The votes are in and I’m grateful to voters in the new Windham-2 District for electing me, by a margin of 1068-454, to a 5th term to represent our interests in the Vermont House. Thank you to the voters in Jamaica and Stratton for entrusting me to work as your new representative.

It is good for the voters to have choices and elections are an opportunity for elected officials to be assessed on their performance. I’m proud of the support my work on broadband, climate change adaptation and rural resilience received in yesterday’s vote counts. In rural Vermont, these are daunting issues and communities have limited capacity to address them – continuing to focus on helping our rural communities adapt and thrive will be a major focus of my efforts in the next biennium.

My number one job is to help you connect with your government, to bring your ideas and concerns forward, to explain what issues are before the legislature and my rationale for how I vote on key policies. I’ve heard over and over that voters in and out of our district really appreciate the regular communications I send out and I plan to continue doing that in the upcoming biennium. If you’d like to be on my distribution list you can sign up at http://www.laurasibiliavt.com

Congratulations to Tristan Roberts on his election to the Wilmington, Whitingham, Halifax seat. I appreciate how hard Tristan worked and how often he communicated with the people in our Valley and I look forward to continuing to collaborate with Valley legislators on issues of importance to our towns.

Windham County has two new Senators-elect, Nader Hashim of Dummerston and Wendy Harrison of Brattleboro. I have found both to be sincerely interested in working on the challenges our communities face and I look forward to working with them. Please give them a chance to know and represent your towns and issues and invite them to your community events and meetings.

As always, if you have suggestions, concerns or critiques please be in touch so we can schedule time to discuss. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need assistance navigating government services at (802) 384-0233 or lsibilia@leg.state.vt.us. Follow my regular posts online at http://www.laurasibiliavt.com

Rep. Laura Sibilia – Dover, Jamaica, Somerset, Stratton, Wardsboro