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Burke defeats Salviani in House race

BRATTLEBORO — Incumbent state Rep. Mollie Burke won in a landslide against newcomer Adam Salviani in Tuesday's voting.

Burke, a Progressive/Democrat, and Salviani, an independent, campaigned to represent Brattleboro's second House district, also known as Windham 2-2.

According to the unofficial results on the Secretary of State's election website, Burke earned 81.82 percent of the votes. Salviani took the remaining 18.18 percent.

Representative Burke was first elected to the House in 2009. She has served on the House Transportation Committee for eight years. She is also the co-chair of the Legislative Women's Caucus, and an active member of the Legislative Climate Caucus.

In addition to her work in the Legislature, Burke is a skating teacher, art teacher, visual artist, and the executive director of Art in the Neighborhood, a nonprofit arts organization.

Burke grew up in Buffalo, N.Y. She studied political science at Marymount College and the London School of Economics. In 2007, Burke earned an MFA from Goddard College. The mother and grandmother has also served as a Representative Town Meeting Member since 1990.

The Windham 2-2 race represented Salviani's first state campaign. A recent transplant to Brattleboro, Salviani chairs the Town Arts Committee. He is an author and small-business owner.

Controversy arose around Salviani after the Brattleboro Reformer printed an article in September outlining complaints from authors against Salviani and his publishing company, Raider Publishing International. Salviani told The Commons in a previous interview that he disputes the article. The Reformer, meanwhile, stands by the piece.

The candidates hadn't responded to requests for comment by press time.

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