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VERMONT ELECTIONS

Four Vie for TWO Legislative Seats

Democrats and
Progressives Run
in Winooski

BY LYNN M__CNICOL

WINOOSKI — Only Progressive
and Democratic candidates - two
in each party — are nmning for the
slots in Chittenden 3-6. No Re-
publicans are in this race to fill
two seats in Vermont’s assembly.
One of the seats is being vacated
by outgoing Rep. George Cross,

_while the other is held by incum-
bent Rep. Kenneth W. Atkins, ‘a
Democrat.

Besides Atkins, W1r1ooski’s
Mayor Clem Bissonnette, also a
Democrat, is hoping to win a seat;
and two Progressive candidates,
Jean Szilva and Israel Smith, are
also nmning. If Szilva wins a seat,
she will be the only out lesbian
serving in the legislature.

Atkins, who has served hr the
House since 1999, earned his un-

’ dergraduate and graduate degrees

at UVM. He taught elementary edu-
cation and was a coach ir1 Vermont
schools for 34 years until his retire-
ment in 1998. Atkins voted against
the civil union law on the final
reading, although he approved it in

earlier votes. He also voted against
the attempt to repeal civil unions
the following year. ‘

Atkins voted for the Gender
Identity Nondiscrimination bill
that was vetoed by Gov. Douglas
this year. '

According to the Vermont Sec-
retary of State website, Atkins
is also a justiceof the peace, is a
charter member of the Winooski
Sparfian Boosters, and enjoys com-
petitive pistol shooting and fish-
ing.

Bissonnette, mayor of Winoos-
ki since 1999, is making his first
bid for a legislative seat. He retired
from IBM after 36 years and is a
life—long resident of Winooski.

Last year, Bissonnette said he
wanted Winooski to have town
meetings to discuss the toVvn’s bud-
get, like other Vermont towns, the
Burhngton Free Press reported.
He expressed concern that there
was little debate prior to voting for
the municipal budget.

Bissonnette has served as
mayor during the recent rede-

velopment in the center of Win-

ooski.
Neither Atkins nor Bissonnette

’ returned phone calls from OI TM.

Progressive. Smith, an archi-
tect at 'I‘ruex Cullins and Part-
ners in Burlington, has lived in

Winooski since 2004 and serves
on the city’s Advisory Planning
Council. He says .he supports
same-sex marriage and the Gen-
der Identity bill.

Smith told OITM that “basing
taxes on property value is not

fair and it isn’t working. Taxes ,

should be based on income and
ability to pay.”
“I will also push for expansion

’ of clean and sustainable energy

and energy conservation pro-
grams in Vermont,” Smith contin-
ued. “We have to move forward
towards making so—called ‘alter-
native’ energy the standard. This
is not only the right thing to do
environmentally for our future,
but if the state had a real strategy
for building Vermont up as the
nation’s leading center for ‘green’
energy and technology research,
development, and implementa-
tion, then we could really secure
our state’s economic future as
well.”

Szilva, the other Progressive
candidate, was profiled in our last
issue (Oct. ’06 OI TM). Szilva, a for-
mer physician, favors a universal,
single-payer health care system.
She has served on the Winooski
school board and currently teach-
es at the University of Vermont
College of Medicine.V

Scudder Parker
chats with Jessica
Oski of Burlington.

Gubernatorial candidate
Democrat Scudder Parker
hosted a LGBT iundraiser
in October, drawing an
enthusiastic crowd that
packed the reception
room at Burlington’s
boathouse. Parker drew
laughter and applause
when he said he plans to
I "take back Vermont" as g
the state's new governor.
”Part of the ’homosex-
ual agenda,"' Parker said
to the cheering crowd,
"... is not to infiltrate all of
society, but to stand up
with pride in every walk of
life in this state.” V —Ed.

 

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