Be Informed with BCTV’s “Meet the Candidates 2020”

Vermont citizens can stay informed about the upcoming local and statewide races in Vermont with Brattleboro Community TV’s half-hour interview program “Meet the Candidates 2020”. So far, host Marty Cohn has interviewed Rep. Peter Welch, Christopher Helali, Peter Becker, Lt. Governor David Zuckerman, Emily Peyton, Erynn Hazlett Whitney, Molly Gray, Ralph Corbo, Pamala Smith, Sen. Jeanette White, Rep. Emilie Kornheiser, Richard Morton, and Michelle Bos-Lun. Scheduled for the next two weeks: Auditor Doug Hoffer, Sen. Becca Balint, Marcus Parish, John Lyddy, Rep. Laura Sibilia, Rep. Mollie Burke, and Rep. Mike Mrowicki.


Helpful Information for the November 3 General Election and Absentee Voting in Brattleboro

Good morning,

Below is information that might be helpful to know for the November 3rd General Election.

Due to the pandemic, there is no in-person early voting in Brattleboro. However, all active registered voters were automatically mailed a ballot. Please make sure to follow the instructions included with your ballot, including SIGNING THE CERTIFICATE ENVELOPE and making sure your ballot is INSIDE that envelope. Please use a BLACK PEN OR PENCIL to mark your ballot. DO NOT USE A MARKER as it can bleed through to the back of your ballot and require you to need a replaced ballot. If you have not received your ballot, or if you have any questions about your ballot, please call the Town Clerk’s office at 251-8157.


A Trump Coup?

Two nights ago, at the first 2020 U.S. Presidential debate, Americans of all political leanings should be alarmed and sickened by the spectacle that was Donald Trump. Trump, when asked point blank if he condemns white supremacists, refused; instead he told an armed neo-fascist organization to “stand-by.” He further verbalized a series of lies seeking to undermine confidence in the U.S. election system. Together these assertions give strong inclination that Trump expects to lose the popular vote & the electoral college, to be defeated by Joe Biden, and yet to position himself in a way that will allow him a public argument as to why he must remain in power. Never in modern U.S. history has such an extreme rightwing Presidential candidate come so close as to telegraph a coup.

Democratic candidate Joe Biden, for his part called for massive re-investment in America’s infrastructure, building out our renewable energy production, for the creation of millions of new prevailing wage jobs, and for a collective effort to find redress to systemic racism. Biden, who is endorsed by the National AFL-CIO, presently leads Trump in national polls by 6.4%.


Pay Attention! There Is A Huge Difference Between Lieutenant Governor Candidates!

Let’s pick apart a few huge differences between Lieutenant Governor candidates!

Cris Ericson, Molly Gray, Scott Milne and two other candidates are on the ballot for Lieutenant Governor. Mr Billado and Mr. Corbo do not have websites, but you can call or email them.

It is actually important to know something about the people we are voting for or against.


Town Clerk Letter to Brattleboro Voters

Dear Brattleboro Voter,

For the November 3, 2020 Presidential Election, you will be receiving an absentee ballot. This ballot will also contain on the reverse the local Justice of the Peace ballot.

I strongly urge you to review the ballot, make your choices and return it to the Clerk’s Office as soon as possible.

There is a secure drop box in the Municipal Center parking lot where voters themselves, or a friend or family member may return their ballot in the signed certificate envelope that will be sent with the ballot.


Unofficial Brattleboro Primary Results

Good evening,

Please see here for the “unofficial results” for Brattleboro’s State Primary election. These are the results from the ballot tallies, not including write-in votes, and not including other towns’ results for the Primary races.

Thanks to the amazing poll workers and the American Legion who made today possible! Considering our number of absentee voters, we had a lot of voters coming through the doors, and record voter participation for a state-wide primary. The day was smooth and safe!


Election Season 2020

No handshaking and very few face-to-face encounters. Those are some of the major changes to political campaigning during a pandemic. The use of social media will be valuable as we head toward the first Tuesday in November.

Money will still rule because advertising on all levels gets a candidate’s name out there and television, print and other media ads do work. But there is also a potential for lower voter turnout because people may not be bombarded with the usual campaign activity of former years.

My hope is that, on the national level at least, voter turnout will be high because a majority of sensible Americans want to end the great American nightmare and make America sane again.


Helpful Brattleboro Election Information for August 11 State Primary

Good morning,

Below is information that might be helpful to know for August 11th State Primary elections.

Polling place for all three districts in Brattleboro is the American Legion, 32 Linden St., from 7:00 am until 7:00 pm. 

Due to COVID-19, masks will be required (and provided if needed) to enter the American Legion for voting, and hand sanitizer or gloves will also be provided. If you are unable to wear a mask and did not vote absentee, there will be a space outdoors for you to vote. Due to social distancing and reduced capacity indoors, please be prepared for potential wait times.


View the Cris Ericson Candidate Videos CCTV.org Town Meeting TV Refused To Air!

“kvillemaire@cctv.org” of CCTV Town Meeting TV single handedly decided on July 20, 2020 to NOT allow Vermont voters to see 6 videos of candidate Cris Ericson who is on the 2020 Progressive Party primary election ballot for 7 offices. This person did allow one video in June of Cris Ericson’s campaign for Representative to Congress.

Here are the 6 videos that “kvillemaire@cctv.org” under “color of authority” deprived Vermont voters from viewing on July 20, 2020!


Support for Brenda Siegel as Our Next Lt Governor

I’m sharing why I am supporting Brenda Siegel to become our next Lieutenant Governor of Vermont: a decision I came to after researching Brenda’s stand on policies and noting that she embraces similar progressive values as my own.  What I believe distinguishes her from other candidates are her valuable insight and wisdom: qualifications gained through her advocacy background, business ownership and life experiences as a single Mom.

During this global health and economic crisis, Vermonters need representatives who possess a strong moral character and the guts to demand action now.  Representatives who:


Next Steps

American protestors have forced the world to examine racism and the issues that contribute to it. It is a monumental milestone in American history but these protests, fueled by the death of George Floyd, will hopefully be the opening round of the battle for systemic social reform that has been needed in this country for too many decades.

The length and breadth of the protests show that there are significant numbers of Americans who are willing to use their voices to promote short and long-term change. The big question hanging over all of this is whether or not politicians and policymakers will listen thoughtfully and work to implement meaningful systemic change.


Cris Ericson Is On The 2020 Progressive Party Primary Election Ballot. Please Watch Her Home Kitchen Video!

Cris Ericson, previously an independent and U.S. Marijuana Party candidate, is now a 2020 Progressive Party candidate for the Vermont primary election August 11, 2020. Absentee ballts are being sent out as early as the last week of this month, June 2020. Candidates have to use new ways to communicate with Vermont voters!

Cris Ericson is also happy to announce that she sees Emily Peyton as a Republican this time, and Boots Wardinski on the 2020 primary election ballot running against Cris Ericson for Governor of Vermont on the Progressive Party 2020 primary election ballot. Good candidates are not defeated because they lose in the past, they just run again! We are like sports teams that lose and lose and never give up and then surprise, surprise, we will win, hopefully in 2020!


Not Another Day In Paradise

Another black man is murdered by American police. People are outraged and they take to the streets. Their protests help to ease the pain of injustice every black person has to endure every day while trying to enjoy the privileges and rights of citizenship that the rest of us take for granted.

Those in power will sit back and do nothing to change the root causes of injustice that have led to yet another horrific moment in American history. They will engineer sound bites and they will pick out easy political memes to try to ease their base of the brain-dead followers who also are in the same political camp as the rich and privileged. They will even go so far as tear-gassing crowds of people near their home so they can take a walk whose purpose is to use the Bible as a prop in a culture war of their own creation.


Brattleboro Absentee Ballot Requests

With August Primary elections and the November General elections coming up around the corner, we encourage all voters to visit their My Voter Page to update their registration address, including their physical AND mailing addresses, and request an absentee ballot to be mailed to them.

The My Voter Page is now found at https://mvp.vermont.gov. If you encounter problems logging into your My Voter Page, please contact the Town Clerk’s office at 802-251-8157 for assistance. People can also register to vote using the online voter registration page at https://olvr.vermont.gov. Note that both of these links have been updated.


Trump Wins Democratic Primary

The national Democratic party machine has once again managed to set up its circular firing squad as the bullets started flying. Instead of developing a comprehensive strategy to use the presidential primary as a way to unify Democrats, they have created chaos while allowing Trump to set the agenda for just about everything they do.

The grand obsession is to focus almost all of their messaging and energy on their anointed candidate who they believe has the best chance of beating Trump in November. Debate over the issues important to voters has been tainted by the obsession.


The Disappointments of Super Tuesday

Super Tuesday is over and the air waves are quiet. As you can imagine, I was very disappointed with the results; both with Bernie’s unexpected losses in Texas and here in New England but also when Pete And Amy precipitously threw their support to Biden along with Betto O’ Rourke. And even more when I heard that there had been a meeting of the party leaders before all that where I’m sure they pressured the moderate candidates to give their support to Biden. And Obama weighed in and Harry Reid and others. Then, in the “unkindest cut of all” Bloomberg bows out and moves to give Biden the use of his money! And now I here that the party is pressuring Warren to stay in to take votes away from Bernie. What kind of an election is this?