Sorrow Under the Gold Dome
Life under the Gold Dome can sometimes become heated as we all try to work for the good of the state. I think I can safely say most of us want what is good for the state and its people, it’s just that we don’t always agree about how to best do that.
There is also another side of life under the dome that doesn’t often make the news. As much as legislators can disagree with one another, little of our disagreement becomes personal. Most of the disagreement remains on the topic we’re debating, or an issue we’re trying to work through. We spend so much time together that many of us feel like an extended family made up of Democrats, Independents, Progressives, and Republicans.
This is the Christmas season, a time for merriment and good will, but for many of us who serve in the State House it is also a time to mourn the loss of two of our members. Within a couple days we have lost two members of the House. Representative Ira Trombley of Grand Isle died on December 20. I served with Ira on the House Healthcare Committee. He was a fine man with a dry Vermont wit. Then on December 22 we lost a man who I feel was one of the great statesmen, and one of the most intelligent men, serving in the House – Rick Hube of Londonderry. Both men died of natural causes.
When the State House begins session in a couple weeks, without a doubt we will collectively remember the loss of Ira and Rick, then we’ll move on with doing the business of the state – just what the two men who served their state well would have wanted. But, boy, I’m sure going to miss them.