During the 2018 election, Republican James Gregoire was on his way to winning a seat in the Vermont House, while Democrat Brenda Churchill was working on the statewide campaign of Christine Hallquist, the first openly transgender person in the nation to run for governor as a major party nominee.
This year, Churchill is challenging Gregoire for his seat — the first competition he has encountered since he won his first term four years ago.
Gregoire, who was born and raised in Fairfield and runs a local grocery store, has represented his hometown along with Bakersfield and Fletcher for two terms. The Franklin-6 district is one of five in Franklin County that are seeing competitive races this year. As Democrats seek to bolster a legislative supermajority and Republicans work to block one, Franklin County has emerged as a key battleground in this year’s legislative elections.
The race would also take on historic significance if Churchill were elected; she would be the second openly transgender person, after Rep. Taylor Small, P/D-Winooski, to serve in the Legislature.
Both Gregoire and Churchill said they don’t think the potentially historic implications have made a difference in the race thus far.
“You’re a person, human being first and foremost. And if we can’t deal with each other on that level, then we got a big problem,” Gregoire said.
“I don’t think it has made a difference,” Churchill said. “When Taylor announced their election they had coverage almost from day one because she would have historically been and is the first out transgender representative. And I haven’t got hardly any press. And for me, it’s just me. This is my authentic self. … It creates a feeling that people are no longer stirred up by it, with some certain notable exceptions.”
According to Gregoire and his supporters, he listens to all viewpoints, regardless of party labels.
“He’s remarkably moderate. He’s willing to listen, consider other people’s opinions,” said Dan Pipes, Fairfield’s Republican town chair.
Churchill and her supporters, however, argue that Gregoire tends to vote along party lines.
“I don’t believe, as he’s so often quoted, reaching across the aisle. But sitting at the table and understanding the issues, clearly, he has a set mind with respect to how he’s going to vote,” Churchill said.
Churchill said she decided to run against Gregoire because she wanted to represent a different viewpoint in the community.
Churchill is a Statehouse advocate for the LGBTQIA Alliance of Vermont, a member of the Bakersfield Selectboard and a board member of Northwest Fiberworx, which is working to provide universal broadband internet service throughout Franklin and Grand Isle counties.
Although Churchill hasn’t run for political office before, she has advocated for legislation that was signed into law, including the 2018 bill to require single-occupancy public restrooms to be designated gender-neutral. Churchill also worked with the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles to add a third gender option to Vermont driver’s licenses and IDs.
After those successes, Churchill said, she wanted to see if she could be even more effective as an elected official.
“I want to see what it looks like. It could be that — and I’m not saying this is what will happen — but maybe I’ll be more effective inside than I was outside,” she said.
Gregoire said he believes he is a “more pragmatic” candidate than Churchill.
“I understand that there’s a role for activism in the political realm, but when you’re legislating, that activism needs to go by the wayside,” Gregoire said.
The incumbent has focused instead on affordability, pledging on his campaign website that he would oppose new taxes, support job creation and work to improve health care coverage.
He has consistently opposed the legislative priorities of the Democratic majority.
Gregoire this year voted against Proposal 5, also known as Article 22, which would enshrine reproductive rights in the Vermont Constitution if voters approve it in November.
He said he doesn’t want to make abortion illegal, but believes there should be certain restrictions on how long an individual can wait to have an abortion.
“The only reason I’ve ever voted against bills is because they are so vague and open-ended,” Gregoire said.
Churchill said that she supports the amendment.
In terms of climate change, Gregoire said he supports strategies for “resiliency,” such as making sure that Vermont infrastructure is updated so a major storm won’t cause overwhelming damage, but said he doesn’t want to overburden people who can’t afford higher carbon taxes. He has voted against key Democratic climate bills, including the Global Warming Solutions Act in 2020 and the Clean Heat Standard earlier this year, both of which were vetoed by Republican Gov. Phil Scott.
Pipes, of Fairfield, described Gregoire as someone who is “certainly conscious of the environment and the importance of the natural beauty that we have in Vermont, but he wants to balance that with reasonable economic policies that don’t penalize the middle and lower income Vermonters who are struggling to keep up.”
Churchill said that climate change is an issue of importance that needs an active response because the issue “just can’t wait anymore.”
Both candidates have received support from party mainstays. As of the latest filing deadline on Oct. 15, Gregoire has raised almost $7,000, including more than $4,000 from Republican mega-donors Lenore Broughton and the family of Skip Vallee. Churchill has raised almost $9,000, including donations from the Vermont-NEA and the Vermont Public Interest Research Group.
Churchill also received $1,000 from Everytown for Gun Safety, the national advocacy group. She said gun safety is important to her, as a friend’s son died by suicide after buying a pistol that day.
“You call it gun control, but I also call it life preservation. If we had sufficient waiting periods, we could prevent many of these suicides from happening, or at least prevent them in a way that maybe somebody would get to them in time to provide them the safety and mental health that they need,” Churchill said.
She favors expanding waiting periods to buy guns and safe storage requirements for weapons. Gregoire said he isn’t in favor of either.
“Vermont’s one of the safest places to be. There’s a lot of other issues that are the problem, not necessarily the inanimate object,” Gregoire said.
Penny Dubie, a Fairfield resident who ran unsuccessfully for the Franklin-6 seat in 2016, said Gregoire “has an ear to the community,” especially as a local small business owner.
“He’s always available at Selectboard meetings and community events. So he’s out there and he’s in the community, and he knows the community,” Dubie said.
Dubie, the spouse of former Republican lieutenant governor Brian Dubie, said she believes that politics in the Statehouse have been “one-sided for a long time” given Democrats’ significant majorities. She said Gregoire is able to represent the district’s values and to support Scott’s priorities.
Steve Saint-Onge, a volunteer campaign worker for Churchill, said he doesn’t feel that Gregoire represents his district, describing him as someone who has consistently voted “very right Republican.”
Saint-Onge said he has known Churchill for over five years, describing her as “extremely hardworking” and someone who does everything with “gusto.”
“I absolutely think that she is much more competent and will do a much better job than the person we have in there now,” Saint-Onge said.
