(Another 1st person candidate piece. – promoted by JulieWaters)

Throughout the campaign, we’ve been working to change the culture in Montpelier by engaging Vermonters in the Vermont tradition of public service and inspiring them to get involved in their communities and their state government. By engaging directly with community organizations, those of us in the political sphere can learn first hand the needs of Vermonters, provide authenticity to our civic leaders and give a voice to people who have often been absent from the democratic process.

Nowhere did I see this effort in action more than during a service politics event we held in Montpelier last month. At the event, a group of volunteers from the campaign joined members of the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board and members of the Parks Department to prepare a new and improved trail from the Cummings Street low income housing project to the town recreational fields and pool. 

The goal of the project was to make it easier and more fun for the kids and families from the Cummings Street housing project to walk or bike to the recreation area.

We were delighted to help with a project that benefited both the Parks Department and the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board. My father was one of the founders of the Vermont Land Trust and VHCB has been a critical part of supporting Vermont's housing needs and conserving our land and resource. We also joined people working in national service, a commitment that can not help but inspire. 

But the most powerful part of the afternoon came from an unexpected place. As we started getting to work on the project a six year old boy who lived in the housing project approached us (we’ll call him JJ).  He asked us to leave, saying he would break the bridge we were building and even threatening us personally. He assumed we’d yell back or ignore him.  Instead we took him by surprise: we asked him to join us in helping out. While he remained skeptical at first, by the end of the day he was carrying tools, stripping bark off logs and clearing paths to make our efforts easier.  Half way through the project, JJ went back home and returned with his mother and many residents of the community.  He proudly showed them where the trail, benches and “his bridge” will be. By the end of the project seven kids from the community came out to help us.

As I travel through the state, Vermonters – especially younger voters – are saying they have become disenchanted with the political system, the blame game in Montpelier, and standard campaign tactics.

Our campaign is reviving “service politics” – an effort to use campaign resources and volunteer energy to give back to the community. That is the power of the Vermont tradition of service that empowers all Vermonters in strengthening our community and moving this state forward. While other candidates talk about the children who are struggling, we are different – we engage with them and hopefully impact their lives in a profound and positive way.

More importantly, JJ’s response is not that much more different that that of other Vermonters.  The cynicism and anger that has grown over the last 8 years can been heard across the state.  But as we reach out to Vermonters, our campaign has found that, like JJ, that cynicism and anger can vanish when people are not told what they should think, but are asked to be a part of the solution.

We’ll be participating in two service politics projects this week in Montpelier and Springfield, that we hope you can join us for.

Today, we’ll be delivering food to Montpelier’s seniors with Meals on Wheels. If you have volunteered with Meals on Wheels before, then come out today, Wednesday, July 21 at 11:15am. We’ll be meeting at the National Life Building at 1 National Life Drive, Montpelier.

On Friday, we’ll be joining volunteers and members of the Springfield community to help build a new playground for the Union Street School. Join us on Friday, July 23, at 1:00pm at the Union Street School, 43 Union Street, Springfield.
 
We’re excited to continue participating in projects like these and the one in Montpelier, to come up with new ways to engage, interact and debate with Vermonters across the state. If you know of other upcoming service projects or planning one of your own, please let us know. If not, let us know what type of projects you’d like to see, and hopefully we can bring a service event to your community soon.