BRATTLEBORO — The struggle that is at stake in the District 3 race whittles down to a very simple picture.
Kate O'Connor, if she is a Democrat at all or just cloaking herself in the name to capture votes, is well to the right. Her loyalties are quite clearly to the status quo. Her refusal to even mention issues, let alone take a position (rather inappropriate for a legislative candidate), is simply to win over conservative Democrats.
Tristan Toleno leans somewhere slightly to the Democratic left. Toleno is more of a political naïf, and I worry about that for only one reason: He might not have the staying power.
One term is a waste of time. At least two terms (and that isn't really enough) is necessary to become somewhat effective. It takes three or four terms to become fully effective. Toleno doesn't strike me as a career politician. O'Connor is nothing but that.
Nevertheless, I support Toleno because I think he is much more likely, no matter how long he lasts, to support the kind of changes that are desperately needed.
There is always the possibility that once there, he will discover his voice and stay to learn the political skills required for the tremendous challenges.
O'Connor ought to have some political skills in hand but can be expected to use them to block progressive change. Her broken-record appeal to that small minority who can claim a multi-generational local history, as if that imbues stature and desirability, predicts she will seldom if ever vote for the rank and file.
O'Connor is just a proxy. The reader can insert whatever name they wish for whom she proxies.
Toleno clearly recognizes that the status quo is a death sentence for all of us. He might not have all the right answers now and he certainly isn't aware of a fraction of the wide array of important issues that will arise in the statehouse. But like every fresh face, he will listen and learn.
A legislator doesn't get much done in the first term. The rules, the culture, the politics are very complex and often delicate. That's the nature of the job.
Nevertheless, he will be entitled to cast his vote on every matter. I trust that his instincts will generally keep him on the side of justice and a course of sustainability for future Vermonters.
Toleno recognizes that he is going to the state Legislature to deal with the larger health of the state. However, the narrow interests of his own constituency are not unimportant, and he needs to be mindful of them and helpful when he can.
O'Connor sounds as if her primary purpose in the legislature is helping Brattleboreans. That ignores the vital need to see and respond to the big picture.
I'm actually a little surprised that someone who has been around the Statehouse as much as she fails to grasp that every legislator has a hometown. If each were to be primarily intent on using their position and power (which is usually rather limited, anyway) to slather their own district, the body as a whole would be totally paralyzed by selfish bickering.
The purpose of a state government is to serve the interests of all the citizens of the state. The last thing we should want is a candidate with special interests back home. We always find out too late who those interests are.
Toleno gives the impression that he studies issues. That is a hugely important quality. If nothing else, it tells us he's willing to go deep. When one goes deep, one usually tends toward soundness and fairness.
O'Connor's refusal to opine on key issues suggests a suspiciously shallow awareness. Perhaps she doesn't take a position because she has few that would be popular in her district.
That her great-grandfather walked two miles to school and three miles back in the dead of winter carrying on his back his little paraplegic neighbor is all well and good. But in 2012, we have to confront a terrible economy, unaffordable and often unavailable health care, a degrading environment, and a mountain of nuclear waste rotting in our backyard.
O'Connor is undoubtedly a lovely person and few if anyone would say otherwise. She is not, however, the right person for the job of legislator. She does not show the depth, breadth, or independence that can be seen in Toleno.
Toleno just might support single-payer health care (Medicare for everyone). He just might use the power and resources of the state to create jobs. He just might support taxing the wealthy a little more.
He just might stand up and fight.