David Zuckerman and Brenda Siegel

David Zuckerman and Brenda Siegel would make the team Vermont needs to move the state forward with vision, compassion, and commitment.

Most of us know what Zuckerman stands for. He has been a longtime surrogate and worker for Bernie Sanders and represents those ideals – economic and social justice, respect for the environment and the urgency of consequences of climate change.

Brenda Siegel is a less known figure, but is increasingly having an impact on what goes on in Montpelier. She’s been working tirelessly to find compassionate solutions to the opioid crisis, which we are still grappling with; and is firmly on the side of a livable wage, and Medicare for all. She is a passionate voice for the struggling, the marginalized in our society.

Siegel understands that the arts and social services need not be an either-or. As creator of the Southern Vermont Dance Festival, and a supporter of the arts in all forms, she will be a voice for that important sector, too often left out of the economic equations. Her creative endeavors evinces an ability to think creatively. Furthermore, she understands the arts are a value-added in Vermont, but most importantly, that the arts can be empowering and energizing and provide soul nourishment, as important in its way as putting food on the table. Bringing the arts on board looks at the whole person.

As quoted in a Reformer piece of August 1st, Siegel says she “seeks a way forward for those marginalized and forgotten to have a seat at the table with equal voice and equal power.” It seems after the Covid pandemic, many more of us will know what that feels like. We need a Zuckerman-Siegel team that will be in sync with our legislature and allow us, as a state, to think big, as we move into our post-Covid future.