BENNINGTON — Jeannie Jenkins and Jeanne Conner have a lot in common.
Both moved to Bennington in 1989. Their first names are similar enough that they were able to run a joint campaign for selectboard with the slogan “Great Jeans” five years ago, after serving overlapping terms on the school board. They are two of only six women ever to hold seats on the town’s governing body.
And, as of Thursday night, they were both unanimously elected to the highest positions in the town government — Jenkins to selectboard chair and Conner to vice chair.
While Jenkins isn’t the first female chair — Lodi Colvin was the first and only other woman to hold the position — the two are the first women to hold chair and vice chair seats at the same time. Jenkins was vice chair of the board until former chair Donald Campbell stepped down last month.
The women agree that it’s a milestone for Bennington but expressed some disbelief that it took so long to occur.
“It’s exciting,” Jenkins said in a three-way call with VTDigger Friday morning. “It is exciting,” Conner added, “but it’s also kind of sad that it’s that exciting.”
“I think they’re going to be great,” fellow selectboard member Jim Carroll said. “They essentially set the agenda for the meetings, and for all intents and purposes, they set the agenda for the town. So we’ll see where they take us.”
Jenkins and Conner share a list of priorities for the town. Jenkins cited ongoing reform of the city’s policing policies, addressing the opioid crisis, and “the economic and community development boom” Bennington could soon experience following the completion of several long-awaited projects.
Businesses will soon open in the newly redeveloped Putnam Block in the center of downtown and the former Bennington High School building is being converted into apartments and community spaces. The former high school was replaced by the regional Mount Anthony Union High School.
Conner said she’s eager to work with Southwestern Vermont Health Care on its plans for the former Southern Vermont College Campus, which it purchased recently. Officials from the health care group are expected to announce their plans for the facility soon.
“I’m sure the hospital will make good use of that property to benefit the whole community,” Conner said. “The selectboard is poised and ready to support them in doing whatever we can do.”
Both women said they hope the selectboard will become increasingly diverse in the coming years.
Tina Cook, the sole person of color to run for the selectboard in March, was narrowly defeated. She ran on a platform of addressing the town’s opioid epidemic, improving the town’s social services, reforming the police department and upending the status quo.
Jenkins and Conner say residents they respect and trust had encouraged them to run for seats on the board, and they hope to pay that forward.
“When we originally were asked, that meant so much to me,” Conner said. “I thought, ‘Wow, they think I can do this, so I guess I can do this.’ And I really don’t think we would be here today if we hadn’t been asked.”
Conner said she seeks out women when encouraging residents to run for board seats and tries to prompt those who aren’t ready to think ahead. Jenkins said the town’s police reform process has been a good entry point for residents to become involved in town government, and she has watched as people who haven’t been involved before begin to “see their own power.”
“I hope one thing that will come out of this is that people will think about it a little bit more, so that when they’re asked, it doesn’t feel like it’s coming out of the blue,” Jenkins said, “but instead they’re like, oh, I’ve had experience here. I could see myself doing this.”
Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled Jeanne Conner’s name.