“I hope whoever wins,” Lisa Whitney said, “can help unify us.”
The 46-year-old Brattleboro nonprofit administrator summed up the sentiment of voters in seven Vermont cities and towns who expressed relief that the long, contentious campaign season was ending — and concern the aftershocks were just beginning.
“I feel there’s more healing that needs to happen,” said Whitney’s partner, Renee Woliver.
But the challenge of achieving harmony was demonstrated by Woliver’s 10-year-old daughter, who tagged along in hopes of seeing her mother vote for the county’s first female president.
“If Donald Trump wins,” the girl said, “I’m going to have to move to Canada.”
So far most Vermonters are staying put, although several hundred in the state’s largest city of Burlington have joined a wave of national protests against the president-elect.
“The campaign has been really polarizing,” Burlington voter Cynthia Kozak said after casting her ballot Tuesday, “and you’ve seen a lot of political views expressed that you usually wouldn’t. How do you bridge the divisiveness?”
“I’m concerned the candidates have been so damaged,” fellow resident Kurt Kaffenberger added, “it will be difficult for them to be effective leaders.”
Such thoughts were echoed in Springfield, where local Republican Scott Frye held a campaign sign outside the polls.
“I don’t know where you would start, but you can’t fix Washington — we can only effect change here,” the audio repairman said. “There are some pretty strong divides. If we can get more of a balance at the Statehouse, that would be helpful.”
Vermonters on Tuesday elected a Republican governor, Phil Scott, and a Democratic-controlled Legislature. But some believe that may only shake up rather than stabilize the scales.
“Who’s against Vermont being an affordable place to live?” Orange County Sen. Mark MacDonald said outside polls in Randolph. “The question is how do you do it. We need to find solutions that are not based simply on ideology.”
The federal government faces the same dilemma.
“Washington is a mess right now,” Democratic U.S. Rep. Peter Welch said outside the polls in Montpelier. “A lot of my Republican colleagues are as dismayed by the gridlock as I am.”
In Middlebury, health care worker Brook Morrison expressed optimism: “I know everyone isn’t going to be happy with whoever wins, but hopefully we can find some common ground.”
Added Rutland educator A.R. Trevino: “We have more in common than we are different.”
Yet divisions remain. Back at the Burlington polls, supporters and opponents of a set of contentious downtown development proposals — including one allowing buildings as high as 14 stories — stood side by side with competing messages.
“I made a point to introduce myself,” Karen Freudenberger said as she held a “Vote Yes” sign. “We have different approaches, but we have to live in community after this.”
That doesn’t mean everyone agrees with the ballot items’ subsequent approval.
“The conversation,” fellow local Charles Simpson said next to a “Too Tall” sign, “will definitely continue.”
