Vermont Democratic House Campaign

Full article at Vermont Digger

Redistricting is one of the most contentious, political processes lawmakers face. But on Thursday, the Vermont House of Representatives managed to bypass the partisan rancor that typically accompanies the messy process of resetting the boundaries for legislative districts.

The Democratic majority won the day when House GOP leadership, which raised questions about gerrymandering in Rutland County, overwhelmingly supported the bill. Though the Republicans initially had qualms about a reconfiguration of Castleton, once the town was made whole in a broadly supported amendment, they fully backed the legislation.

The upshot? A landslide vote of 138-4 in favor of a plan that, with the exception of a half dozen changes, left most existing districts in tact.

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Full article published on The Republic (Columbus, IN) website

MONTPELIER, Vt. — The Vermont House on Wednesday gave preliminary approval to a legislative redistricting plan that accounts for growth in the Burlington area's population and shrinkage in southern Vermont.

The plan was advanced on a 138-4 vote and is expected to win final approval easily on Thursday. It calls for adding one House seat to Burlington, bringing its representation in the 150-member chamber to 10. It eliminates a seat in Rutland County, one that now serves the Mount Holly-Shrewsbury area.

An elated Rep. Donna Sweaney, D-Windsor and chair of the House Government Operations Committee, said her committee had studied dozens of different versions of the Vermont map as it sought to create districts from which each of the 150 members in the House would represent a bit more than 4,000 Vermont residents.

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From the Burlington Free Press website

House Speaker Shap Smith, D-Morristown, came to the House Democratic caucus Tuesday to heap praise on the work of the House Government Operations Committee in redrawing House legislative districts based on new census data.

Redistricting can be one of the most political actions any Legislature undertakes since it is possible to change the makeup of future legislatures based on new boundaries.

Smith commended the committee for taking the high road.

“I want to remind people why it is better to live in Vermont than in Texas,” Smith told his political colleagues. Rather than drawing a new map of legislative districts with an eye toward cementing or increasing one party’s power in the House, Smith said the House Government Operations Committee focused on drawing districts that would serve Vermonters.

“Our committee was able to do tough work without being partisan,” Smith said.

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01/25/12 - Andrew Nemethy
Full Story on VTDigger.org

MONTPELIER – Two distinct themes emerged in Vermont’s debate on how to rebuild the state’s shattered mental health system.

One is that Vermont’s effort to strengthen and broaden community mental health treatment and peer services is laudable, essential, workable and long overdue.

The other is that Vermont’s proposal for replacing the acute-care mental health beds lost when Tropical Storm Irene flooded the Vermont State Hospital is ill-advised, insufficient, inadequate for care, geographically unbalanced and will stress the entire system.

That, in general, is what emerged from morning legislative testimony in the House Human Services Committee and from an emotional, standing room only afternoon hearing that packed one of the largest rooms in the Vermont Statehouse with more than 80 people from around Vermont.

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