Michelle Bos-Lun
Keeping spore
Michelle Bos-Lun is a second-term member of the Vermont House of Representatives, co-representing the Windham-3 district, which includes her hometown of Westminster as well as Rockingham and Brookline. She is a secondary school teacher who also works with individuals experiencing homelessness. Last year, her photo in the "Happy Places" photography project that hung in the State House cafeteria showed her in the woods holding puffball mushrooms.
I could not vote to send thousands back to the streets
With a budget of $8.5 billion to support a myriad of important issues, how could we not include adequate funding to secure a gradual, compassionate transition out of the hotel pandemic housing program?
On May 12, I cast my final vote of the 2023 legislative session. I did so in the Vermont State House, in what is often called “the People's House.” It felt to this legislator like those who work in the “People's House” had not done enough to ensure that...
‘This may be the most important vote I cast this year’
Quick access to guns combined with depression and other forms of mental illness can and does result in tragedy. A House bill intends to save lives.
In 2018, the president at the time was perpetuating stigma and causing fear, blaming mass shootings on people with mental health challenges. At the time, I was a teacher and mental health advocate, and I asked to speak at Putney's March for our Lives rally. I addressed the crowd...
More
Your Town Meeting needs more voices participating for democracy to work
Town Meetings are a New England tradition that enables all voting-eligible residents of a town to learn about and discuss proposals for the coming year. I ask residents of Vermont to take this opportunity to participate in shaping policy on the local level. Budgetary implications and the resulting policy on a wide range of issues are determined at Town Meeting. With decreasing attendance at our Town Meetings, decisions are being made by a smaller and smaller portion of each town.
From green to red on the Covid map
On Oct. 25, I stood with nurses, doctors, fellow legislators, and advocates for those who lack housing at a press conference at the Vermont State House calling on Gov. Phil Scott to do more to protect Vermonters against the rapidly rising rate of COVID-19. The state of emergency has been lifted, but we are still facing a public health crisis. Last week, we had the highest single-day case rate of COVID-19 in Vermont: 591 cases. In a single day! Our...
My breakthrough case
On Aug. 7, Vermont recorded 112 cases of Covid - at the time the highest single-day count since April 29. I was one of those cases. I was also the third person in my household to test positive for Covid with a breakthrough case this past week. All of us were fully vaccinated. (Twenty people who spent time with us during days we were potentially contagious have tested negative - the vaccines are working, with a small number of exceptions).
Justice for people and planet
There has never been a more important election in my lifetime than what we are in the midst of this fall. The future of our nation, our state, and our Supreme Court are all at stake. I decided to run for a seat in the Vermont House of Representatives in 2020, representing Windham-4 - Westminster, Dummerston, and Putney - to work for justice for our people and our planet. Some of our leaders are not working for the benefit of...
‘We are interconnected’
The motto for my campaign is “For People and Planet.” Policies that promote justice and an opportunity for people to thrive, that prioritize sustainability and address climate change, are the heart of my campaign. I am eager to work with other state representatives to increase renewable energy, improve public transit, and keep small Vermont towns viable. So much of our economy is dependent on visitors who come to our state to enjoy its natural beauty. For Vermont's people to thrive,