 We're all here at Ward 1 reporting on Town Meeting Day for Burlington. We're with the Community News Service at UVM working with Town Meeting TV. We're excited to see what people vote like today. I do CNS because I want to get experience in reporting and trying out a new writing style and just getting the news out there to people. We're out here to support local journalism and see what students can do to help out Town Meeting Day. We were just wondering why you're out here for Town Meeting Day and what you want to say to the news people. I'm out here on the ballot, on the top of the ballot where I've got one for City Council for Ward 1. And this could be a great day. I'm looking forward to seeing the results later on. Wonderful. Are there any articles that you're passionate about on the ballot? The articles on the ballot? The questions? Or that I'm passionate about? No. I think all of the article questions relating to the financial finances of the city are appropriate. I voted for all of those. So nothing I'm terribly passionate about. I think they're all smart things and smart moves. And I would encourage people to support them. Okay. Thank you. Do you guys have any? What are your plans? My plans for Burlington is to serve for two years at least on the council. And to see if we can move things forward in a positive and constructive manner. And yeah, I think first and foremost is probably getting public safety sorted out. I think that's what's on top of people's mind the most. And then move on from there. Thank you. Brings you out here today. Hi. I'm Zariah. All right. Congratulations. Are you feeling good about the election? What makes you want to stay on the anything on the ballot that you're particularly excited about? I mean, definitely, I mean, obviously the race. And then I think question five and removing the antiquated sex work language from our ordinance and charter. All right. Any expectations for today? Oh, I don't try to predict. You know, good advice. That's great. Yeah. All right. Anything you want to tell people out there? Go vote. All right. Good answer. Thank you so much. Any other questions? All right. Thank you so much. With the option to vote mail in, are you expecting a lot of people today or? Sure. I really not. We, we in this ward pre-processed about 450 ballots that were mailed in plus another few that we got this morning. So I don't know. I really don't know. This, this one's a toss up the March election. Usually doesn't have the turnout that the national elections do. It's hard to know. Is there anything on the ballot that you feel strongly for? Anything that gets on a ballot one should feel strongly for. Oh, what are some of the items on the? The there, of course, there's the school budget, which is always the first item. There are some charter, there is a charter change and there's some language changes from, from some of the rules. Yeah. How do you keep yourself rested during this long day? I don't. It's, it's, it's like always on alert. Yeah. I mean, it's, you never quite know what's, it's never the same. There's always something different that happens and even after 25 years, it's still a new experience. Well, thank you so much for your time. Yeah. Thank you for your interest. So you have to report on more stuff later. Yep. I'm going down. Where are you? Water. Good morning. Good morning. I'm with town meeting TV reporting about the polls. And if I ask you a couple of questions while you're out here, or at least you want to tell me about what today is, what is town meeting day? I'm with town meeting TV and community news service and we're wondering if we could ask you some questions about the election today. Yeah, but let me get it over. Yeah, sounds good. I think I just wore the wrong boots. These are not very insulative. Or it's just like really cold. Yeah, that too. My feet never stay warm. Like ever. Even with good socks. Community news service and we're just asking people questions at the polls today. Would you mind getting on camera for us? Oh, nothing. Okay. Meeting TV and we're asking people questions at the polls. Would you mind getting on camera for us? Amazing. So what brings you out to the polls today since we have mail-in ballots available? I just like going to the polls. It's a tradition that I enjoy. Wonderful. Is there anything you're passionate about that's on the ballot today? Yeah, I'm supporting Rob Gutman. I feel like the type of divisive politics that is on the national level is a problem here in Burlington. And so I'm supporting Rob Gutman because I see him as someone who is a consensus builder and looking to make things happen. Wonderful. Do you have any other questions that we should ask? Well, it's always important to cast a ballot. I think you can't complain if you don't vote. And this year in particular, Ward 1, I think is one of the competitive races. And so it's important that people from Ward 1 show up. Wonderful. Thank you so much. Thank you. All right. Yeah. All right. So why are you here in person instead of doing a mail-in ballot? It's because I live around the corner and I'd rather come and support the election workers who are here. Wonderful. And so I want to keep this going as long as we can. Wonderful. I appreciate the absentee ballot too. And I think we need to do both. Is there anything you're really passionate about that is on the ballot today? Rob Gutman. I'm just an ardent supporter, as the other man said. And I think he said it very nicely, so I don't have anything further to add. You sure you don't want to add any thoughts that you have on Rob Gutman? No, I just think we need somebody with some common sense on the council who we seem to be spending so much time on international things which don't concern Burlington specifically, which are very important and need to be addressed, but not when we have other issues in the council. And I'm also very concerned about this civility at the council meetings that people can't seem to control themselves. I think that's about it. Wonderful. Okay. Thank you. Hi. My name is Boniface and I was just wondering who you're voting today. I don't live in Burlington, so unfortunately I'm not voting here outside of the city. Okay. And what are some issues about time meeting day? Every issue that is voted on on time meeting day is super important. This is your chance as a voter to voice your opinion. This is the only opportunity you're going to get. If you don't come out today and vote, the opinion you have after today doesn't matter. Good. What do you think about the new school budget? School budget? I have my personal opinion on the school budget and unfortunately I don't live in the city and I really shouldn't voice my personal opinion on the school budget. How's that sound? I can still hear it. You can still hear my opinion? Yeah. I think people should look at the school budget very closely when they vote on it and scrutinize the school budget very closely. Well, thank you so much. You're welcome. Hi. My name is Monifas and I'm just going to ask you a couple of questions about time meeting day. What's your opinion about time meeting day? Time meeting day is very important because this is when people's decisions are made and this is also a community event where people come together, see each other and also have their voices heard and respected. It's an amazing day. Cool. What do you think about the new school budget? Yeah, the school budget, I feel like we have to support our schools. We have to support our students and investing in our children doesn't have a price. I hope that the voters will vote in support of it today. Got it. Thank you so much. Oh, my pleasure. My question is why should people be voting for Team Ali? Because Team Ali has been doing a great job. Team Ali represents the new Americans. Team Ali is an active member of the society. Team Ali has done so well for the community and I hope that people will like me today. Hear that, Team Ali. Thanks a lot, man. Appreciate it. Oh, hi. My name is Olivia. What's your name? John. Hi, John. My first question is what's your tax on the tax increasing? Pardon? Could you ask that again? What's your tax on tax increasing? What is mine? Yeah, your tax. On the tax increasing. What is? What about the tax increasing? Yeah. Yeah, like your tax. Tax on it. Yeah, like what do you think? What I think as far as the tax increase that's proposed on the ballot today, I'm okay with it. I think that some of the improvements that's proposed, the tax increase, I think will benefit the city. My other question is for you, what is the important of a voting? Oh, I think it's very important voting because, you know, it doesn't seem like when one person votes that it means very much. But, you know, when you put all of those votes together, they make a big deal and sometimes elections come down to just very few votes deciding, you know, Bernie Sanders when he was first elected as mayor was only elected by very few votes. So, I think it's important to have your voice heard and that's one of the main ways I can do it. My last question is what do you think of the new school budget? Again, I think I used to be, now I'm a carpenter, but I used to be a teacher. I used to teach middle school. And I find that education is one of the best things we can do with our money. All right, yeah. Thank you, man. You're very welcome. Yeah. Y'all have a good day. Stay warm. I'm just an assistant election official. Awesome. Do you mind saying that for the record? Sure. You want to get the microphone? Yeah, I'm ready. I'm ready. All right. All right. So what was that again? I am just an assistant election official. I'm just a schlub. I'm not an elected election official. Could you give your opinion on the new tax rate? No, on any political thing today when I'm working the poll, I can't tell you squat about my political positions on anything, on any candidate or on any issue. Now, after the polls close, I could tell you anything. But now, when I'm working, I have to have some semblance of neutrality. So I can't tell you diddly. So the way it is, I guess I can tell you, this is more civics. So most of the towns are smaller than Burlington. But the bigger towns like Burlington and Rutland, it's an election. And they call it the Australian ballot. But most towns actually have a meeting. And it's like at the high school auditorium or, you know, or the Grange or whatever, wherever they can meet. And they don't vote by secret ballot. They decide policy by raising their hands. Now, there is a classic Norman Rockwell painting about it. So look at, look it up when you guys get, you know, find the internet, look up Norman Rockwell town meeting or some. And you'll see this painting of a man standing, you know, at his chair like, oh, and he has like workman's clothes on and stuff. And it's quintessential classic Vermont town meeting day. So if you want to check that out, you're going to have to go to a small town, you know, like, you know, I don't know, Huntington or someplace, you know, a small town that does not have the Australian ballot for their election and the way that they, they meet in the meeting. And they, and every town has to do it the same day. And that way nobody, like if you happen to own property in two different towns, you can't vote twice because it's all, it's all in the same thing. You're right. And you guys can't block, you can't block anybody from no block coming vote. I just want to make sure that you guys know that. And you got to be behind the sign. Thank you, sir. All right. Thank you for your time. All right. Sure. Yeah. Thank you. Fine. This on the internet. Norman Rockwell painting. I can't remember what it's called the title. It hasn't, there's a title to it. I don't remember. But that is, that's not New Hampshire. That's not Maine. That's not Massachusetts. That's Vermont town meeting day. And that's a classic. So just let, let you know. And the anyway, so find that and blend that in. All right. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Yeah. All right. Thank you. No, it's okay. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. All right. How you doing, man? Good. Interview with me. Yes, please. What do you want to interview me for? It's town meeting TV. It's the interview about town meeting day. Hi, my name is Deluxe. What's your name? O'Dell Walker. O'Dell Walker, right? Yeah, uh-huh. What are your thoughts on taxes? Taxes. On taxes? Yeah. Well, my friend, I think tax is two damn high. And I think because of COVID that the city and the state is trying to make up extra money off the tax payers of Burlington, coming up with these, excuse my language, bullshit rules and bullshit taxation, stuff like that. That's what I think of taxes. Because I think that we are the highest tax people in Burlington. And I live right there in the North end. When I bought my house, I'll pay him about $5,000, $6,000 tax. It's close to $9,000 now. Also, I heard about the school budget. What do you think about it? Oh, don't even mention the school budget to me, OK? Like I say, the school budget has went from five years ago to like 60-something million. I don't know what the budget is now, but I did vote no. They want to build a new high school. Guys, the thing about the high school, they say the high school, the ground is poisoned or contaminated. So I've got a question to ask you. If the high school grounds are contaminated, then why is North Beach not contaminated? Because the water does run down here. I saw him saying to you. Oh, OK. All right, thank you, man. Take care. Have a good day. Have a good one. Thank you for talking to me. I like to do this. Yo, we out, huh? So, man, Tom Meering TV. These are a whole bunch of, like, getting exit. My name is Olivia. We are already. My name is Olivia. What's your name? I'm Liam. Hi, I'm Liam. My first question is, what do you think about the tax increasing? I don't know much about the tax increases. I'm just out here collecting, like, petition signatures for direct democracy in Burlington, which I feel is pretty important. Oh, nice, nice. For you, yeah, what? I want to talk a little bit more about Prop Zero and that kind of stuff. Yeah, absolutely. So Proposition Zero is a charter change petition for the city of Burlington. And basically what it allows everyone to do is collect petitions that become referendums for the city. So within, like, face-to-face relationships in the neighborhoods, if you collect 2,000 signatures, it goes to the next election referendum. And with 50% or more of the people in the city voting on it, it becomes an ordinance without the city council or the mayor being able to veto it, which has been a real problem in the past, especially with the, you know, the tarback and operating idea. But like, police accountability, huge thing, got really far, a lot of popular energy and master support got vetoed by the mayor. And we're asking, well, there's a systemic problem going on there, which is that really the people in the city, the people in the neighborhoods shouldn't have to be at the mercy of someone who's in office for a couple of years. We should really be able to have a more direct say in the laws that govern our lives. And this exists elsewhere in Vermont, but not in Burlington. In fact, it's just the exact same mechanism right across the river in Winooski. So we took the same exact language and just appropriated it for Burlington. It's just a way to get everyone more involved in, or bringing politics home to people's daily lives, as opposed to something that someone else does in City Hall. Everyone needs to have a voice. Everyone's voice needs to have power to it. Yes, honestly, just talking about voice, my last question is, yeah, what do you think is important about voting in general? Well, I think it's important about voting in general. Dang, that's a good question. Yeah, I didn't know it was going to be a quiz. Yeah, they get time. I feel it's important to feel like you're doing something, doing something with your friends and neighbors and stuff. And your voice can be heard too, yeah. Yeah, exactly. Also, what do you think about the new school budget? What is it going up or going down? That's cool. Education's great. What's the head about that? All right, man, thank you. That's all. Yeah, man. Thanks so much. Good to see you, too. Is that I just moved to Burlington in, like, 2019, 2020. So I thought, where's the high school now? Because that was at the Macy's. You're yelling at the escalator? I'm all right. Wait, there's an escalator here. Y'all were badmouthing it. What are you talking about? You have an escalator here, guys. Yeah, but it's bad. It doesn't work on the windows. What? We don't got a lot of it. All you have to do is get to the Macy's. No windows and the escalator breaks every day. That sucks. All right. It's horrible. Yeah, that's not fun. That's pretty cool, though. Yeah, thanks, yeah. What's that one's name? Olivier. Deluxe. Germain. Boniface. And you, Leo. I'm Leo. Leo. I'm Mr. May. I'm Mr. May. It's a bit warm. And there's also a coffee here, if you want some. It feels great. Thank you, thank you. I'm going to see if we can get. See you over there. Hey, man. My name is Olivier. What's your name? My name's Jorma Ghee. Jorma Ghee. Jorma Ghee. Nice to meet you, man. I'm also here on Ward 3. So my first question is just, what do you think about the tax increase? You know, I think it's important for us to keep our city services strong and make sure that we're not having to make any painful cuts to our city departments. I know a lot of people saw an increase to their taxes and that it's hard right now. And I've been happy to work on a process to start looking at the property tax system. And if we need to make changes to that. And so, you know, I know it's a challenge for folks right now, but this is an important step for us to take to make sure that our city services are running properly. Well, in the also sense of running, right, what is something trying to change like that you think we should change in our community? Sure, I think we need to make a lot more changes to make housing more affordable here in the city. I think we need more housing, and we need more support systems for folks. I think we need to make more investments in mental health care and treatment for substance use disorder and really address the overdose crisis. I think that's a big thing that we have to do. Also, what do you think of the new school budget? The new school budget? I'm very supportive of it. I think, you know, everyone's done a good job to make sure that we're supporting teachers, and I think this budget does that. And, you know, I think people will hopefully see their taxes go down as a result of some changes to the funding on the state level as well. And my last question is on your own, what is the importance of voting? Well, it's important to get out there and vote for the folks who are making decisions about our community. And it's important for folks to make a decision to run for office and serve on boards and commissions and join our MPH steering committees, because, you know, that's how we shape the future of our communities and Burlington as a whole. All right, thank you, man. Yeah. Thank you. Sorry, sir. Thank you. Hey, don't be cocky, keep doing that. Woo-hoo-hoo! We're all gonna do that in the studio later. Yeah, I'll be back next week. Yeah, they're just high schoolers and they're just trying to... And I'd like the idea of helping the school... Hi, oh, my name is Deluxe. Yep. Oh, can I skip the name? Okay, okay. About the school budget. What do you think of that? I think it's good. Vote for the school budget. More money for schools. Very important. Okay. I have the city of Burlington that's going to become a tech hub. Yeah. And it needs a lot of education for the students. Also, the tax is changing. What do you think about that, too? The sex workers? Yeah. I think that that's good. Vote for them, you know? I think that that bullshit that... All right. The way it's been. All right, thank you, man. Okay. Yeah. Appreciate it. Oh. Awesome. Hello, I'm Travis Washington. I'm here with... You're not Travis. You're not Travis. Travis, Travis. Awesome. So what... So you're running for city council seat, right? What are some key issues that really stick out to you, especially for this election? Some key issues that have been sticking out to me are, first of all, affordable housing. And more places for homeless. There's so many people out there that are displaced and there's just not enough places for them. You know, when they have to... When they get a bed, fortunate enough to get one, they have to be out at 7, 7.30 in the morning. And then where do they go? We only have two warming shelters. And they, because of the COVID pandemic, can only take in 18 people. So if you have, say, 20, 25 people there, you can only take in 18. Where does everybody else go? You know, so I have been communicating with Reverend Kerry of the Red Door Church. And her and I have been talking about looking for buildings and spaces where we can put more people. And, you know, basically where they can also have a little bit more solitude, where they can sit and, you know, make their phone calls. And I go to the BFW day shelter. I'm a member of the Post-782. So I go there and I try to help make phone calls and just try to, you know, locate people somewhere. Awesome. And so what would you like to see? Like if you're elected counselor, what would you like to see Burlington voters like voting on and like, what would you like to see like progress? I would like to see a lot of people vote for affordable housing, which is, you know, a hard thing here right now. It's hard to find housing and especially based on certain incomes right now. I'd like to see people just, you know, work together, you know, all city council people and all, you know, people in the house to just come together and try and talk things through and work together. Because even though we're running for an office, if you don't get the seat, that doesn't mean you still can't get out here and do something productive and work with the ones that are sitting on city council. So I think it would be good for all of us to try and just band together. And well, there's like multiple construction projects too that are being made throughout Burlington. What are your kind of thoughts on those and like what? Like, cause there's... Construction in particular, which one are you on? Like the Champlain Parkway along with like other, like more affordable housing or just like apartment buildings be erected. I'm not familiar with the Champlain, when you said it's a parkway. Yeah, the parkway. I'm not too familiar with too much information on that. There are some things that I will have to look into. As I said, I was the last minute person to jump in, but I do believe in like the memorial, restoring the memorial, the auditorium memorial for the veterans on Main Street. I am looking forward to something good happening where the mall was taken down on the center of Church Street, which is an eyesore right now. So I'm looking for something positive to be done there. I know there's a lot of infrastructure being done right now, especially on Shelburne. And, but it is a good thing. I mean, I know a lot of people complain about it. Oh, you know, they're in my yard. They're doing this or doing that, but you know, infrastructure is very important. If you can't take care of your town and your roads and everything, you know, it's just gonna be a disaster in the long run. So. Awesome. Thank you so much for speaking with me. I appreciate it so much. Awesome. Thank you. Thank you, thank you. Good job. All right. Hi, I am Jermiel. Nice to meet you. What was your name? Ben Travers. Ben Travers, nice to meet you. So you're running, right? Yes, running for city council here in Ward 5. Okay. So, well, could I get like why you're running and what you're running for? Yeah, I'm someone who's always been involved with the community. I serve on our neighborhood planning assembly steering committee. I'm the chair of our parks commission. When I was a renter here in the neighborhood, I served on the housing board of review. Always someone who's found a part of my life to get back to the community and see an opportunity here to step up for the community and run it for city council. Okay, sweet, sweet, sweet. Why would you say like, should be like the main thing for people who are trying to vote for you? Like why would somebody wanna vote for you? Yeah, I think we have three great candidates in this race. Me, myself, I think that folks in the community are ready for the city council to recommit itself to local issues, to step away from some of the political divisiveness and political rhetoric. And that's my plan. I wanna work with others, regardless of whatever political background you come from. I'm not entering this race with any sort of political bias or agenda. My commitment is to work with everyone, respect all points of view, and try to make progress on really important issues, like sustainable infrastructure and affordability and housing, and a high school for the city. Oh yeah, speaking of high school. Well, if you win, I was gonna, I'm wondering like, how would that affect the budget for the high school since it's like been raising lately? Yeah. When I've been out there talking to voters, high school, the high school, is one of the main issues that I've heard from folks. And look, we need a new high school. It's gonna cost a whole lot of money to build it. And we need to find a path forward. Obviously the city has its own needs with roads and sidewalks and parks. And we need to make sure that the school district and the city are not competing against each other for those funds. I think we need to find a path forward for infrastructure and for the city, and we also have to find a path forward for the high school. Oh yeah, you're sweet. Well, thanks for your time. Yeah, thanks so much for being here. Yeah, no problem. All right. Good luck. Thanks, appreciate it. Yes, sir. Thanks, guys. All right. Yeah, get the suns, get the suns up in the air. Yeah, get the suns. How are you? I'm good. Just a little interview here, okay? So my name is Olivier. What's your name? Farid. We are already running. Can you just tell us a little bit about what you're running for? Well, I am a candidate for city council, but I am actually a volunteer for a ballot measure campaign that we are trying to bring for the next election in November. So you're running for city council? City council. I'm using kind of like the city council race as a way to raise awareness and to bring attention to the two issues that I have volunteered to be a spokesperson of. For my question, what motivated you to like to run for city council? Is there anything to pursue? Well, I really care about the issues that I'm collecting petition signatures for. One of them is the community control of the police because I think like the police in Wellington have been out of control and they need to be reined in because it's supposed to be a community-based policing, not like a police-based community. So that really is important to me and the second issue I'm running for is for direct democracy. I think we need to have more say and to participate in all the decisions being made that impact our lives. I think people have the right to participate in all those decisions. We're gonna be impacted by it then they need to include us. And most city governments are not that great at doing that they just have their own agenda and they'll tell us if we're lucky. So we want more involvement, we want more participation and we want more power for the regular voters, not just for politicians. Also, what do you think of a tax increasing? The tax increasing, so that's one of the things that actually on principle I said no because it's a process that is not accessible to us. I don't know where they come up with these numbers. I know other municipalities, they've enacted something called participatory budgeting where the community actually gets a say on where certain money is allocated. So there's no reason Burlington can't do that. I mean, Burlington used to be the leader in all kinds of progressive policies. We need to re-engage people again and make that budget participatory before I can actually support it. All right, and also my last question, I'm just gonna ask for school. What do you think about the school budget? It's the same, I think it's the same thing. I do think it's like the pandemic has been hard for everybody and I don't have kids. So I don't mind like supporting education, I think it's important. So, but I do think, you know, we need to know more about the process and what's being, what are we paying for. So they gotta be more like, yeah, to let people know the process of it. I just feel like, you know, we pay more and more in taxes and the kids get stupider and stupider. Maybe it's not real, but that's how it feels like. All right, thank you, man. Thank you. Yeah, thank you. Hi, I'm Lucia Campriolo and I'm running for Ward 5 School Board Commissioner. All right, so since you're running for that, right? Where's something that you like, you trying to progress that you think they're not doing right right now? Yeah, thank you for the question. So less about what they're not doing right and more about what I'm passionate about, which is to advocate for equity in our public school system. I'm also really energized about the new Burlington High School project. And so look forward to joining the team to help bring that project to fruition. Yeah, since you said what do you think about the new rule that tax is increasing, yeah? Yeah, so I mean, Burlington, we've gotta figure out how to make sure that we are able to provide as a city all of the services that we need to provide and support our students in exactly the ways they need to be supported. So to do that, we've gotta make sure that Burlington is affordable, while also financing what I think is the cornerstone of a healthy community and that's education. So what do you think about the new school budget? Yep, so I'm supporting the school budget. I think especially given all that our schools are being asked to do right now to support students in addition to providing high quality education, it's really important that we provide the finances to support them. And I'm also really interested in learning a lot more about our new equitable budgeting process that's rolling out for the first time in the district and the goal of that is really to resource, for schools to resource programs in exactly the ways they see students needing the services. Well, it's actually one of the kinds of, other questions for the voters, why do you think it's important for voters to vote? Oh, it's so important to vote. I mean, it's about participation, it's about having your voice count. It's an opportunity to express what's important to you. It's an opportunity to express what you value. I think the more participation, the better. All right, thank you, Oz. Now you can ask any questions. Yeah, well, this is just such a treat to be able to meet students in our school district. And so, I would love to hear what's on your mind, especially when you think about the new high school, but really what else is on your mind when you think about Burlington School District? On my mind, I think it's good, but I think we need new school, though. Macy, I just don't feel like we're actually in our high school. Yep. What do you hope for most in the new school? That we can have our high school, like the one we have before, windows and everything. So, somewhere like, you actually feel like you're in school. Nice, have you had a chance to participate in any of the open meetings, open conversations that are happening right now to source ideas for the new school building? Actually, no. And I actually feel like they should try to bring students to give ideas from students to actually have and gain. Yeah, well, I would love to exchange email addresses, and I'll make sure that you know when the next upcoming sessions are, because I think one of the most important pieces is to be sure that students and teachers are contributing to the process, which there have been some opportunities so far, but really ongoing and throughout. It's going to be so important to hear from students and teachers. That would be great. Thank you. Awesome. Thank you so much. You guys are wrong. Woo. Thank you. Thank you. But seriously, how do I get your email address? Ah, email. We are at the Fletcher Free Library for Ward 8 for the town meeting day in Burlington. Here we have candidates Ali and Hannah posted outside, and we're curious to see how voting goes. Really cold. Crazy. Warm, really cold. Oh, yep. Sorry. Forget I'm connected. Awesome. So what brings you out here today? Yeah. So my name is Ali. I'm a student here. I'm also a social worker in the community. Sorry. Am I supposed to look somewhere? OK, yeah. OK, dope. Yeah, and we're out here fighting for climate justice, housing justice, mental health, public safety, racial justice, all that stuff. So what got you into running for city council? Yeah. So I'd been down to testify. Oh, there goes my pin. I'd been down to testify at city council about a couple issues, sort of in my social work capacity. And yeah, I kind of just got involved that way. Wonderful. Besides you know, you running, are there any other issues on the ballot that you're really passionate about? Question five, which removes like stigmatizing language around sex work from our city laws. I think that's important. Wonderful. Thank you so much. Thank you. Have a good one. OK. I'm collecting petition signatures for two charter changes. One is going to expand direct democracy in Burlington by expanding the right of petition to include changes to the city code of ordinance. And the other is in support of creating an independent board that could investigate and discipline police officers accused of misconduct. All right, that's awesome. And why do you think it's important for people to come out here and vote? It is your civic duty. It is the way you participate in politics and do your thing. And with Proposition Zero, we're looking to expand that to make it even easier to participate. Thank you so much. Thank you. Cool. What brings you out today? Well, I want to make sure that as many people vote as possible. I want to make sure that people are like informed about what they're voting on. And more importantly, or most importantly, make informed them that there is an election today. Is there anything important you'd like to inform us about? Just knowing that local politics is really important, that what happens here and who wins this race and the other local races will dictate things like housing policy in Burlington, will dictate things like parking policy, will determine how our parks look and parks and recreation and many other important issues. And these are issues that affect all of us. Given there's the option to vote mail in, have you been seeing a lot of turnout today? I haven't seen a ton yet. Hopefully that increases as the day goes on. Thanks so much. Thank you for your time. Thank you. OK. What brings you out here today? So hi, everybody. My name is Saja Mugali. And I am a writing candidate for Ward 8 for the Burlington School District. Yeah. Is there anything important you want us to know? Yeah, like first of all, the first thing is in Burlington right now, there is no Burlington High School anymore. The school is closed and shut down. So every student in the Burlington High School has to go to the mall downtown to teach and study. And that is a big problem right now because who wants to study in a mall? And so yeah, the first thing probably we're going to do is vote for a new budget so we can reopen the school and build it. And that's the most important thing, of course. Thank you so much. Yeah, thank you. Thank you. I have a school board member present. So this is Saja Mugali. So again, there's no other candidate, so it's via writing. OK. So we do need a representative of Ward 8 for our school board. Cool. And this is Saja if you have any questions. Hi. Saja Mugali. Yeah. OK. Thank you for your support. Oh. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Oh, OK. I'm Rachel Foster. Yeah. And I'm here with Maria because so this is my fourth visit here to talk about number five on the ballot and concerns about decriminalizing, pimping, and brothel owning and sex buying in Burlington and what that means for all of Vermont, for vulnerable people in Burlington, and sort of the bait and switch that this was something that came about as an archaic and offensive language change, which we agree that the language is archaic. And we also support decriminalizing those bought and sold in prostitution, but holding pimps, brothel owners, and sex buyers accountable. And the message is that Burlington is open for business in the sex trade. And we're really, really deeply concerned about sort of the implications for vulnerable populations in Burlington and what it signals to the rest of the country about sex tourism and what it means for Vermont as sort of a test case. Because Perry Freeman and also Selena Colburn have made it very clear that they support full decriminalization of the sex trade on the state level. So rather than amending and changing the language in the city charter, they have decided to completely lift the prohibitions on brothels, on pimping, and on sex buying. And what we support is sort of a partial decriminalization piece, which is decriminalizing those bought and sold in prostitution and offering exit services and strategies and not fully decriminalizing the sex trade, which includes decriminalizing the demand side and the side where there's just sort of inherent harms. And it's really concerning. So we've come, we've testified, we're led by survivors from around the country world without exploitation as the 200 member organization coalition. And so many survivors have spoken out and have felt completely unheard. And this exists at the nexus of racial, gender, economic injustices that cause certain people to be bought and sold in the sex trade, primarily women and girls of color. And sex buyers are typically white men with disposable income. And somehow they're going to be given impunity. And that's deeply concerning. Well, thank you so much for your time and for giving us your voice. Yeah, thank you. Thank you. Yeah. Be on the school board. The material is in the building. So everybody and all the students are now switching to the mall, Macy's downtown here. So they're teaching and they're studying downtown here. And it's been like this since probably 2020. And nobody had really talked about it a lot. And it's not getting any attention. And I think we need to sign in and vote for a new budget to rebuild the school and open it again for the students so they can go back to normal school. No, thank you. OK, you're all good. Not really. OK. No worries. Hi. Did you vote today? Not yet. OK, are you planning on voting later? Huh? Oh, it's just in the wrong words. Oh, gotcha. OK, can we still? We can still interview you if you'd like. We're with town meeting TV. Oh, no. OK. OK, we're with town meeting TV and community news service. Would you mind if we ask you a few questions about the ballot today? Wonderful. So what brings you out here today? I'm just exercising my right to vote. Wonderful. And are there any articles that you're passionate about? Not particularly. I'm mostly concerned about city councilor for my ward. Wonderful. Would you like to share who you're voting for or any support? I'm going to be voting for Ally House. And why is that? She came to a club meeting of mine, and I met her, and she was very nice. And I really liked how passionate she was about the issues that she cared about. And I thought someone like that would be good to represent me. Wonderful. OK, thank you so much. That's what we want to know. Yeah. No, what are they saying? Is there like a key issue that? The city council, like between Hannah and Ally, but we haven't had a ton of people being willing to chat about what they're voting on. So yeah. Yeah. Well, democracy in action. Yes. Whoo. Hi, did you vote today? OK, sounds good. Between when we opened to 9 o'clock. Can we get you on camera, Diane, because we're worried that we're not going to have a lot of voters to talk to? I'm worried about not having a lot of voters to talk to. So why are you telling us that turnout is slow today? Well, there are important things on the ballot. Well, there are important things on the ballot. How's it going? Normally, I would have somebody waiting for me impatiently at 7 o'clock for an opening. OK, because they wanted to do this before they got to work. Now, on the other hand, we could say that Australian ballot has been successful. And because it's been successful, we don't have people turning out. So there are a lot of people who voted by mail? Is that what you mean? Yes, people voted by mail. Or they dropped them off at the town office. OK, in fact, even this morning, we're having a lot of people drop things off here. They're not coming in. They're using the drop boxes you can see behind me. There were drop boxes outside, right? Oh, there are some in here. OK, there's the ballot box. The ballot box. So I mean, that's life has changed in our current COVID. I'm here talking to you in a mask. I'm still here talking to you in a mask. So some of the learned behaviors that we've now experienced the last two years, some of them are successful. How do we describe making this facility available for people who are still doing things by prior methods? So now it gets to be a question of what do we, as the community, the state, want to see how do we want things to happen? And we need to have that conversation. So we know we can do things, but it's kind of like my life now is just as the piece. I'm doing a lot of stuff the week before today, processing those mailed ballots that I wouldn't be doing normally if this was 10 years ago or 20 years ago. Right, or even three years ago. Or even three years ago. So it's really whining about success. So thank you very much for using the mail of the Dropbox. But I still have to anticipate people coming here to vote, or in this case, a supervised Dropbox. So we're still there in how we have the state laws that conduct voting. So you have a hybrid system that needs to accommodate. So it's kind of like we need the evaluation. How's this hybrid system working? So it'd be nice to know if people were happy. I mean, obviously, some people are. And I know about a third of the population showed up already for my town here. Not the village, but the entire town. So people are participating. They're just participating in different ways. In a different way. So it's kind of like I'm going, the girls scales are coming to sell cookies at 3 o'clock today. Oh, now I see this is OK. We're going to have to go back. So then I'm kind of going, wow, did they put that out or whatnot? I say it's not really my responsibility to do that. But I'm kind of going, I hope there's some, I'd hate to see those girls go to all that effort to have sit here and twirl. Or you're buying a lot of cookies. Not that many. I still have my exercise program. I still need to. We'll try to get the word out on town meeting TV. Yeah. But there'll be the girl scouts here at 3 p.m. I'll put that out on our social network. 3, 3.30, 3.36, they'll be here. After school. After school. So they'll be here. All right. Well, let's see if we can find some voters to talk to you. I see one there. So we'll see you. Thank you. That's good. I mean, that's interesting. It's an interesting dynamic. Like I said, do I complain about success? Right. Well, let's see if we can get some feedback from voters. So thank you. So yeah. All right. Here some of the brands are, some of the flavors are hard to come by. Oh, good to know. OK. That was good. Yeah. She's my friend. OK. Hi, how's it going? Good, how are you? How about her? Yeah, I'm dropping this off for my daughter. OK, yeah, you can actually put that right in here. Oh, that would be good. Can you take that for me? Yeah, maybe you can reuse it. Reuse it. Yeah. Thank you very much. I don't know if it matters if she spelled his name right or wrong. As long as they know what this is for physicals. OK. They look, they know what he intends. OK. OK. Excuse me. Thank you. I'm with town meeting TV, and we're looking for some voter perspectives to share on our government access TV station in Burlington. I'm in favor of what you're doing, but I actually am in a hurry, so I'm sorry I can't. OK, thank you so much. Thanks for voting and dropping off your ballot. Yeah, and they show up. I know, they really do. They're really good quality, too. They are really good quality. Go on. Good. Let's just drop the box. That is. Is that fine? Yes. Perfect. We've got to drop it right in there. Excuse me. I'm with town meeting. Broker leg. Oh, gosh. I don't even live in Essex. OK. Well, you're a good friend. Thank you so much. Check out that. For some reason, I thought, I got it mixed up. Yeah, the hordes of people, whoop, march. Well, a little more snow would be better, but. Get three to six tonight. Nice. All right. Every little bit. On top of what we had on Friday. Yeah, all right. Except that snow on Friday, it was so light and powdery that it got, we skied on Sunday at Sugarbush. A lot of it was. Oh, nice. Oh, look at you. Where'd you go? I was at Stowe. Stowe. I heard that Stowe. We have that effect on people, or does she go? No, we're good. We're just chatting. Oh, my gosh. I see a camera. It's town meeting TV. It's public access. We're so warm and well-hearing. Why not? Is that Susan McCorley? Or? Hi there. You just dropping off a ballot? Yeah. OK. Let's see if we can at least get. What? I'll give her the key. OK. Hi, would you be willing to share your thoughts about voting today with our viewers? Yeah, thank you. OK, thanks. I know, really. Good how you doing? Good. Not too bad. Good. You got a turn on? Yeah. A couple seconds telling us about why it was important for you to vote today. No, thank you. Thanks. I think the biggest thing right now is people have been looking at their feed issues, like when you got the money that I had in the election. Definitely run into that. And that came in by mail. Yeah. People have been looking for somebody else. Think of a parliament that's not available. Here, will you hold this for a second? For sure. Can't say we didn't try. Exactly. We can't manufacture people. Or then you. Really, we just want to know why you're here today. Here. What's up? I miss having the town meeting. You miss the town meeting. Did you participate in the information meeting last night online? No. No, no. So that doesn't substitute for you. No, that's not, no. And I know they're working on alternatives to the mass meeting, but that was missing. Yeah. Plus the Essex reporter wasn't out there. You know, I didn't feel like I was getting all the best information I needed. That was my concern there. OK. But I like, yeah, the whole idea of the town meeting. I miss it. I like it. Being with your community and having an opportunity to talk about ideas and to share different perspectives. Yeah. Yeah. All right, well, thank you for sharing your perspective with us. Valets versus, you know, the town meeting, typical town meeting gathering. Yeah, I'm not. OK. Sorry. Thank you, though, for listening. I have, like, a ton of errands to run out. Oh, gosh. I'm with Tom Meeting TV. Oh, OK. Yeah, sure. So I had gotten my absentee ballot, but I was away. And then when I came back, I didn't get it out till today. So I dropped it off. Oh, great. And so obviously, it was important to you to make sure that your voice was heard and that you placed your vote. Were you motivated by select board candidates or school board or particular issues? Or is it just voting in general? Yeah. So that's basically it, especially in this day and age. So that was it. It's the whole principle of the thing. Because we have a right and responsibility. It sounds like you take that seriously. Yeah, a right and a responsibility. And it's really quite a positive thing to be able to do this when so many are incapable of doing the same thing. So we shouldn't take it lightly. Thank you so much. Oh, you're welcome. Appreciate that. You bet. Have a good one. He started because when I got here, I was like, I like to move in. My feet are staying warm. At the high school, I was like walking back and forth. I'm like, oh, the wind is crazy over there. Well, it's usually better. It's usually worse here than high school. Yeah, that's what I was told. And then I went over there. But we went there this morning and the wind was just blowing over there. And then we came here and I was like, oh, it's warm here. It's solid 30 degrees. Somebody has a kid. Don't say you have a kid. My little kid, if we can get the kid on camera. Tell me who you are and why you're here. Michael Malley. And I'm just here to vote because I made a mistake on my mail-in ballot. So I got to fix it here. OK, so taking advantage of your system and making your voice heard. Yes. But definitely wanting to participate in the process. Oh, definitely. Yeah, it's a very important part of our duties as citizens to vote and to make our wishes known to the town. So that's why I'm here. Excellent. Thank you for sharing that with us. Take care. If you like it. Well, we got two solid interviews back momentarily. So we did, yep. And we were also in Winooski, too. So excuse me. We're with town meeting TV. And I'm wondering if you'd be willing to talk with us about voting today. You and your little friend here, was this your first time voting? No, it is third time. Wow. Can I give you a sticker? I have this special sticker. How about that special one? It's not OK. There you go, buddy. Thank you. Uh-oh, bad dogs. Look out, there's a donkey over there. The donkey is going to pick you up. All right. What do you like? So it's balmy now. That was zero. Yeah, that's true. And well, it's supposed to sleep, right? Snow, sweet, something. It's doing something, but yeah. That's what I was hoping for. Yeah. Yeah. Perfect. Right. OK. What do you think? We're calling it. That was important to you today? You just make sure that you don't have it. We're just, I mean, we're trying to talk to voters and get their perspectives on today's election and the changes that COVID has brought to town meeting day. But tell us why you're here and maybe if you have a message for voters just about voting and community and gender. Sure. Hi, good morning. I'm Ray Garafano, Representative Essex 81. And I'm here to help support my friend Brian Sheldon, who is running for the one-year seat for the select board. And I'm here to meet my constituents. I'm a newly appointed representative. So I thought I'd get out here and meet some folks. Town meeting has a rich tradition in Vermont. And gratefully, I work for state, and we get the day off. So we actually get time to pay attention to politics and our local happenings. And I want people to get out and vote, but I think in Vermont, we've done an amazing job of making it really easy for people. And I think a lot of people have mailed in their ballots already, as you can see, it's not very crowded here. And in years past, we've come and it's been really busy with lots of people going back and forth. So I'm grateful we live in a state that allows for that and has made it really easy. I think it was nice to have a virtual town meeting. I think a lot of people want to get back in person and, you know, but we need to be mindful of COVID still, even though it's waning and we're lucky that the numbers are coming down. But we had a great virtual meeting last night that was very informative. The select board put on a great presentation about the articles that people were voting on today. And, you know, communities really energized for, you know, we have a lot of opportunities with COVID coming with federal money and things happening at legislature. So it's going to be a great year. Great. Wow, thank you. That was so much. That was perfect. Oh, good. Well, it was my first actual real interview. So I appreciate the opportunity and practice. I had to practice, and like you said, it's an opportunity for you to introduce yourself. Yeah, yeah. I'm new, you know, in my position and, you know, entering mid-session. It was kind of like, it's been a whirlwind. So I thought. Did you start at the legislature right at the beginning? I started on January 18th. So late, yeah, after the session started, yeah, yeah. So I was appointed on the 11th. And, you know, I think we have a lot of important work to do here in Essex, and hopefully we'll have amazing people like Brian that will help shepherd the separation and all the stuff that will come with that, which will be challenging for both communities. Right. Yeah. Well, we definitely expected, I thought that there would be more people here because, you know, this is, the separation is very much on people's minds and there's still a lot to be determined. And then with the write-in campaign, it's just, I don't know, hopefully there are a lot of, it looks like there are a lot of ballots that have come in. I think there's a lot of people have voted. I think, you know, in our communication with folks trying to get the word out, most people have already voted by mail or dropping it off today. So like I said, I think it's really nice that we have the privilege that we can do that and Andy Watts was speaking last night about kind of the cost of the mail and ballots, but was really saying how voter participation has increased so much because of that. And I think we need to be really paying attention to that and making it as easy for people to vote as possible. Great. Thank you so much. Yes, some blessings of COVID, right? Is that how you know the silver lining? Yeah. Yeah, definitely. I mean, we've seen it on our end that there are more people that are participating in local government. And community involvement. Just meetings, school board meetings, and things like that. It's really nice that people have that opportunity to do that. Yeah, the hybrid option also is a good way because it gives people, people who want to be in-person still have the opportunity and those that can't be in-person or don't want to be in-person have another job. A bit at legislature, like I am been amazed at how well they're organizing the hybrid nature of certain folks aren't able to come in. And I mean, like our tech people are amazing to have to do the setup and kind of roll with the punches as they come on. Yeah, everybody has had to. It's not just pivot. We're all pirouetting at this point. Yeah, exactly, exactly. Well, great. It was really nice to meet you. My name is Barry. And this is Emily. Emily, nice to meet you. Thank you so much for that. Of course. Thank you for that. Okay. In the age of COVID? I don't really have the right words to say. Okay. Thank you. We are at the Chamberlain School in South Burlington. We are three students with the community news service at UVM working with Town Meeting TV. We're excited to see how people are voting today. Very cold. That's awesome. So what brings you guys out here? Are you excited for Town Meeting Day? Absolutely. We have some great candidates this year on Town Meeting Day. This is Linda Bailey. She's running for city council. So I'm out here saying hi to everybody and just winding up the campaign. Sounds good. And why is it important for people to come out here and vote today? Well, this is how you direct your city and what happens in your city depending on who you vote for. There's also the school budget and the town budget to vote on. And it's important to be there. Otherwise, how can you complain if you haven't even been there to vote on it? All right. Is there anything you find particularly important on the ballot today? Vote for Linda Bailey for city council. Yes. City council choices are exciting this year. We don't always even have challengers. The incumbents are often running unopposed. And this year, we have some great challengers who would bring some inclusivity and welcoming tone to South Burlington. And I'm really excited about both of them, Chris Trombly and Linda Bailey. Great. Thank you. Thank you, guys. Thank you. Wonderful. So why do you think it's important that people come out to the polls today? This is what people asked for in 2007. They wanted to vote on the city and school budgets. And I think that we should make good on that promise. And we also have, I think, some big issues at stake here. We have the vision of the South Burlington residents and what they want their city to be. And so that's why I'm out here. That's why I'm running again. And what are some things that you're passionate about that you're running on for this upcoming ballot in this year? Yeah. Well, we still have our city center that has a couple more votes that we want to put before the voters. And I have been in that since the very beginning and I would love to see that through. We also have our new, you know, what we call planned unit developments, which are new rules for how to develop our more developed areas through infill as well as in our mixed use commercial areas. And I would love to be a part of that discussion. So some projects that are still ongoing that I'd love to see through. Wonderful. Awesome. Is there anything else you would like to say to people who'll be watching the broadcast? I just want to say that channel 17 is awesome. I think that as a former president and treasurer of channel 17, there is no better news source when you want to hear it straight from your elected officials. And so I really thank channel 17 for showing up at the polls. You're the first people here. So thank you. Thank you. Bixen. Bixen. I'm like literally shivering. Polls, wonderful. Recording. Okay, hi. So what are you passionate about today that's on the ballot? Oh, I just, just voting for the school budget and town budget and stuff mostly, but yeah. And why do you come out in person instead of doing mail-in? I've always done it traditionally and I just feel comfortable doing it that way. I don't get out much anyway. So with COVID and everything that's been going on, it's my chance to see people, so. And what do you think about democracy and action and having people come out to the ballot today? Is there anything you'd like to say to people about that? I think people should come out and vote and stuff like that. And I think democracy is an important thing for this country, especially with everything that's going on in the world today. People ought to take it serious and stuff and really understand what is of value to them, their families and everything going forward. This is a very important time in everybody's life. So. Thank you so much. Yep, thank you. Yep. How is it? We're with TownMeetingTV and we were wondering if you'd like to answer a couple of questions from the camera for us. I'm running to a doctor's appointment. All good. Yep. So what brings you guys out here today? To vote. All right. Why do you think it's so important to come out here and vote? TownMeeting, TownMeeting. All right. Voice to voice. Very true. Anything you guys are excited about for the ballot today? Especially, it's just, I want my voice heard. Thank you guys. Tonight, if I'm not mistaken. On the news? On Channel 17. Oh yeah, that's fine, sure. All right, so what brings you out here today to vote? The school budget. All right, and why do you think it's important to come out here and vote in person? Well, I'm a teacher. Not in this district, but I am. And I know schools are struggling right now, and so here I am. All right, and why come in person when you could do the over the mail ballots? Oh gosh, you know, I hadn't even thought about that to tell you the truth. I think I'm just old school. All right. I just want to come and do it. All right, very cool. Anything on the budget that you're particularly interested in besides the school budget? I voted yes for the city part two, because you know, I think roads and levees are important, I guess, so there you go. All right, and for democracy, why do you think it's so important that people are coming out here? I think it's so important because people need to get out and make things happen because COVID has made us all sort of stay in our homes and be sort of like, oh, I don't care, but we still need to care. And our children need us, so. Thank you so much. What brings you out here for voting today? I vote every time. All right, and why do you think it's important for people to come out here and continue to vote? Civic responsibility. All right, anything on the ballot you're excited for today? Not particularly. And let's see, any other questions, guys? Well, why come in person when you can vote via mail? Habit. All right, good answers, thank you. Good morning. Has there been a big turnout today with the option to vote mail in? Well, it's a steady turnout. I wouldn't say it's a great turnout yet, but we've got a long day ahead of us, and there were a lot of people that voted early. So we processed a fair amount of those ballots. And what's on the ballot today? What can we expect? Well, there are budgets, certainly. There are city counselors and also members of the school board on the ballot today. And how do you keep yourself rested doing all this today? How do I keep myself rested? Yes. Well, I'm not sure I will be. But I have my book to read, you know, things get quiet, hopefully things get a little busier because it's nice to see people from the community. We're all working with our masks. So we're all saying, you know, it's hard to recognize people, obviously, when we all have our masks on, but it's nice to see everybody. Well, thank you so much, and thank you for doing this. Hello, we're at South Burlington High School and Middle School here in South Burlington. And we're just reporting from Community News Service and Town Meeting TV on the Town Meeting Day today. Thank you, us too. All right, so what brings you out here today? Well, I actually am one of the candidates running for the three-year seat for the South Burlington City Council. My name is Tim Barrett, if you didn't know. All right, nice to meet you. Are feeling excited about voters today? I am, you know, the turnout's been a little bit low, but of course this is just a budget city council, school director election, you know, there's not a primary, it's not a major, you know, U.S. or Senate representative election right now. So just the dedicated voters that's out there are the ones that are coming out. Of course, I think about 700 plus people voted early with absentee voting, because I was inside earlier in the vote count on the machine. For the one district, it was about 220, and they'd only seen about 30 people, about 7.30 in the morning, so. All right, and why do you think it's important for people to come out here and vote? It's our democratic process, and we are all charged with making sure that it works, and the only way that it works is for you to do your research on the candidates, find out who the best person is, and then come and vote or vote absentee, whatever your choice is. All right, thank you so much. Good luck. Would you like to be on camera today? We can ask you a few questions, wonderful. All right, so what brings you out here today? I'm not Megan Emory, but I'm out here to support her, I've known her for many years and know what she does on the city council, so I wanted to come out and spend some time promoting her candidates, is he? Wonderful. Is there anything you're passionate about besides Megan on the ballot, but any other things on the ballot right now that you're passionate about? Well, I think it's really important to spend the school budget and the city budget, because it's a time where a lot of changes that need to be made, and we need the support, and I think the community will come behind them this time, yeah. And what do you think about people coming in, in person versus mail-in? Did you do a mail-in or did you do in person? I would do a mail-in. I like the process of coming in here and filling out a ballot and putting it in the machine. That's to me, but I grew up with, and I will continue to do that. If I had to go away, I'd mail-in, but I'd rather come in and do what I know is casting a vote in this traditional sense. Thank you so much. Get all these shots. We like to get everyone, yes. Wonderful. All right, so what brings you out here today? We're supporting our candidates in the city council race, and as Tim said, this is where our community gets to express itself and indicate how they're feeling about the issues. And did you do mail-in or in-person ballot? I went to city hall about a week ago to vote, which was good too, because there was a good energy there. A lot of people taking advantage of the opportunity to get out and vote early. I think overall making the vote more accessible to people is a good thing for democracy. We don't have great challenges with voter turnout and voter restrictions here in this state, but we know in other parts of the country that it's a big issue, and we're blessed to have the doors open for us to vote in a lot of ways here. Are there any articles that you're really passionate about on the ballot today? It was not a lot that was on the ballot. I am supportive of passing the school budget and our municipal budget. We try to be fiscally responsible in our community and do what we can to keep our expenses in check, but that's a great challenge as we know, so. Well, thank you so much. You're welcome. Great. So what brings you out today? I am out here showing my support for Linda Bailey, who also happens to be my stepmother. She's a great candidate, and I'm happy to be here supporting her. Are there any issues that you're passionate about today that are on the ballot? Mostly just the city council race and what it means for land use regulations in the future of South Brunington. And did you vote in person or mail in? I have not yet voted. I'll be voting in person over at Chamberlain. Awesome. Wonderful. And anything else? All right, thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you for my brother-in-law. Ha ha ha. Pass my voting. Where's your other voter? She'll be here. No worries, thank you. We're with town meeting TV. Do you want to answer a few questions for us on camera? I'd rather not. No worries, have a good one. Not right now. No worries. I want to go in and vote. You want to answer a few questions for us for the camera? No worries. Camera, thank you. So what brings you out here to vote today? I vote every time there's an election. What's different about today? All right, good point. And why do you think it's so important for people to come out here and vote? Well, this is what we stand for, is choices, being able to make decisions together as a group of people. This is how we decide. And is there anything on the ballot that you're particularly interested in today? Well, I do think the whole sort of development of Chittenden County and South Burlington is extremely important, they're extremely important issues because like housing, for example, I don't see as anybody could argue saying that nobody needs to have shelter. So the whole issue really becomes, what do we think is important and how should we go about doing it so that we have the least amount of impacts, negative impacts that we possibly can in the area? So we just have to put our trust in certain individuals to represent us on the council and in the town and that's the way we work. All right, thank you so much. Thanks. Okay, what brings you out to vote today instead of submitting a mail-in ballot? We always like to make sure our ballot gets in the right place. And is there anything on today's ballot that you feel passionate about? Just the people. Just want to vote. We're in a country where you can vote and we should put it up. Everybody should vote somehow. Well, thank you so much and enjoy your day. Okay, what brings you out to vote today? Well, the concerns that I have about some major aspects of life and so there were people who are willing to uphold things and others who aren't, so I vote for the people who are. They had to help with greeting things up and getting us perhaps to do something about the conditions in the world. Thank you. Is there anything on the ballot that you feel passionate or strong about? Well, yeah, I'm concerned about climate change, obviously. I guess most people are. And there are a few other aspects having to do with choices that people are making concerning. I'm not sure if it's what aspects right now I'd have to have something in front of me to remember. But anyway, yeah, you come out and you vote for things you believe in and things you want. Well, thank you so much. You're welcome. With the option for a mail-in ballot, have you been seeing a lot of people today? Well, this is my first time working the voting booth here, so I don't know what the traffic usually is like. We do have a fair amount of mail-in ballots already and we have this, you know, for traffic. So I don't know how to answer that. Thank you. And are you feeling rested? Are you taking care of yourself during this long day? We're halfway, we started at seven, it's 10 o'clock. So yeah, halfway through our six-hour shift. Yeah, yeah, I think I'll make it. Thank you so much. And also, why you're running again for city council? Well, name's Darryl Dezetelves and like I was saying earlier, I was on the city council from 2000 to 2008. And after what I've seen going on with the president of city council over the last 10 years or so, I am very displeased and a lot of my friends who are seniors are very displeased in the way the city has been taken, you know, raising taxes everywhere, they can possibly raise it. And that wasn't the way it was. Back when, I says, you know, we tried to cut taxes. We, you know, we even went so far as every time the city, the different departments would turn in their budgets, you know, those, one time we made them all cut their budgets by 5%. Okay. You know, and it's getting almost impossible to live in Wunuski. I'm a homeowner living in my home, but you know, I'm on social security now, you know, and it's, every year my taxes go up and it's getting harder and harder every year. And I know I'm not the only senior in that place and not only seniors, but there's a lot of people out there are concerned. And what I'm finding the problem is, is that, and to talk with my friends and everything in Wunuski, is it appears to be that the present city council over the last few, I don't know, 10 years or so, eight years, 10 years, they're more concerned about their political parties and they're the citizens of Wunuski, you know, and I plan on putting an end to that part. If I get elected, you know, I'm only gonna be one amongst four. So I'm not sure. So right, there are seven candidates for two seats for city council. Well, no, but I'm saying if I make this city council, if I make it, okay, I'm one of four votes. And, you know, what, if, you know, I'm gonna be voting against a lot of stuff that I don't think is beneficial to the city of Wunuski, you know, if it's party related, I'm not gonna vote for it, you know, so. Thank you for filling us in on what's important to you and good luck today. Oh, thank you very much. All right, take care. Yep. Thank you. Sure, which is where they are, Wunuski residents are voting today on Tuesday, March 1st, 2022. There are a few candidates who are here, candidates who are running for city council. There were seven candidates on the ballot for two seats. And it is a chilly March morning, but it's relatively clear. Looks like turnout is a little slow. But people are coming in to cast their votes. I saw someone come earlier with a mail-in ballot. Yep. Don't do it, lady. What's that? Do we wanna go somewhere else or are we good here? Um, where else could you, I mean, we could go. Ooh, I wanted to get some b-rolls. Yeah, you could actually. You know, we're mom, what can we do? I know, but I hate to be on camera and I am rushing to work though. Okay. But I do think voting is really important for everybody. And I love the sticker. The sticker's the best part. Do this on. What's that? Do this on. Not right now, but it will be later. Is that okay with you? It's better. Okay. Tell me about, yeah, you wanna hold that and you can tell us why it was important for you to vote today. Yeah, it's important to me to vote today because I like the city of Winozki. Because of Winozki, it's a small city, but it's not small city for people. It's a lot of people like to live over there in Winozki. Because of Winozki, it's important to anybody. Because of Winozki, it's help anybody. It's not see this as white people, this is black, no. Is it help anybody? When you have like a problem, you can go to like to officer. I don't know that officer's name. For officer over there, when you say like anybody for over there, because for that officer, for refugee or another place, it's working black and white, you wanna go over there. You can see, this can help me, this can help you, no. Or if you want to help, we help you. Or if I want, that's why I like to vote today because I like over there Winozki to be funny, to be better to anybody, anybody to be happy about this Winozki Vermont. Wonderful, how long have you lived in Winozki? Winozki, I come over there, America, to 2019. Yeah, 2019 March. But right now, Winozki, I have just a tree here, but I'm almost three here, this month, 19, I'm three here. That's why I like Winozki. Winozki is a support to me to go to school. I go to school every day over there, Winozki school. That's why I like Winozki because before when they're coming, I was done of speaking English, not understanding English, but right now, I'm speaking English, I'm understanding anything teachers tell me, when I go anybody, anyway, anybody is tell me like an English something, I will learn about that, I will speak, I will give anybody answer. That's why I like over there Winozki. Thank you so much for talking with us today. I'm so glad that we got an opportunity to talk with you and to hear more about you. Thanks. Thank you, and thank you for voting. Okay, enjoy the day. Bye-bye. So, voters, good luck. Thank you. Vote today. Yeah. We just moved to Winozki in September. Yeah. We're really excited to, you know, get involved in the town and help out. And we watched the town meeting forum. Oh, I was going to ask how you got informed because there are a lot of decisions that you need to make. We really appreciated that. That was pretty cool. Yeah, we're also first-time homeowners in Winozki, like first for us, but also like the property tax, you know, approving property taxes is like exciting for the first time in the past, we've voted on it, but haven't like directly contributed property taxes. So that's exciting. And we want to help the town spend our property taxes on things that can benefit everybody. Yeah, and yeah, it's just great to be like, I love the small town community feel here and getting to like vote in local elections where we know that the votes have a direct impact on what happens locally. So we're psyched. That's terrific. Yeah. Thank you so much for being here and for sharing your perspective with us. Yeah, awesome. Thank you for covering it. Tonight at 7, we'll be having our live results. We will be watching. Great, it starts at 7 and goes until all the ballots are counted. Awesome. Thank you for covering it. Thank you so much. Take care. Wow, fans. Good morning. Good morning. Hi. Oops, program tonight. Would you care to talk with us quickly? Thank you. Okay, thank you. To me was the school vote because we have to increase funding for education and I like the city council. There was a wide variety of choices for city council. It was very good. And how did you get informed about the issues? Oh, I watched the debate on your TV. Yeah, that's a good website. I watched the city council debate. Oh, it's great. Yeah, it was pretty good. Thank you so much. Good website, good website. Thank you. Thank you. Have a great day. Great. I'm a new resident and being involved within any of city work and then any of the town work is really important. And then I love how this is a very active community. I love how there is a very full ballot of a broad amount of people to choose from. So I'm really excited about the outcome and then to see the great work that gets done here. Yeah. Terrific, thank you so much. It was good times. And tune in tonight at 7 p.m. to stay up to date on results and see who gets elected to the city council. Awesome, thank you. Have a great day. Thank you so much. For fairness. I'm such a cool day. I'm here because democracy is important. Look at what's going on in the world. What would Ukrainians give to have the simplicity of traveling half a mile to vote for the leadership in their country, for the propositions? We take it too much for granted. And yeah, it's really critical. So why would I possibly not vote today? Thank you for giving us so much to think about. Absolutely. Thank you for your part in all of this too. Have a good day. You too. Silvered ceremony. Oh my God, a ceremony. Well, I knew you're not camera shy. Well, you have to talk. Are you allowed to talk? Good question, I think so. Of course you are. As a citizen of Winooski, I think I'm allowed to talk. I think you are. I don't know. Some people say I work for the school board or something. I do not work in a local municipality, so I think I'm covered. So tell me, there's a lot on the ballot today. What was important to you? City Council was top of mind. I think that the City Council of Winooski has for a long time been dominated by white folks, if I'm honest. And our population here in Winooski does not reflect that. And so I was really excited that we had diversity of candidates, not just based on race, based on opinion, background, all of the brilliance that they all brought. I was really grateful to CCTV for the candidate forum being recorded, because I couldn't be there that night, so that I could watch later on. That was really helpful in me making a decision. Terrific. And also, there were, well, there's a City Council candidate who was also running for the school board. That is true. Do you have any thoughts about that? Not necessarily. I think our school board has been doing a pretty excellent job during some really trying times, particularly as the state is trying to do a better job of appropriating funds for populations that need more support, especially on English language learning and things like that, that certainly our school needs. I've been really impressed with Alex Yin on our school board and the work that he's been doing to support that effort. So I do stay up to date on the school board, despite not having kids. I think a lot of folks often think if you don't have children attending schools in the school district, then maybe you're not as engaged in what's happening in our schools. But I'm very excited to see this construction happening down at the school and excited to see what that finalized project will look like. And I hadn't realized that there was a measure to enter a lease at 87 Elm for Early Head Start. That was exciting. It's in my neighborhood. So yeah, excited to support the school's efforts as well. Great. Well, I'm so glad that you took the time to talk to us today. Yeah. It's good to see you. It's always. Yeah. And tune in tonight at 7 to stay up to date on results. I know. See what happens. Nail biters. Nail biters, exactly. Thanks. So good to see you. How have you been? Thank you. We need a little sunshine. Yes. So tell us why it was important for you to come out and vote today. I think it's really important to share your opinions on public issues. I own a home here. I have kids in school here. I can't complain about what's going on unless I share my opinions about what's going on. Plus I love voting. It feels like such an important and exciting thing that we get to participate in. So I love taking advantage of it. I think growing up in Vermont, you get instilled with that town meeting day excitement from an early age. And I've never lost it. So I just think it's important. That's so great. Yeah. Thanks so much. Of course. Bye. Bye. Have a good one. Bye, guys. Yes. You don't want to block anybody from going in. Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. Make sure you get my good sign. And you only can. I was just going to say, yeah, exactly. We're too calm. We're too calm to have a comeback. I'm so glad that we got it in there. I know you can get down to my frozen pun. It's colder out there than I thought it would be. Ah, here you go. It's nice to be in here in the heat. Yeah. Yeah. I'm going to take your pictures now. Oh, I know. Oh, man. You can find the photo. Ah. You took the photo or something. Oh, yeah. I'm not sure what's going on. Yeah. What if your possible? This would be an all-resistant voting form. Yeah. You want to do that only? Yup. Yeah, let's do that later. Good morning. Have you all registered? I'm looking for my card. So this is the special form, and these are just for regular voter registration? Regular voter registration. So cool. Do you have a sense? Do you think the turnout today is going to be kind of slow or hard to know? We have no idea. Yeah. It's too early. However, we do like to try to guess. You do. Do you have the money? Of course. A whole dollar. And out of 30 years, I've only won once. And I didn't even get my money. I was too tired. I just wanted to go home. I was too tired. I wanted to go home. I now have 41. 41? Mm-hmm. Results. Oh, that's, wow. That's impressive. Plus we have, you said, 200 ass-to-gees total. That we received or were issued? That were issued. Okay. And I didn't notice someone coming back there. The mail-in pellet dropped off. Oh, my God. Very gracious. Thank you. Thank you. You too. Oh, thank you. Yeah. Let's see if you can hold me. Thank you. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you. All right. Thank you. You're too nice. I did it. Oh, my God. All right, thank you. Thank you. Don't worry. I'll get you. Can't let the warden see me. Yeah. I'm going to need your beauty rest first. Thank you, please. Absolutely. Have a great day, sir. Good morning. Who's doing like the interview hosting stuff? Actually, everybody, Who's doing, like, the interview hosting stuff? Well, so the Akron, our plan, and the reptile sign? I believe. So, Mark, actually, I was going to tell you. Oh. How many I'm telling you? Make sure I'm not. We're just going here at the outside. We've got teams that are at various wards in Burlington, South Burlington. I don't know that we're sending anybody to Williston today, because there isn't any space. I was curious if more people were doing the absolute things stuff this evening. It's about what it was last year? Yeah. When I looked, it was also on the new city coast. And so this year, essentially, we're about to be 30 in the last year. Thank you.