[F]ranklin County’s senators — one re-elected and one transitioning from a 14-year stint as a representative — said they were thankful for the level of civility and respect that characterized their race this year.
Sen. Dustin Degree retained his seat, which he’s held since January 2015, and former Franklin-1 Rep. Carolyn Branagan won a new position in the Vermont Senate after having served more than a decade in the House.
Degree said he’ll focus this year on “getting the state budget back in a place where it benefits every Vermonter but also where every Vermonter can afford,” he said. “It’s really important for us to get our fiscal house in order.”
Branagan said she’s motivated to encourage job growth, reduce taxes in an effort to spur economic expansion, and confront pollution in Lake Champlain.
This year’s wasn’t comparable to previous races, Degree said. Sen. Norm McAllister lost in the August primary after being suspended by his colleagues and going on trial on sexual assault charges. That trial ended abruptly with the charges dropped.
“The last 18 months have been incredibly difficult for Franklin County,” Degree said. “We’ve been through a lot as a community, and we’ve been through a lot as a delegation. To know that the people of this county not only trusted what I did in the Legislature but supported me through that … I can’t compare it.”
“To know that the things I’m interested in fighting for are things this county, and Alburgh, wants … is incredibly powerful for me,” Degree said.
Degree and Branagan commended their opponents, for the tenor of their campaigns and for their qualities as candidates.
The race, Branagan said, “was focused on the issues. … It was not personal at all.”
The difference between theirs and prominent national races was stark, Branagan said.
“It’s because Franklin County is so small — we can’t risk letting ourselves slip down to that,” she said. “We’ve got to keep it civil, because we live together. That’s the thing about living in a small place, and I think it carries through to Vermont: We can’t afford to be talking down and being cruel.”
Having run against Sara Branon Kittell twice now, and having had her as his own legislator growing up, Degree said that “she demands respect.”
“Sara served our community for a long time, and she served admirably,” he said.
Denise Smith, who with Branon Kittell were the Democratic counterparts to Degree and Branagan, is a family friend of Degree’s, he said. “They’re good people,” he said of her family.
“Everybody worked very hard, we did ourselves proud, and I’m incredibly fortunate … on what looks like a historic night for vote totals,” Degree said.
