Town Meeting : Letter to the Editor

By Ruth Rin

Does Town Meeting Democratically Reflect Burlington’s Population?
When Town Meeting defeated Articles 9 and 11-13 on September 27th, several groups of Burlington voters have effectively been excluded from participating as Town Meeting Members (TMM).   These Articles provided for remote access -- not only for the TMMs -- but for any town resident.
Town Meeting represents the core of democratic participation here in Burlington, currently in-person only. But in order to allow more inclusivity of residents, remote access, which is as powerful as physical presence, must be implemented.
Listening to TMMs who opposed remote access was indeed sad. Their basic argument was “we attend physically, so should everyone else”, without any acknowledgement that others may have constraints barring physical attendance, nor did they express any empathy for them. Sadly, this “Us and them” mentality is pervasive and is at the core of much political discord. 
In contrast, it was moving to hear the passionate arguments to utilize technology in favor of inclusivity.  Indeed, the vote was close: 38 to 48. I urge readers who favor more inclusivity via online access to contact your TMMs.
Who Is Excluded
The defeat of these Articles excludes residents representing a significant portion of Burlington’s population.  

•    Parents of children needing child-care; 
•    Caregivers for any age person;
•    People with disabilities that prevent indoor attendance 
•    Persons with a communicable illness
•    People traveling for work.
Democracy, under attack these days, is especially important locally. A well-represented citizenry must include the homebound.
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By Ruth Rin, 2023.
Letter to the Editor – published in Daily Times Chronicle, October 11, 2023