Opinion

For opinion pieces on any topic.

Just Cause Eviction and Decision Making

by spoon | Politics

Next Tuesday, when we vote on Town Meeting Day, we will have an opportunity to support some of our most afflicted in our community: renters vulnerable to unpredictable no cause evictions.  This is Article II on the ballot, the Just Cause Eviction proposed charter change.  This is an issue that has been advocated for on state and federal levels as well.  I support this fully although I recognize that after some use and experience imperfections may be revealed.  This is no different from charter change and if necessary can be rectified with an amending charter change the following year.  In the meantime enactment of this legislation will relieve some of the debilitating stress that so many here in Brattleboro and thousands across the state must endure.  Nothing is apparent in the proposed language that will have dire consequences for the landlords.          

I am a candidate for the Selectboard.  If elected I will, in response to some of the landlords most emphatic concerns, propose further action. I will propose first that the Town add an appropriate number of hours to the office currently doing rental inspections. This would enable the inspector to respond quickly to landlord complaints.  Tenants could also make complaints against landlords.

RAD Just Cause To Create Permanent Homeless Under-class

by Kurt Daims | Op/Ed

Section B of the RAD Just Cause amendment demands for tenants the privilege of an endless lease. RAD says the endless lease is compassionate. Let’s be real here. To demand the option of an endless lease while homeless people endlessly wait is not compassion, it is self-interest. To preach it as compassion shows no thought even of the existence of homeless people. Section B creates a class of priveleged landed tenants and an under-class of permanently homeless people.

Section B) “This charter provision excludes from ‘just cause’ the expiration of a rental agreement as sole grounds for termination of tenancy.”

Vote In New Selectboard Members To Mend EMS Relationships

by RobertOeser | Op/Ed

The currently sitting Selectboard in Brattleboro has unfinished business … and it cannot be accomplished by the currently sitting members.

For there to be honest and real “transparency,” three members of the board must change.

Richard “Dick” DeGray stands out first as someone who speaks his mind and — from personal experience, I can say — as someone who will think through an issue and debate it. Dick and I may not always agree, but we will hear each other.

Franz Reichsman is the detail person, I believe, measured and thoughtful. He has the needed background in emergency medicine to do the deep dive into our present quandary with EMS.

And Peter “Fish” Case showed his insight and evenhandedness by bringing together, virtually, the chiefs of the Brattleboro Fire Department and Rescue Inc. during an episode of Vermontitude, “A Path Back.” https://youtu.be/CYi39JDY5-U

Selectboard Notes Feb 21, 2023 – Let Homeless Sleep in the Snow

by Kurt Daims | Op/Ed

BCS submitted its Statement to the board by email and in person on paper. The selectboard (health commission) declined to read any part of BCS’ STATEMENT at the hearing.   The selectboard decided to uphold the Emergency Order to shut down BCS emergency homeless shelter in RVs.  As you might note in the Statement (ask for a copy), the Order is legally defective, as BCS was not notified of our right to a hearing within five days of the Order (and for other reasons).  So, the evening’s proceedings may  be declared void.

Brattleboro Annual Town Meeting and Windham Southeast School District School Board Absentee Ballots Available

by Not Signed In | Politics

Absentee ballots for the Brattleboro Annual Town Meeting and Windham Southeast School District School Board vote to be held March 7, are now available for request. Absentee ballots for this election must be requested and are only automatically mailed to all voters for November General Elections. Anyone wishing to vote absentee may apply for an absentee ballot until 5:00 p.m. on Monday, March 6, although we recommend doing so as soon as possible for mail time purposes.

Brattleboro Selectboard Candidate Interview – Peter Case

by cgrotke | Politics

Peter “Fish” Case is running for a one-year seat on the Brattleboro Selectboard

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Introduce yourself – who are you and why are you running this year for a  1 year seat?

My name is Peter “Fish” Case and I’m running for a one-year seat on the Brattleboro Selectboard.  I’m running because… I want to.  Serving the town and people of Brattleboro is nothing new to me it’s something I’ve done for the entire time I’ve lived here (30 plus years) and I would welcome the opportunity to do it as the select board level.

Brattleboro School Board Candidate Interview – Robin Morgan

by cgrotke | Politics

Robin Morgan is running for the Brattleboro one year seat on the school board.

Introduce yourself – who are you and why are you running for the school board?

I am a musician and music teacher and I am also engaged in the joyful and challenging work of raising three kids, all of whom attend WSESD schools. I served on the Brattleboro Town School board from 2017 until it was dissolved in 2019. I believe that schools where all students can become fulfilled, engaged learners and critical thinkers are an important part of making this world a better and more just place. I want to make sure teachers and students all have the support and opportunities they need to meet those goals. In this particular moment I also want to be a part of helping the district navigate some difficult issues such as the sexual abuse investigation.

Brattleboro Selectboard Candidate Interview – Jessica Gelter

by cgrotke | Politics
Jessica Gelter

Jessica Gelter is an incumbant running for a one year seat on the Brattleboro Selectboard.

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Introduce yourself – who are you and why are you running this year for a  1 year seat?

I’m Jessica Gelter, a theater artist, nonprofit executive, and mother. I have served the last two years on the Brattleboro Selectboard, after serving 4 years on the Town Planning Commission. I am running again because I don’t like to leave things unfinished and our Selectboard has many important conversations underway: Determining the future of EMS services in town, setting up our new Town Manager for success, and engaging the community to develop safety solutions including funding projects with the Community Safety Fund. Beyond the work that has already begun, I intend to work with the new Town Manager to create a long-term facilities maintenance and investment plan so that Brattleboro’s infrastructure is properly cared for and improved in the most fiscally responsible manner.

Brattleboro Selectboard Candidate Interview – Franz Reichsman

by cgrotke | Politics
Franz Reichsman, circa 2023

Franz Reichsman is running for a one year seat on the Brattleboro Selectboard.

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Introduce yourself – who are you and why are you running this year for a  1 year seat?

Hello, iBrattleboro. I first came to Brattleboro in 1970 when I was 20 years old. My life trajectory developed in such a way that after medical school and residency in Brooklyn I was able to move here permanently in 1986. I bought my house on Chestnut Street (the old Sauer’s Market) in 1987 and I have lived here since then. I was an emergency room doctor for 30 years, including 28 years at Cheshire Medical Center in Keene. For seven of those years I was the medical director for all ambulance services and rescue squads in the 23 towns of Cheshire County.

I’ve been interested in politics since I was young. At age 14 I made a cardboard sign reading “Young Citizens for Johnson-Humphrey” and stood alongside it in front of a local candy store. I collected $2.41 which I sent to Lyndon Johnson’s election campaign. (Nonetheless I do not claim full credit for his landslide victory that year.) Unhappily, a year later I was protesting against the war in Viet Nam.

Brattleboro Selectboard Candidate Interview – Elizabeth McLoughlin

by cgrotke | Politics

Elizabeth McLoughlin is an incumbent running for a three year seat on the Brattleboro Selectboard.

Introduce yourself – who are you and why are you running again this year for a 3 year seat?

Elizabeth “Liz” McLoughlin. I am running for reelection to the Selectboard. I have been on the Selectboard for the past 4 years. 

I moved to Brattleboro fifteen years ago, after visiting family here for over twenty years. I am a wife, mother and a new grandmother. One of our daughters attended BUHS, and the other was a substitute teacher here. My husband and I each own a small business. Brattleboro is a great place to live and work and I see my Selectboard service as a way to give back and support our beloved Town. We have a vibrant arts culture and an exceptional park and recreation program. We are welcoming to all, our community includes people from across the country and the world, as well as families who have been here for generations. We are a vibrant New England town.

Brattleboro Selectboard Candidate Interview – Spoon Agave

by cgrotke | Politics
spoon agave

Spoon Agave is running for a one year seat on the Brattleboro Selectboard.

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Introduce yourself – who are you and why are you running this year for a 1 year seat?

During my 34 years living in Brattleboro I have served on almost every major Board, Committee and Commission including Selectboard, School Board, Planning Commission, Development Review Board, Traffic and Safety Committee, the Town Finance Committee, and most importantly the last Charter Revision Commission where I studied diligently and in great depth the structure of municipal government and its relationship and embodiment within a democracy. I chaired several of these groups including Charter Revision. I have been a Town Meeting Representative for nearly 25 years. 

Brattleboro Selectboard Candidate Interview – Samuel Stevens

by cgrotke | Politics

Samuel Stevens is running for a 1 year seat on the Brattleboro Selectboard.

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Introduce yourself – who are you and why are you running this year for a 1 year seat?

I’m a lifelong resident of Brattleboro and someone who really cares about this community. Having completed my B.A. in Political Science at the University of Vermont, I returned to my hometown of Brattleboro resolved to put my newfound knowledge and skills to good use in the service of my community. Since that time, I’ve been a town meeting member, served on town committees, and also become a union steward at my place of work. 

Brattleboro Selectboard Candidate Interview – Dick DeGray

by cgrotke | Politics

Richard “Dick” DeGray is running for a three year seat on the Brattleboro Selectboard.

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Introduce yourself – who are you and why are you running?

My name on the ballot will be Richard Dick DeGray. Many of you know me as the Flower Guy, something I take great pride in doing for our community. I have been active for over thirty years in our community. RTM rep, former BUHS board member and most importantly former eight-year select board member. Several of those years serving as vice chair and chair. I am running for a couple of reasons: first, no one challenged any of the incumbents in last year’s election. I don’t think that is healthy for the town. The other is the way Rescue/ BFF was handled, along with safety issues in our town.

Brattleboro 2023 Selectboard and School Board Candidates

by cgrotke | Politics

Selectboard and school board candidates in Brattleboro have collected their signatures and campaigns are getting underway.

For the Selectboard 3 year seat, Dick DeGray will be running against Liz McLoughlin. Voters can elect one.

For the Selectboard 1 year seat, Spoon Agave, Peter Case, Jessica Gelter, Franz Reichsman and Samuel Stevens have all declared themselves as candidates. Voters can elect two.

Multi-nation Holocaust Mourning Best Be Followed By Remembering Why and How It Was Allowed to Happen

by jay janson | Op/Ed

Six million European Jews and the seventy million other men, women and children didn’t die because of Adolph Hitler, they perished because the wealthy in the US and Western Europe empowered Adolph Hitler to make war!

There is simply no way an impoverished and utterly demilitarized Nazi Germany, with no air force, a tiny navy, no armored vehicles, no heavy weapons and a small army, could have on its own, built its armed forces up to the most powerful military in the world during the first six years of Hitler’s rule without the colossal and crucial investments in, and joint venturing by, top US corporations in low wage Nazi Germany – in outright evasion of the Versailles Treaty prohibition of German rearmament.

Brattleboro Town Meeting Day Absentee Ballots Must Be Requested

by Not Signed In | Politics

Town Meeting Day and Windham Southeast School District Director elections are coming up on Tuesday, March 7, 2023.

Absentee ballots MUST be requested. Unlike the November General Election, ballots for Town Meeting Day in Brattleboro are NOT automatically mailed to all active registered voters. Ballots will be available on February 15, 2023.

If Someone Reminded Us that King Called His Gov.”The Greatest Purveyor of Violence in the World”

by jay janson | Op/Ed

What if someone of consequence and world attention, difficult for US monopolized and controlled media to ignore, reminded us that one year before receiving a bullet to his brain, King had made bold print headlines in newspapers worldwide reading,”KING CALLS US “GREATEST PURVEYOR OF VIOLENCE IN THE WORLD..”[1]

Would it not weaken US deep state media credibility as it tried to explain how this world shaking event in the life of Martin Luther King had not been known by millions who celebrate his birthday on a national holiday for a great civil rights leader? – the only American, so honored.

Ban On No Cause Evictions In Brattleboro Would Hurt Good Tenants

by SallyFegley | Op/Ed

The Town of Brattleboro will vote on a ban to No Cause Evictions in a referendum on March 7, 2023. Landlords and managers of rental properties are strongly opposed to this ban.

The term “No Cause Evictions” is a bit of a misnomer. There is always a cause when a property owner or manager does not renew a lease. And these are not exactly evictions, they are non-renewal of leases at the lease terminations. Tenants are able to leave at the end of a lease, why should the owner or manager not be allowed to ask the tenant to leave?

No Cause Evictions are a tool used by property owners and managers to ensure the safe and quiet enjoyment of rental properties by all tenants. Taking a tenant to court for a “For Cause Eviction” is extremely costly ($5,000 to get started), take many months and offer no guarantee of results.