A little over two years ago, I was attending my third Windham County Democratic Committee meeting on a hot summer night in the River Garden. Among a handful of local candidates, we heard from a tiny woman whom I had never met who spoke to us about why she was running for the State Senate.
She spoke for about a minute when, through the open doors, the deafening noise of the bells and whistles of a passing train began to compete with her stump speech.
Then, something astounding happened: undeterred, she spoke over the blaring, distracting noise of the passing train without missing a beat. I was inspired by what she had to say, but was even more blown away by how committed she was to saying it, so I dedicated the next few months to making sure she was elected.
Now, two years later, Senator Becca Balint continues to inspire and teach me in ways I never could have imagined.
Now that the election cycle has come and gone, I think it's important to take a break from all the political theater and show my appreciation for Governor Peter Shumlin. Recently, some of our local media outlets - and opinions expressed in them - have speculated on issues that...