photo: Lauren Hierl (executive director, Vermont Natural Resources), Justin Marsh (political director, Vermont Conservation Voters), and U.S. Representative Becca Balint (D-VT-At Large) in the Vermont State House in February 2023. Photo by Ben Sarle.
Happy new year! A new year – just like a new month, a new week, or a new day – is a great opportunity to set intentions for a fresh chapter; a beginning or a reset.
In December, I had the pleasure of interviewing Congresswoman Becca Balint (D-Vermont-AL) for the Democracy Dispatch podcast. As avid listeners may know, she was high on my wish list of guests to interview. Last year in my interview with VPIRG’s Jordan Heiden, we set that intention verbally, and now it has happened. My interview with her kicks off the new, fourth season of Democracy Dispatch.
As an organization, so much of our work is bound to Montpelier not Washington D.C. But not because it has to be that way. Several other League of Conservation Voters (LCV) affiliate organizations around the country are constantly lobbying their congressional delegation to vote with the environment and democracy. Here in Vermont, our delegation is rock solid. Senator Welch and Senator Sanders have lifetime voting scores from LCV in the 90% range, and Rep. Balint has a 99%. That’s the sort of consistency that other states dream of having.
It’s good to have fighters in Washington right now and Rep. Balint has been fearlessly outspoken in her time in D.C. We shouldn’t be surprised. Her track record as a state senator and Senate Pro Tempore was flawless. No seriously: 100% score after five terms in the Senate – there’s no room for improvement there.
While things here at home seem a heck of a lot better than in our nation’s capitol, the stark reality is that there are far too many similarities right now that we should be concerned about as environmentalists and supporters of civil liberties and democracy. A lot of the federal legislative measures like the SPEED Act and the PERMIT Act, which she criticized for prioritizing rapid development over environmental protections, are the same tactics being deployed by Governor Scott and his executive order from September. She argued that these proposals could strip away necessary oversight, stating, “I think it is short-sighted to believe that we can’t have both [development and environmental protection]. It shouldn’t be about making a quick buck.”
Rep. Balint and I cram a lot into our conversation together, discussing her experiences in the Vermont Senate, her commitment to environmental stewardship, and the challenges facing democracy and climate progress today. But knowing that this interview would be released at the start of the new year, I had to take the opportunity to ask her about her own intention-setting. Click here to hear what she had to say.
Today, I hope you take the time to set some intentions. Perhaps it’s to spend more time in the wild. Or it’s to be more present with your family or friends. Maybe your intention is to listen to my conversation with Rep. Balint (a solid move). Whatever it ends up as, being more mindful of our actions and impact is timeless practice.
Justin Marsh, Political Director
Vermont Conservation Voters
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