Three Trans Peeps Running To Become Vermont Legislators

I've been saying for a while now that trans folks need to be on the legislative bodies that the local, state and national level writing the laws instead of being oppressed by them.

There are currently just 27 trans people across the United States who are elected public officials.

Four of them, VA Del Danica Roem,  CO Rep Brianna Titone, and NH Reps  Lisa Bunker and Gerri Cannon are state reps.  Roem made the history back in 2018 of being the first trans rep to be reelected to office.  Titone, the first out trans state rep elected west of the Mississippi River, is trying to replicate in Colorado what Roem accomplished and get reelected o her seat 

Titone faces the woman she beat by 439 votes, Vicki Pyne in a general election rematch.

In Delaware, Sarah McBride is making what she hopes will be a historic run for a state senate seat. 
She does have a Democratic primary opponent, and will need to clear that hurdle before getting to the general election.   If she is successful, she will become the first out trans person ever elected to a state senate seat in the US.

And yes, have to shout out Minneapolis councilmembers Andrea Jenkins and Phillipe Cunningham for being elected and serving together on the Minneapolis City Council.   It is a legislative body that in the wake of the George Floyd murder by cop, is getting more national attention lately for what they have decided to do what the council voted to do with their out of control police department.

Councilmembers Jenkins and Cunningham are n addition to being the first out African American trans people elected to any office and the first elected since Althea Garrison in 1990, are the first trans people ever elected to a large metro city council of over 250K population.

All of that to say that seeing trans people getting elected to office has not only motivated people to think about running for office at all levels of government (yeah I'm seriously considering it) , to actually handling their business and doing it.

In Vermont, three people inspired by Christine Hallquist's 2018 run for governor are stepping up to run in the August Democratic primaries for state rep in their local communities.  If they successfully get out of the primary elections and win in the general, they would become the first out trans folks elected as state legislators in Vermont.

In case you're wondering, the 150 seat Vermont House of Representatives chamber as of this writing has had a Democratic majority since 2004.   It currently stands at 95-43, with seven seats held by the Vermont Progressive  Party and five more by independents

Taylor Small of Winooski, is the health and wellness director of the Pride Center of Vermont.  She is running against incumbent Chittenden 6-7 rep Hal Coston and Jordan Matte in the Dem primary.  Small is focusing her campaign on public health and affordable housing

Ember Quinn is a substitute teacher running in Milton against Emily Hecker in the Democratic primary for the Chittenden 10 seat.   It has a Republican incumbent .Quinn's campaign focus is economic equity and LGBTQ education in public schools

Manchester business owner Jamie Dufour is taking on incumbent Kathleen James and Seth Bongartz for the Bennington 4 seat, and is focusing her on uplifting small business owners like herself.

While each of them would love to make that history, they stated they are in this race to help their potential constituents.   They are all proud trans women, but want voters to focus on the policy and not their trans status.

I hope that all of them win their primaries and the general on November 3 and they get to make that history.  I would love to see them taking the oath of office when the Vermont House convenes in 2021.

Christine Hallquist Attempts To Make More Vermont Trans Electoral History

Four primary elections are happening today in the states of Connecticut, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Vermont.   In addition to seeing what transpires in some races key to who holds control of the US House and Senate, the American trans community's eyes will be on Vermont as another trans candidate attempts to make electoral history. 

Back in 2000, the late Karen Kerin made history in the state by winning the Republican nomination for Vermont's US House seat.  She subsequently got blown out in the general election by Bernie Sanders.

A conservative who was a perennial candidate in the Green Mountain State, Kerin was also the 2008 Republican candidate for attorney general, and lost Republican primary election races for the US House in 2002 and for attorney general in 2006. 

In her last race in 2010, Kerin was making her second run as a Libertarian candidate for Vermont attorney general.  She had previously run as a Libertarian for attorney general in the 2004 election cycle   

Kerin passed away in 2014 at age 69.   

Now as we fast forward to this crucial 2018 election cycle, another Vermont trans person in 62 year old Christine Hallquist has stepped up to run in the Vermont Democratic Party primary race for governor.

Her platform includes Medicare For All, access to better education and more high wage jobs.

The former energy executive is running against three other candidates in James Ehlers, Brenda Sigel and 14 year old high school student Ethan Sonneborn. 

Sonneborn is eligible because Vermont does not require candidates to be of voting age.

If Hallquist wins the nomination, she would make electoral history on two fronts by becoming the first out trans person in the Green Mountain State to win a Democratic primary for any office. 
She would also become the first out trans person nationally to win a major party nomination for governor 

She would also take on the winner of the Republican gubernatorial primary race between incumbent Governor Phil Scott and Keith Stern.

Early voting has already occurred in Vermont, so it will be interesting to see what transpires when the polls close later this evening.


TransGriot Update:  Hallquist did make history!   She won the Democratic primary, and will take on the incumbent Republican governor Phil Scott in the fall.   

Two Perps In Amos Beede Murder Facing Justice

Here's the update in the Amos Beede murder case.

Beede was the trans man killed in a Burlington VT homeless camp back in May 2016.   Five people, Erik Averill, Allison Gee, Myia Barber , Jordan Paul and Amber Dennis were arrested and charged with second degree murder for his death.

In March,  26 year old Allison Gee plead guilty to a reduced charge of aggravated assault in exchange for her testimony against the other four co-defendants.   She will serve five year in prison on a 15 year sentence, and be on indefinite probation for the remaining ten years of it.  If she violates probation, she goes back to jail to serve the remaining ten years of her sentence, 

On September 14  a plea deal was reached with 24 year old Myia Barber, who plead guilty to a reduced charge of involuntary manslaughter for her role in Beede's death.   She hasn't been sentenced yet, but is expected to get 10-15 years in prison.

She was set to go to trial later in September.

Two down, three to go.

RIP Amos Beede

One of the things we don't talk about often enough in Trans World is that trans men also are assaulted and attacked for being themselves, and from time to time they are fatal assaults.

An example of this happened May 22, in which 38 year old trans man Amos Beede, who wasn't homeless, but was staying with friends over the weekend in a homeless encampment in Burlington, VT because the local bus wasn't running.  Beede was viciously assaulted and kicked by four homeless people and suffered blunt force trauma to his brain, facial injuries and several broken ribs in what has been described as a 'possible bias incident'..  

He was taken to the University of Vermont Medical Center where Beede died seven days later as the four suspects in the case immediately fled Vermont in a Chevy Malibu and headed to California    They were briefly detained in Roswell, NM when 21 year old Erik Averill, was arrested and held on accusations of assaulting his intimate partner, 22 year old Myia Barber.

Once Averill was released, the four continued their journey to California, where they were arrested Thursday night at Dog Beach, a San Diego homeless encampment by San Diego PD officers after a nationwide manhunt..

Averill and Barber, 25 year old Alison Gee, and 21 year old Jordan Paul were all arrested and charged with second degree murder and are facing extradition back to Vermont to face the legal music there.

Rest in power and peace Amos.   We will be tracking this case to see if you receive justice.