CANDIDATE Q & A

My wife and I visited New York City this winter and went to the Brooklyn Heights area to see where they have successfully done high-density residential housing and have low crime and affordable apartments and homes.

Do you think the town has been effective so far in its efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion and what are your thoughts on the importance of this work?

BECKETT: This work is very important. The town, and selectboard, must view everything it does with a diversity, equity and inclusion lens that asks whether a proposed path will have unintended impacts, and on whom.

They’re currently in the process of collecting data on equity issues within the town to see where it can improve from within and where it stands relative to other towns. I think this is a great step in the right direction and I’m curious to see what story the data will tell and what recommendations will be made to continue to make progress.

thing I’ve done professionally since then has been in pursuit of becoming a more equipped public servant.

at IBM and came back to the farm after the cows were sold by my father and built the farm into what it is today.

ISHAM: I love the form-based code for Taft Corners as well as the Official Town Map and believe that the town growth management plan needs to be revised to reflect those important designations. Let’s make change through the many boards and commissions of the town. Let’s respect and work with them and not allow paid lobbyists to dictate town policy.

We need to determine who’s not at the table and have honest conversations about why that may be. To these ends, I support the work of the Williston Community Justice Center and support the town’s racial equity values statement. I know the town is currently working with the Vermont League of Cities and Towns and Abundant Sun as a part of the Welcoming and Engaging Communities cohort.

ISHAM: The town has done a great job with the Community Justice board and the Racial Justice board. Town Manager Erik Wells has sent delegates for specialized training. Police Chief Patrick Foley and Officer Eric Shepard of the police department are doing a great job. The Williston Federated Church has had weekly meetings.

The town has done a great job, is working hard to meet 21st-century demands and I believe will continue to grow as the town grows and meet the demand.

What else would you like voters to know about your candidacy?

BECKETT: I’ve been interested in public service since my AP Government and Politics class at CVU when I was 17. Every-

I want to work on the complicated and thorny issues, problem-solve and hopefully move the needle in a positive direction. This is an opportunity to finally start doing the thing I want to do when I grow up. We can steer Williston’s inevitable growth to appropriate areas of town and into forms that are an improvement to the trends we see occurring today. We can maintain the character of the town we all love. But this will require intentional efforts at responsible growth management. This effort will improve Williston’s quality and the quality of life for our residents. Without that effort, our goals of creating a dynamic, economically vibrant and environmentally sustainable Williston will be left to chance. I want to serve, and I want to help address the issues facing Williston and work to find creative solutions. Vote for me to bring a new energy and fresh perspective to the Williston Selectboard. To learn more about me and my candidacy, visit www.beckettforwilliston. com.

ISHAM: I grew up the eldest son on a family dairy farm. I left the farm for four years of military service and 26 years

I watched my ancestors on the farm always being dynamic and growing the farm as times changed. I learned at an early age to have a vision for the future.

I have been in the barn at Taft Corners when the Blairs were still milking cows where the Mobil station is today. I have seen and felt the town change from a sleepy community to the vibrant community it is today.

Today, the challenge is affordable housing. This must be done with higher density residential housing, not more urban sprawl with million-dollar homes. We must keep our youth that wish to remain here. I learned through the military and corporate world that, to make change, you must also remain a team player.

Jeanne Jensen

Three-year seat Selectboard Uncontested

Describe your personal connection to the Town of Williston.

I am lucky enough to be a long-time resident of Williston, having moved here with my husband David in 1995 when our children were preschoolers.

We found Williston to not only be an amazing place to raise our kids but a welcoming and encouraging place to get involved as adults. The small steps of volunteering to be a Cub Scout den mother and Girl Scout troop leader led to an opportunity to help start a local food shelf; which led to my experience as a founding member, treasurer and then president of the Williston Community Food Shelf.

My interest in getting a sidewalk so our neighborhood children could safely walk to school led to volunteering for the Town’s Rec Path Committee and working with the selectboard to pass a bond that made miles of paths all around town possible.

Volunteering for a Williston Central School parent committee led to my decade-long tenure as a member and chairwoman of the CVU and Supervisory Union school boards. I value a town that is big enough to act as a model for what is possible, while small enough that anyone, even a full-time working parent, can volunteer and make a difference.

Why did you choose to run for a multiyear seat instead of for the seat with one year remaining on its term?

I know from my experience serving on the school board that being the kind of knowledgeable, available and responsive board member I plan to be will take hundreds of hours of work and that it will take more than one year of service to have an impact.

I am very excited to make this three-year commitment to Williston.

A new housing needs assessment for Williston suggests easing or eliminating the town’s growth management system to encourage more housing development. Do you think Williston needs more affordably priced homes and, if so, what strategies do you support to achieve that?

It is clear that there is an acute need for new, affordable housing in Chittenden County, and Williston should continue to be a part of that solution. I find it encouraging that the Housing Needs Assessment report indicates that Williston’s growth management policy is effective at “controlling the location and quality of housing” and points primarily to the pace of construction, which it considers too slow.

I would support a targeted approach to increasing the number of new units being built in the growth center if it can be supported by the town services and funded through sources other than the town’s property tax rate. Do you think the town has been effective

Q & A

so far in its efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion and what are your thoughts on the importance of this work?

The town has made some important first steps towards making Williston a community where everyone feels valued through the work have an obligation to become educated on racial justice matters so we better understand the impact of our actions. of the Williston Community Justice Center and the town’s Racial Equity Values statement.

We need to ensure and expand access to town government and civic engagement for all those living in Williston, but especially those who have been historically marginalized. What else would you like voters to know about your candidacy?

As chief operations officer for the Champlain Valley School District, I was able to be a part of advancing this work in our schools through staffing, education and administrative focus. As people who serve the town, employees and elected and appointed officials, we

While growth in the Taft Corners area will remain a key topic for the selectboard, there are so many other areas that also affect our quality of life in Williston: land conservation, energy policy, the town forest, town parks and recreation opportunities, just to name a few.

Most importantly, as Williston continues to change, we need to find ways to maintain the sense of community that makes it a great place to live.

I look forward to the challenge and to serving the Town of Williston.

Erin Henderson

Three-year seat Champlain Valley School Board

Describe your personal connection to the Town of Williston and the Champlain Valley School District.

My husband and I chose to move our family to Williston 10 years ago because of the schools. My two sons went through Williston Central School and graduated from CVU in 2020 and 2022. My daughter has gone through Allen Brook School, Williston Central School and is currently a sophomore at CVU.

I have volunteered within our schools and community as a 4 Winds parent, the parent rep on Williston schools’ Safety Committee, a Girls on the Run coach, not to mention many house field trips and activities. What do you see as the most important issues facing the district?

To keep up with growth in our towns, we need to provide the necessary resources, such as school buildings, staffing and programs. Allen Brook is an example of where we are seeing more students and not enough classrooms to house them.