely near the front patio.
My name is Jane Wheeler and I am running for RTM in District 8. I was born, grew up and worked in Brattleboro. Outside of about 8 years when I lived in close by towns I have always lived in Brattleboro. I have had many lived experiences in Brattleboro- school kid, factory worker, drunk, recovering alcoholic, renter and now a property owner, addictions counselor, houseparent at Kurn Hattin, co-founder of the VT Counsel on Problem Gambling, case manger for Senior Solutions, resource advocate at Grace Cottage Hospital, caregiver for aging family members, and now as a retired older person. I have a master’s degree with the focus in counseling psychology. Informal education includes matriarchal studies and plant medicine.
Hey, candidates for the 2025 Brattleboro Representative Town Meeting. There are a lot of you this year. It is exciting. People want to know who you are and what distinguishes you from the others running. We’ve gotten emails asking for information about you.
You are, as always, invited to use this site to announce your candidacy and to introduce yourselves. It could be close, and every vote is important.
