►
Description
Under the Dome
Town Meeting TV's Travis Washington visits the State House with Neighborhood Media Intern Navarro to interview elected officials about what's going on. Host Navarro Dodge interviews Senator Martine Laroque Gulick, lobbyist Jessica Oski, Representative Lisa Hango, Representative Erin Brady, and Representative Tiffany Bluemle. Featuring music created by Navarro Dodge.
4/27/2023
https://linktr.ee/townmeetingtv
Town Meeting TV is a free speech forum and the ideas expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the Town Meeting TV trustees and staff. If you have a different perspective to share, we invite you to join the conversation! Create your own program or cover a community meeting or event. Contact maketv@cctv.org or call 862-3966.
Thank you for tuning into Town Meeting TV! Please subscribe to our YouTube channel and visit our website for more videos and information about how we open the doors to local government using community media. www.Ch17.TV
This video belongs to http://www.cctv.org and published with permission under Creative Commons License CCTV Center for Media & Democracy Programming is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
A
Hey
you
down
there
yeah
sitting
on
the
couch.
Do
you
care
about
Vermont
politics,
yeah
I,
don't
either,
but
believe
it
or
not
right
in
there
there's
a
lot
of
people
who
do
every
day
every
stinking
day
they're
making
the
decisions
that
affect
you.
We're
gonna
be
talking
with
these
weirdos
about
everything
they
believe
in
and
how
it
will
affect
us.
The
vermonters.
B
My
name
is
Senator
Martin
loraculic
I
am
a
senator
for
the
District
of
Chittenden
Central,
which
is
Burlington
when
you
ski
Essex
and
a
small
part
of
Colchester
and
I
should
say
the
city
of
Essex,
as
well
as
the
city
of
Essex
Junction
and
the
town
I
am
on
two
committees:
I
am
on
Health
and
Welfare,
and
Senate
education
in
Health
and
Welfare.
We've
been
doing.
We've
been
writing
a
lot
of
bills.
B
A
B
B
A
B
That's
such
a
great
question:
I
think
you
should
care
because
it
affects
your
lives,
sometimes
directly,
for
example
with
a
flavored
tobacco
bill.
That
is
something
that
will
have
a
direct
impact
on
your
life,
hopefully
in
a
positive
and
a
good
way,
but
there's
a
whole
host
of
bills.
That
will
affect
you,
if
not
right
now,
this
minute
than
as
you
age
and
you
know,
as
as
you
grow
up
and
and
start
buying
houses
and
or
renting
apartments
and
so
on
and
so
forth.
It's
really
really
important.
B
Is
a
great
question:
I'll
give
you
a
couple
examples:
we
actually
have
a
senior
from
Spalding
High
School,
who
is
our
committee
assistant,
so
he's
using
the
flexible
Pathways
program
that
the
state
has
put
together
for
students
and
he's
spending
Tuesday
through
Friday
here
in
the
State
House
working
in
our
committee?
He
goes
to
school
on
Mondays,
but
that's
like
an
incredible
program.
Younger
folks
can
be
Pages
for
a
portion
of
the
session
and
they
are,
you
know,
very
active
in
helping
us
when
we're
on
the
floor.
B
B
We
just
voted
on
it.
As
you
know,
it
started
in
the
house
and
sorry
it
started
in
the
Senate.
Then
it
went
to
the
house
and
now
back
to
the
Senate
today
with
some
amendments,
but
I
did
vote
Yes
on
it.
It
is
as
some
of
us
like
to
say
it's
not
a
perfect
bill,
but
we
feel
that
it
is
taking
us
in
the
right
direction.
B
C
Sure
I'm,
a
lobbyist,
I
work
for
a
firm,
called
The
Crossing
group,
and
we
have
about
40
different
clients
that
we
represent
here.
We've
been
working
on,
gun,
violence,
prevention,
we've
been
working
on
universal
child
care,
been
working
on
some
Solid
Waste
bills,
household
hazardous
waste
and
the
bottle
bill
been
working
on
some
smaller
kind
of
not
as
exciting
bills
related
to
health
care,
some
labor
bills
in
support
of
labor
unions.
Another
big
one
we've
been
working
on
is
around
school
funding.
C
Been
doing
this
for
about
30
years,
so
you
know
it's
about
building
a
coalition
of
lawmakers.
It's
about
getting
Grassroots
support.
You
know
you
have
to
get
all
your
ducks
in
the
line
and
making
sure
that
the
people
in
the
community
support
it
that
you
have
support
in
this
building.
That
leadership
supports
it.
Ideally,
the
administration
supports
it.
So
it's
a
lot
of
that
work
that
we
do
before
the
legislature.
It
convenes
so
that
once
they're
all
here,
we
can
move
our
issues
forward.
C
C
He
hasn't
vetoed
it
yet
because
it
just
passed,
the
Senate
type
is
going
to
veto.
It
he's
been
clear
that
he's
going
to
veto
it.
It's
a
little
bit
frustrating
because
I'm
not
sure
that
the
reason
that
he's
been
giving
I
think
is
kind
of
splitting
hairs.
The
the
bill
will
the
the
clean
heat
standard
will
be
coming
back
to
the
legislature
for
review,
and
that
seems,
like
that's
been.
His
big
concern
and
I
feel
like
the
legislation
is
passing
today
addresses
his
concern.
C
Well,
not
a
lot
has
passed
yet
a
lot
is
moving
forward,
but
one
bill
that
I
worked
on
that
just
passed.
That
probably
not
a
lot
of
younger
people
would
care
about,
but
it
would
I
work
on
end
of
life,
choice
issues,
something
called
death
of
dignity
or
allowing
people
that
are
terminally
ill
to
hasten
their
death
by
taking
medication,
and
we
just
passed
a
law
and
the
governor
is
probably
going
to
sign
it
next
week
that
would
open
up
the
law
to
people
that
don't
live
in
Vermont.
C
So
that
was
a
big
deal.
I
think
you
know
other
laws
that
are
moving
through
the
process.
A
couple
bills
that
are
moving
through
the
process
and
the
governor
is
likely
to
sign,
protect
Healthcare,
Providers
and
patients
that
are
getting
reproductive,
hair
and
care
and
gender
affirming
care
and
those
are
really
important
and
those
are
going
to
have
a
big
impact
and
it
makes
Vermont
a
really
safe
place
for
people
that
need
gender,
affirming
care
and
health
care
and
group.
Productive,
Health,
Care.
C
I
think
the
pandemic
was
really
hard
and
it
was
tiring
in
2020
when
the
pandemic
hit,
the
legislature
met
remotely
and
they
met
until
like
September
and
usually
we're
out
of
here
in
May.
So
it
was
exhausting
and,
and
the
pay
is
very
bad,
so
I
think
some
of
it
was
natural
retirement
people
that
had
been
around
a
long
time
and
other.
It
was
just
I.
C
Think
people
were
just
exhausted
and
there's
also
been
a
lot
of
effort
like
through
organizations
like
emerge
and
other
to
train
Young,
new,
younger
people
to
become
lawmakers,
and
so
that
energizes
people.
So
a
lot
of
people
ran
and
I.
Think
that's
probably
I
mean
that
turnover
wasn't
hugely
unusual,
but
it
was
by
magnitude
more
than
usual,
but
there's
always
some
amount
of
turnover.
C
C
Because
there's
a
lot
of
things
that
go
on
in
this
building
that
impact
people,
whether
it's
the
budget,
which
is
funding
of
schools,
School
meals,
funding
of
school
construction,
whether
it's
roads
and
bridges.
You
know
all
that
comes
through
the
budget,
there's
also
laws
that
are
passed
every
day.
That
impact
you
know
your
ability
to
to
fight
for
your
for
fair
wages
and
to
to
be
protected
against
discrimination
like
there's
all
kinds
of
things
that
are
going
on
in
this
building
that
impact
people
regularly
addressing
climate
change.
D
Absolutely
lots
of
challenges,
so
we
have
limited
funds.
We
are
statutorily
required
to
pass
a
balanced
budget.
So
if
we
take
money
from
one
pot
so
to
speak,
we
have
to
put
it
into
another.
So
in
order
to
have
money
for
one
pot,
we
have
to
take
it
from
one.
So
that's
a
challenge.
Also,
a
challenge
is
working
across
party
lines.
Certain
people
have
certain
mindsets
that
they
have
things
that
they're
trying
to
accomplish
that.
Maybe
they've
promised
their
constituents,
or
maybe
they
have
promised
other
legislators
that
they
would
work
with
them
on
certain
things.
D
So
recently,
we've
been
working
on
some
bills
to
help
towns
amend
their
Charters,
which
I
believe
Essex
was
one
of
them
that
we
recently
passed,
and
that
goes
to
the
voters
of
the
Town
first
and
if
they
vote
to
change
the
charter,
which
is
what
their
Town
operates
by
the
set
of
rules
that
their
Town
operates
by.
If
they
vote
to
do
that,
then
they
get
to
bring
the
bill
to
us
in
the
legislature
and
we
help
them
create
whatever
change
or
Amendment.
It
is
that
they
want
recently.
A
D
I'm,
actually
not
in
favor
of
the
clean
heat
standard
for
a
number
of
reasons
and
the
primary
one
being
is
that
all
fiscal
analysis?
All
financial
analysis
seems
to
point
to
that
right
now
in,
at
least
in
the
very
beginning,
it's
going
to
really
hit
vermonters
hard
in
their
pocketbooks,
particularly
up
where
I
live,
which
is
in
the
northern
part
of
the
state,
where
it's
extremely
cold.
D
Even
the
cold
climate
heat
pumps
aren't
working
great
in
my
area.
There
are
a
lot
of
folks
who
are
on
fixed
incomes,
that
I'm
afraid
for
them
that
they're
not
going
to
be
able
to
afford
these
retrofits
of
their
heating
systems
or
the
price
of
electricity,
which
only
seems
to
go
up.
It
does
not
have
a
downward
trajectory.
D
I
think
I
think
the
people
who
have
voted
this
in
which
was
a
majority
of
folks
here
in
this
building,
I,
think
that
they
are
convinced
that
this
is
going
to
be
the
way
to
stop
climate
change
and
to
bring
Vermont
to
a
higher
standard
of
reducing
carbon
emissions
greenhouse
gas
emissions.
It's
a
noble
idea.
D
I
am
sympathetic
to
the
knee
needs
of
folks
who
want
a
higher
income.
Need
a
higher
income
need
some
benefits,
but
at
this
point,
when
there
are
many
other
people
in
other
areas
of
Vermont
who
need
assistance-
and
we
have
a
limited
budget,
I
really
don't
want
to
raise
our
salaries
at
the
expense
of
other
people
and
I.
Think
I
explained
earlier
the
balanced
budget
thing.
D
A
D
My
gosh,
because
it
affects
you,
it
affects
the
schools
that
you
go
to
the
jobs
that
you
might
get
when
you
graduate.
It
affects
your
family's
lives.
If
any
of
you
need
any
assistance
from
State
agencies,
we're
the
ones
who
control
the
funding.
For
that.
So
I
really
think
that
what
we
do
here
should
be
known
by
all
all
kids
in
school.
E
E
I,
don't
know
if
it's
a
pose
I
think
it's
a
I,
think
that
because
public
schools
are
public,
they're,
transparent,
the
good
and
the
bad
gets
out
there,
the
news
tends
to
only
focus
on
the
bad
and
so
folks
who
are
not
in
schools
on
a
regular
basis.
I
think
can
have
a
sometimes
warped
perception
of
you
know
what
schools
are
like,
of
course,
there's
things
to
improve
and
things
that
go
wrong.
I'm.
E
A
E
Is
that
we
just
further
create
division
in
society,
it
tends
to
be
more
of
a
sort
of
have
and
have-not
of
who
can
access.
That
kind
of
you
know
understands
what
that
what's
out
there,
what
they
might
have
the
right
to
can
navigate
applications
or
campus
visits.
That
kind
of
thing
to
me
doesn't
speak
of,
like
just
public
schools
that
serve
all
kids
I
supported
it
I'll
be
watching
the
sort
of
check
back
process
carefully.
I'm,
not
an
energy
expert
I,
certainly
understand
the
existential
crisis
that
is,
climate
change
and
I
understand.
E
Now
that
doesn't
have
some
kind
of
construction
aid
program,
and
so
the
work
that
the
house
education
committee
did
this
year
was
to
say
we
got
to
do
all
this
stuff
together,
like
you
can't
sort
of
just
do
you
know
check
for
this
one
toxin
at
the
same
time
that
we're
getting
ready
to
hopefully
invest
a
lot
in
public
schools
and
in
improving
some
really
aging
infrastructure.
So
you
know
the
fact
that
the
testing
keeps
moving
forward
and
the
minute
you
find
it
you've
got
to
react.
E
So
all
of
that
is
to
say,
certainly
we
need
healthy
learning
environments
and
our
public
schools
are
really
important,
but
it's
really
important
that
we
do
all
of
this
work
together,
because
we
can't
afford
to
disrupt
students,
learning
we
can't
afford
to
disrupt
schools,
and
we
can't
afford,
as
taxpayers,
to
say
we're
going
to
be
the
only
state
in
the
country.
That's
going
to
search
for
this
toxin
that
we
know
is
out
there
because
we
live
in
a
very
chemical
Laden
world
and
remediate
all
of
it.
E
E
This
fall
about
all
the
needs
in
every
single
school
and
we
know
it's
going
to
be
huge
and
and
they're
going
to
take
that
information
and
sit
down
and
make
strategic
decisions
around
okay.
So
how
do
we
move
forward?
Obviously
we
can't
do
everything
thing.
That's
going
to
be
on
that
list.
How
do
we
invest
State
dollars
and
there
will
still
certainly
be
a
lot
of
local
need
and
local
spending
on
facilities.
But
how
do
we
invest
our
state
money?
Are
there
certain
things
that
we
want
to
incentivize?
Do
we
want
to
incentivize?
E
You
know,
schools
of
a
certain
size
and
a
little
bit
more
consolidation.
Do
we
want
to
incentivize
space
for
pre-K
in
allowing
public
pre-K
in
our
schools?
You
know
what
are
what
are
the
biggest
priorities
and
how
can
we
create
a
funding
mechanism?
Perhaps
you
know
it's
a
graduated
tax
credits?
Maybe
it's
a
bonding
thing,
but
how
do
we
create
mechanisms
that
then
kind
of
incentivize,
the
sort
of
building
and
Facilities
work
that
we
hope
to
see
Statewide
and
then?
What
is
that
mechanism
going
to
be
I?
E
Think
the
exciting
thing
right
now
is
that
all
this
work
is
set
to
happen
with
the
treasurer's
office
and
not
just
be
a
little
categorical
grant
that
sits
at
the
agency
of
education.
But
it's
a
really
combined
effort
of
our
agency
of
education
and
our
Treasurer's
Office
who's,
an
expert
on
you
know
the
state
finances
and
bonding
and
that
those
working
together,
I
think
give
us
more
leverage
and
the
ability,
hopefully
to
invest
more
in
our
public
facilities.
E
But
it
will
be
hard
work
because
it's
going
to
be
hundreds
of
millions
of
dollars,
probably
of
deferred
maintenance,
is
what
we
will
find
out
and
obviously
we
will
not
be
able
to
do
that
at
all
and
we
won't
be
able
to
do
it.
You
know
quickly,
so
how
do
you
methodically
make
a
plan
forward?
And
how
do
you
best
use
public
taxpayer
dollars
for
it.
E
Question
in
total,
the
legislature
is
incredibly
hard
working
I,
think
people
are
very
well
intentioned,
I,
I
think
it's
especially
on
the
house
side,
there's
a
very
thorough
committee
process,
and
so,
even
if
you
don't
agree
with
it
in
the
end,
I
do
think
there's
a
opportunity
for
pretty
robust
testimony
and
conversation
before
we
reach
decisions.
I
think
there's,
you
know,
generally
a
will.
Even
those
who
I
disagree
with
on
you
know
policy
of
to
do
what's
best
for
Vermont.
You
know
to
represent
our
communities
to
help
I
hope
see
our
state.
E
F
State
I'm,
a
representative
from
Chittenden
County
I,
represent
the
south
end
of
Burlington
I.
Think
that
the
protections
that
we
have
extended
to
Health
Care
Providers
as
it
relates
to
abortion
and
gender
affirming
care
are
really
really
important.
I
think
that
they're
groundbreaking
nationally
at
a
time
when
we
many
states
are
passing
anti-trans
legislation.
So
those
protections
are
really
important
to
me
in
part,
because
I
have
a
non-binary
kid
and
I,
we
are
advancing
child
care
and
paid
family
leave
very
proud
of
the
paid
family
leave
Bill.
It
is
time.
F
I
can't
believe
that
in
2023,
we're
still
talking
about
that.
I
believe
that
we
have
made
huge
investments
in
housing
which
are
I,
think
can
have
a
really
lasting
impact
on
Vermont's
housing
stock
over
many
years.
So
that's
those
are
the
things
that
really
well
I'm
sorry
and
the
suicide
prevention
bill.
F
A
F
F
I
think
we
need
to
do
I
sit
on
the
Appropriations
Committee,
which
is
responsible
for
coming
up
with
a
budget
for
the
next
fiscal
year.
So
pretty
much
everything
comes
into
our
committee
and
it
makes
it
really
interesting
because
you,
you
know
you
have
a
pretty
broad
view
of
how
all
the
pieces
fit
together
and-
and
it
feels
like
a
lot
of
responsibility
to
make
decisions
about.
Where
are
we
going
to
spend
money
because
that
kind
of
shows
well
where
our
values
are
right?
F
I
think
reflect
a
deep
appreciation
for
and
and
value
of,
the
helping
professions,
so
social
workers
and
teachers
and
the
medical
workers
kind
of
across
the
Spectrum,
because
we
bumped
up
their
Medicaid
reimbursement
rates
significantly
this
year
and
that
will
do
a
lot
detritis
to
stabilize
the
salaries
of
people
who
work
in
those
fields
and
they
have
they've
never
made
enough
and
I
think
that
this
will
make
a
difference.
It's
it's
not!
We!
We
didn't
go
far
enough,
but
I
think
that
we
made
a
statement
about.
F
You
know
people
who
are
really
important
and
doing
incredibly
hard
work
and
are
in
short
supply
in
this
state.
The
Investments
we've
made
in
housing
I
think
reflect
a
belief
that
housing
is
a
human
right
and
we
need
to
make
do
anything
that
we
can
to
make
housing
available
to
people
and
I.
Think
the
Investments
that
we've
made
in
Workforce
Development
reflect
that
we
think
people
should
be
able
to
pursue
their
passions
and
and
get
help
in
accessing
careers.
They
may
not
have
ever
thought
of
those.
F
How
do
you
you
pick
and
you
are
picking
you
know
by
choosing
to
fund
this
and
not
that
and
and
we
work
under
real
time
pressure
because
we're
here
only
for
four
and
a
half
months,
and
so
we
have
to
collapse
a
whole
lot
of
work
into
a
very
short
time
frame.
That's
that's
challenging,
and
it
means
that
we
won't
hear
all
the
testimony
we
need
to.
F
It
means
that
not
everybody
who
needs
to
be
heard
will
be
heard,
and
it
I
think
that,
but
but
given
the
constraints
of
the
fact
that
we're
a
citizen
legislature
we're
not
paid
for
the
days
that
we're
not
sitting
in
these
seats,
you
know
we're
we
we
do
our
best
I
think
to
make
those
kinds
of
choices.
What.
F
I
think
it's
a
really
positive
step
forward.
I
I
think
that
there
are
a
lot
of
guardrails
on
it.
I
know
that
there
are
folks
who
will
disagree
with
me
about
that,
but
I
think
that
that
my
God,
we
owe
it
to
young
people
like
you
to
to
do
more
than
we
are
doing
to
clean
up
the
planet
and
I
think
this
is
a
pretty
I,
think
it's
a
pretty
smart
bill
and
and
has
been
informed
by
so
many
different
people
over
time,
so
I
think
it
has.
A
F
Much
everything
that
we
do
as
an
impact
has
a
ripple
effect
on
communities.
You
know
we
invest
in
housing.
Well,
that
housing
is
built
in
all
of
our
communities
and
regions
of
the
state.
We
you
know
raise
effectively
raise
the
wages
of
people
who
are
working
in
the
field
of
social
work
or
in
the
medical
world.
Well,
you
know
that's
our
aunts
and
uncles
and
neighbors
municipalities.
F
We
see
the
work
of
municipalities,
you
know
like
if,
if,
if
we've
got
potholes
in
our
roads
right,
it's
really
obvious,
we
get
really
mad.
We
call
the
city
council
and
we
try
to
get
action.
You
know
to
fix
that
there
are
all
kinds
of
local
issues
that
I
think
are
kind
of
more
that
touch
us
more
personally,
but
I
think
that
they're
an
awful
lot
of
things
that
we
deal
with
in
here
that
are
that
that
have
an
impact
on
Derby,
vermoner,
I'm
gay.
F
A
Wow
couldn't
imagine
being
those
people
interested
in
Vermont
Politics,
the
issues
that
affect
me
and
you
every
day
could
never
be
me.
Well,
we've
heard
all
of
them
and
their
gobbledygook.
But
now,
let's
listen
to
you.
What
do
you
think
Randy
sitting
there
on
your
couch,
doing
nothing
email?
These
people
tell
them
what
you
think
tell
them
about
their
stinking
politics
and
the
darn
bureaucrats
tell
them
all
of
it
and
have
a
beautiful
day.
Look
up
at
the
clouds.
Go
for
a
hike
quit
your
job.
Do
something
goodbye.