(In the interest of providing voters the wherewithal to make a more informed choice among Democrats running for office in Vermont. Trust Randolph06, aka Mike Abadi, to put his finger on one of the hotter political pulses in the state. – promoted by NanuqFC)

So the Orange County Democratic State Senate race is getting so interesting that even Burlington based media is Seeing Orange. Tig Tillinghast is challenging incumbent Mark McDonald for the seat and he is making internet access a centerpiece of his campaign. Tig learned from his time on the Thetford Selectboard that state law hinders communities from funding their own solutions and he wants to remedy that.  

Tig begins by discussing his early role as an advertiser shaping an embryonic internet. He then describes bringing Watershed Publishing to Vermont when he migrated back. The need for decent internet service in Vermont became quite obvious quite quickly.

So Tig discovered “the Map of Doom” at the Department of Public Service, which carves up the state for internet providers, and once an area is claimed by an entity, that area is “protected from help.”  More specifically, ECFiber.Net recently found itself apparently snubbed by the Vermont Telecommunications Authority when the VTA assigned Orange County towns to Fairpoint. Incredibly, the State waived $6.6 million in penalties Fairpoint earned for poor service and told them they could spend that money claiming more towns. Poor service? Let’s help you expand!

One solution Tig offers is to update Act 79 to allow towns to have bonding authority to raise funds for internet service.

Internet service is obviously vital if Vermonters are going to be able to offer their products globally, and Tig has experience with that at fresh maple syrup. But this isn’t just an exercise in international e-commerce, he has recognized the non-virtual (actual) community that forms around the practice of sugaring and has tried to capture that in his writing.

And much of the rest of the interview focuses on “the vitality of the villages.” Functioning towns, that are not just bedroom communities, provide services, jobs, make it possible to age in place, and create shared identity. The oddness of the Orange County seat (hint: it doesn’t include Orange) rounds out our discussion of communities, virtual, actual, and political.

[Note: No endorsement implied. Just continuing the VTblogosphereTV tradition of showcasing the qualities of the guest.]