Editor’s note: This commentary is by Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, who is a former Winooski resident and Winooski justice of the peace, a former Burlington city councilor and the former chair of the Vermont Progressive Party.
[T]he recent Chittenden 6-7 election illustrates how undemocratic our electoral system can be. Rep. Clem Bissonnette declared in September he would not seek re-election after buying a house in the Northeast Kingdom.
In an open, but non-binding caucus held by Progressives and Democrats in September, Winooski City Councilor Hal Colston won the vast majority of support among four candidates in a ranked voting poll conducted among nearly 50 residents. The caucus used ranked voting to determine people’s preferred candidates in ranking order. At this meeting, Bissonnette declared he would not seek election despite having his name on the ballot and agreed to make this information as public as possible. He even personally recruited one of the candidates, Mike O’Brien, who was vying for support within the caucus. O’Brien declined to run after Colston won the clear majority of support in the caucus.
If Bissonnette happened to win the general election since his name remained on the ballot, the matter would be turned over to the governor to appoint a replacement. Bissonnette won on Nov. 6 by 245 votes. Yet rather than let the next step of the process prevail, Bissonnette reneged on his promise to Winooski voters and will now serve the term. He declared in Seven Days that he would rent a room if need be once he and his wife sold their Winooski house.
Something doesn’t smell right here. While Bissonnette does not violate any election laws by reneging on his promise and renting a room in the district to maintain minimum residency, he fails to provide fair and ethical representation to Winooski residents. Winooski deserves a representative who lives full time in the district, not a temporary resident. Winooski also deserves a representative who is honest and ethical by fulfilling promises and making space for new leaders to emerge.
Within Vermont and nationwide, there is a heightened discussion and awareness of race and racism within our communities. Unconscious racial bias and institutional racism and privilege undoubtedly played a factor here. Bissonnette is a white man who held elected office for 10 years. Hal Colston is a black man newly elected to City Council. I emphasize the word unconscious because I do not believe Bissonnette consciously reneged on his decision because Colston is black. However, the impact of his decision upholds Bissonnette’s easy access to power while disempowering Colston and shortchanging his ability to be considered for the same position.
Moreover, I cannot help but wonder how different the scenario would be if O’Brien, Bissonnette’s chosen write-in successor, had run in Colston’s place and not won enough votes to beat Bissonnette’s name on the ballot. Would Bissonnette step in and advocate in front of the governor to select O’Brien as the obvious choice after running a strong write-in campaign? Or would he decide to overstep O’Brien and continue to serve? I suspect the former would be true.
Bissonnette is able to use his power as an incumbent to single handedly direct the outcome of this election despite misleading voters. He is holding onto his privilege to advance himself rather than support Colston, a longtime leader in Winooski with proven support from the voters. This is unfair to the people of Winooski, to Hal Colston, and to the democratic process.
Winooski residents deserve someone who respects the democratic process and can be self-reflective on how to share political power and privilege with other leaders within the community, especially traditionally marginalized people. Bissonnette fails on all accounts. I call on Clem Bissonnette to reflect on his recent decision to return to the Statehouse and do the right thing by stepping aside to allow the governor to appoint a replacement.
