Vermont Democratic Party

As you may have heard, Sunday's Burlington Democratic mayoral caucus was historic.  The turnout was huge, with 1,309 voters casting ballots.   After three rounds of balloting, the caucus ended in a tie between Tim Ashe and Miro Weinberger, with each garnering 540 votes.  The Burlington Democratic Chair and the city’s Democratic executive committee will meet to determine the date and format of a final caucus to be held within the next month.  We will keep you updated as that process moves forward. 

State Street News
Governor Shumlin and a bipartisan group of northern governors joined together to call upon Congress to increase funding for low income heating assistance this winter.  The program faces a 50% reduction and the governors fear that those cuts may be devastating to many families who rely on the program to heat their homes in the winter. 

Governor Shumlin was named “Green Governor of the Year” by Opportunity Green, a sustainable business group.

VtDigger profiled the five members of the Green Mountain Care Board, which has begun meeting to develop Vermont’s move towards single-payer healthcare.  You can read the profiles here.

House Speaker Shap Smith and Senate President Pro-Tempore John Campbell called the legislature to Montpelier for an informational briefing on the state's Irene clean-up efforts and the other important issues the General Assembly will take up when its returns in January. 

Vermont’s Congressional Delegation
The Senate Judiciary Committee, led by Senator Leahy, voted 10-8 (along party lines) to move the Respect for Marriage Act out of the committee and to the floor of the Senate. 

Senator Leahy wrote an editorial piece discussing the need to focus on transportation and infrastructure repair in the wake of Irene. 

In a big win for the environment, the Obama administration last week put the brakes on a proposed oil pipeline from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.  Congressman Welch and Senator Sanders led opposition in Congress to the Tar Sands pipeline project.

Last week, Congressman Welch made his fourth trip to Afghanistan where he met with Vermont soldiers, military commanders, and USAID workers.  Welch is part of a bipartisan coalition in the House working to bring an end to this 10-year-old war.  On this trip, he observed a marked change in the outlook of commanders. Instead of a implementing policy geared towards escalating the U.S. presence, commanders now appear to be focused on transitioning operational capacity to the Afghan security forces.

-Jake