A historic rate of turnover in the Legislature last year has brought renewed energy to a longstanding debate in Montpelier about legislative pay. And a new crop of lawmakers has argued forcefully that unless salaries go up, elected office will remain out of reach for everyday Vermonters.
Rep. Barbara Rachelson, D-Burlington, said she has collected story after story from people who report being taken advantage of by local towing companies, or at least, charged “exorbitant” fees to get their vehicles back.
“These rates of overdose deaths will not change unless we change how we are responding to them,” said state Sen. Tanya Vyhovskyl, P/D-Chittenden Central. “Continuing to do the same thing that we have done while expecting a different result is not only ridiculous, it is cruel.”
The Big Winner in the men’s bracket was Jennifer Carbee, chief counsel for the Office of Legislative Counsel. Carbee shouted out her 12–year-old daughter, who helped her mother pick her bracket one late night “after many hours of drafting.”