LGBQT Forum

Susan poses with Amber LeMay at the LGBQT Forum July 19

Photo and edited text below from http://houseoflemay.blog-city.com/glbtvt_gubernatorial_forum.htm 

On Monday, July 19, the five candidates running for the Democrat nomination for Governor met in a forum addressing GLBT issues. Those present walked away feeling that any of the five would be a great ally as governor.

We, as the League of Drag Queen Voters, were present and were pleased to pose with each of the candidates (see below). We also presented them with a pin that several wore during the the event.  We'll be looking for them during this weekend's Pride events, too! 

Tuesday in the North East Kingdom

Yesterday Susan and I traveled to the NEK to meet people and talk to them to see how business was, and what they were concerned about. The first stop of the day was at the St.

Johnsbury senior center, where we stopped in to have lunch. It was a really nice place, and we were given a very warm reception as we talked to all of them about the challenges and problems they face from day to day.

After lunch we started around St Johnsbury talking to businesses and residents, and from Aquarealm to town clerk, we told them about the campaign, and they told us what was concerning them. We stopped at a little cafe in St Johnsbury for cold drinks, and once we were done we were back in the cars and off to Lyndonville.

In Lyndonville we met a great deal of the business community as we fought the heat (and common sense). It was well worth the trip however, as we met everybody from the pharmacists who had a little bit of everything in their store, to a woman who just bought a fabric store, and was starting to become successful because of all of the sales she made online.

After touring downtown we continued our quest for the perfect ice cream in Vermont at Carmans in Lyndon. Neither me or Susan was in the mood for a creemie, and we both went for cookie dough which was fantastic at 5pm. We saw a clock downtown display the temperature, it was still 93 degrees.

After Lyndon we traveled to East Burke to a house party that a friend of Susan's was hosting for her. Suzanne Masland was a very nice woman who had clearly been friends with Susan for a very long time. I had a burger Suzanne made (delicious), and helped set up. Soon other people started to show up.

The great thing about house parties is that they are so simple for me. Susan loves to talk to people, and she loves to make a connection and really get to the root of what people are thinking, and wants to know how she can help Vermonters. If you put her in a room full of people who are there to discuss exactly those issues with her, there is really nothing else that needs to be done.

I headed out probably a half hour before everybody else did, went for a swim above the waterfall in East Burke, and headed down to Bradford to visit my girlfriend. It was a long day, but a very successful one for Team Bartlett.

Andrew Desmarais.

Fourth of July Weekend

Fourth of July weekend is always a fantastic time for our country, and Team Bartlett geared up for a busy weekend with parades in Bristol and Brandon Saturday, as well as saying hi to people around the Montpelier parade, even if we were not actually in it. I missed this entire day as the Fourth of July in my family means gathering with the extended family in Chicopee, Massachusetts. It was the 85th annual celebration on the 3rd of July, and Susan had enough support that thankfully I could miss being in the parades and go see my family.

Saturday I arrived in Richmond real early to try and find a good parking spot and get to the gathering point for everyone in the parade before the crowd did. I failed on both accounts. I arrived and saw Eammon and his Girlfriend already waiting in line. John Bauer arrived shortly after, and Susan having parked at the end of the parade route arrived later. The parade started on time, and was well organized, but even at 9:45 it felt around 110 degrees in the shade. There were a lot of people who attended who seemed to be fans of Susan, which was great as Susan talked to people and I handed out literature. We got to the end of the parade and we were all dying of heat but Eammon, his girlfriend, myself, and Susan jumped in the car to head for the Colchester parade.

At the Colchester parade we were way back in a huge line, and waited for probably about a hour before we actually started to move. It was fine with all of us - they were handing out free food in the church by the parade route, and all four of us enjoyed hot dogs. The parade was incredibly well organized, but it was very slow moving. It was great for Susan and myself to get some time to talk to everybody in the crowd, however we were all wishing we could do this in 75 degree weather. It was a really long parade, almost 2 miles long but people were cheerful and it made all of us happy to see everybody. After the parade was done, we all walked back to the car and headed back to Richmond. When we got back to Richmond we all went in for Switchback beers at the Toscano Cafe Bistro, and they were exactly what the doctor ordered.

On Monday, Susan was at the parade in Morrisville, but we were given the day off because it was her home town parade, and she had more volunteers than she knew what to do with. I was not going to argue with a Monday off, and spent the day swimming with my girlfriend, another great weekend for Team Bartlett.

Andrew Desmarais

Weekend Schedule for Independence Day

Come join Susan and the Bartlett team across Vermont this weekend to celebrate Independence Day and have a great time with our fellow Vermonters! We will be at all of the following parades and celebrations throughout the weekend:

-On Saturday, find us at independence parades in Bristol, Brandon, and Montpelier

-Sunday, we will be at parades and events in Richmond and Colchester

-To finish it off on Monday, Susan and company will be in Morristown

*Hope to see everybody there!

6/20 St. Albans & Alburgh

This week in the Bartlett campaign has been particularly exciting. Susan and I traveled to St. Albans and spoke with many business and community leaders there, who voiced varied concerns about the possibility of a Wal-Mart close by. St. Albans and the business community that resides there has been particularly resilient throughout the economic recession, and it was encouraging to see thriving local businesses.

Later that day we traveled to Borderview Farm in Alburg, where I had an exciting opportunity to witness the research and practices of Roger Rainville, who is using sustainable farming practices to conduct research on a variety of matters, including a plot to grow hops for Vermont beer companies such as Rock Art. Roger has between 2,000-3,000 research plots, where he conducts water quality studies as part of the UVM extension.

Perhaps the most exciting part of Roger's farm is that the entire farm runs on biodiesel that Roger processes through canola and sunflower seeds grown right in his farm. Roger has, after cost, been able to make each gallon of biodiesel for $1.70, well below the cost of fossil fuels. Susan has supported Roger through appropriations for the last several years, and farmers like Roger need to be supported to keep Vermont a working, farming landscape.

It's also been so encouraging to talk to Vermonters across the state on the phones and in their towns and see the support for Susan and her campaign for Governor.

6/22 A day in Barre

Yesterday, Susan and I decided to travel around my home town of Barre, and see how the local business’ were doing. We started out at The Wayside on the Barre-Montpelier road, where Susan just got off the phone with our campaign manager, John. Jeb Spaulding had just endorsed Shumlin calling him a moderate, and apparently some in the media had already started predicting that the entire world was going to collapse around the campaign.

Susan and I decided the best way to deal with the oncoming political apocalypse was to go in and eat. Literally as soon as we walked in the door, one of the staff at the Wayside, a woman named Theresa, came over introduced herself and said she was a supporter. I guess she didn’t get the message our campaign was doomed.
After a good meal from the Wayside, we headed out to downtown Barre, and I was happy to have recruited another volunteer.

The first store we stopped at was Boisvert’s, but they were extremely busy so we headed one down to Nelsons Hardware. At Nelsons, Susan met a few people, and we headed down to Poolmart, where we met someone working there who I had gone to high school with. He said he was in the Air Force and was about to drive down to Texas in about a month. Susan and I must have talked to him and the store owner for over a half-hour, about everything from how business was slow, to what to do about the number of ex-convicts in downtown Barre. We stopped at all sorts of places for a education in how businesses are doing in Barre City. Barre Books, Lubianas Bridal and the new Bridal store in town were all doing well which was encouraging. We also had many stores tell us that this year wasn’t great, but they were holding on, and it was better than last summer. I guess with this economy that can be considered good news.

The highlight of the trip was the last two places we stopped at. Susan had never been to the Local Agricultural Community Exchange (LACE) which opened up a few years ago. She was thirsty and so we went in and I had a root beer. We were enjoying good cold soda on a hot day when she pulled out her Blackberry and read the final version of the press release that her and John put together, “ …. Being a moderate is about your approach to finding solutions and building consensus. A moderate bases decisions on information, not ideology and looks for solutions without preconceived ideas” I don’t think anyone who knows Susan would disagree that’s how she is. I thought it was well done.

After LACE, we passed by Studio Place Arts and decided to see what was inside. I am not an artsy person but they have just a fantastic display of all kinds of historical art about the anarchists of Barre. Perhaps it was just my love of history, but it was really cool. On the other floors we saw some beautifully done stain glass windows, and I guess you would call it, 21st century art on skateboards. Arguably most impressive was some of the local art drawn by kids at Barre Town and Barre City Elementary school. As someone who still struggles with stick-figures, I could not believe how talented some 4th-8th graders were.

Andrew Desmarais
Deputy Field Director
Susan Bartlett Campaign

6/18 in Rutland

This past Friday, Susan and I left for a day in Rutland starting out at 7 am. At 8 we met with the Creative Economy Committee briefly on the new bike path that was going through Rutland. It was clear that while it was only going to be 2 miles long, they had put a great deal of effort into it, and it was going to be very well done. I then accompanied Susan to meet Marli Rupe of the Natural Resource Conservation District over lunch. The two women talked, while I ate and watched the soccer game. I called it a successful event.

At 9:30 we went to meet Mark Foley Jr and Mr. Louras - the mayor of Rutland. We discussed the city, ideas how to make it better, and the ever present problem of what to do about the large population of ex-criminals who are in Rutland and my home town of Barre.

At around 11 we went off to meet Jim Sabataso who belongs to Sustainable Rutland, at a little coffee shop. The thing about the conversation that really caught my ear was the block parties that Rutland throws every Friday night in the downtown. It seemed like a really fun, good idea, and exactly what more places in Vermont need on the weekends.

After meeting Jim we went off to eat at a restaurant called Table 24, which had a very tasty BLT. I also found out the USA soccer team came back to tie Slovenia. Awesome. After lunch we said good-bye to our hosts, and went off to get creemies in downtown Rutland. It was a great day for Team Bartlett.

6/19 in Franklin County

I spent a really interesting and exciting day up in Highgate on a farm that is producing all of their own biodiesal from sunflower seeds they grow themselves. The by product of the pressing to get the oil is a high quality feed that they use for their calves and they don't have to buy any grain for them now. The biodiesal is also $1 a gallon cheaper than they can buy it from the private sector. Talk about a win win for the farmer, the environment and the land!

I have helped fund these projects as Chair of Appropriations and it is really exciting to see the rapid development of alternative energy. I sincerely believe that Vermont can lead the way to showing that we can radically reduce our carbon footprint and make the land a better place.

-Susan