Conor Kennedy meets Springfield voters

State Senate hopeful Conor Kennedy of Hartford was in Springfield today gathering signatures to get on the August primary election ballot. Filing deadline is May 26.

www.thevermontstandard.com

www.conorkennedyvt.com

Youth Hope To Win State Senate Seat Posted date: Thursday, April 21, 2016In: NewsNo Comments By Katy Savage, Standard Staff For the past three years, Conor Kennedy, who graduated from Hartland Elementary School and Woodstock Union High School, has worked at Sen. John Campbell’s side, first as an intern and then as Campbell’s assistant. “He proved very quickly that he was one in a hundred thousand people that come along and understand the intricacies, the nuances of government,” Campbell said. Kennedy, 26, currently schedules committees, organizes discussions and is part of the dayto- day Senate operation to keep it running efficiently. Kennedy was a legislative page in eighth grade and interned in Congressman Peter Welch’s office before he started working for Campbell. And Campbell thinks Kennedy would be perfect for his old job. Campbell’s recent announcement that he won’t be running for re-election after 16 years as a Windsor County senator has shaken up a few local races and could infuse some youthful energy into state politics. “It’s something I’ve always been interested in,” said Kennedy. “I See SENATE – Page 6A SENATE From Page 1A think it’s something that I’ve always thought of.” Kennedy’s not the only young politician interested in public service. Becca White, 21, the youngest Hartford select board member and a Democrat, said she’d announce soon. “I come from a background where my family was on assistance growing up…I have a real sense of obligation to give back to the state of Vermont,” said White, who lives in Wilder. Campbell endorsed White when she ran for the Hartford select board seat. “I think there’s been more of a resurgence in young people’s interest in public policy,” Campbell said. “When you see what’s happening on the national level, young people are seeing things they don’t like.” The interested candidates would serve with people more than twice their age, but that doesn’t bother White, who doesn’t think her age should matter. “I think we’re at a transition point in Vermont and we’re about to turn the tide on the issues that have been affecting my generation,” White said. The young interest is a surprise to some. The average senator in Vermont is gray-haired and 64 years old. The oldest senator turns 90 in May. The youngest is 31. “For years we’ve always said we need more young people…nobody had any idea how to do that,” Windsor County Democrats chair Bill Kuch said. “For some reason, all of a sudden in the past couple years all these young people have popped up, which is a great thing.” Whether good or bad, they’d bring a different perspective, Kuch said. “They’re ambitious… and impatient, but that’s a good thing. I think that’s the way young people are,” Kuch said. Not everyone feels the same. Sen. Dick McCormack, now 68, was 41 when he was elected to his Windsor County Senate seat. He was considered young at the time. “I argued very much for new blood, fresh ideas,” he said. “Now I’m much more inclined to argue for experience and wisdom.” AlisonClarkson,60,ofWoodstock, has been a House representative for 12 years. She’s ”seriously considering” running for senator and will make an announcement next week, she said. “I’ve loved serving in the House for 12 years and I’m ready to grow my public service again,” Clarkson said. Clarkson is supportive of the young people interested in politics, which includes her son, but being senator, “I think it requires some experience,” she said. “I think all my time in this building will help me navigate; if I decide to do this,” Clarkson said. Woodstock Police Officer Mark Donka, a Republican from Hartford who has run unsuccessfully for congress, also has an eye on the open senate seat. “An empty seat always attracts a lot of attention,” Kuch said. Windsor County has three senators. There hasn’t been an open seat since Sen. Alice Nitka was elected in 2006. “There’s a lot of pent-up demand,” Kuch said. There are a lot of people who would like to be senator.” May 26 is the candidate’s filing deadline. “The longer I sat in the office, I started thinking about term limits,” said Campbell, who was elected 16 years ago and in 2011, became senate pro tempore. “At a certain point you have to look and say, ‘Are you being as effective you would like someone in that position to be?’“ Campbell, 62, of Quechee, said he felt he’s prevented other interested candidates from running. “I can’t help but think there’s not someone like me sitting away saying, ‘I would really like to serve and I really have a passion about this one issue and I’d like to do it.’ By me or anyone else holding that seat, we’re sort of preventing that,” Campbell said. This article first appeared in the April 14, 2016 edition of the Vermont Standard.