Becca Balint for Vermont

Becca Balint is thoughtful, gets things done, and embraces difference rather than opposition.

Becca Balint will represent Vermont well in the US House of Representatives.

Becca is thoughtful.

I was a beneficiary of Becca’s thoughtfulness on a visit to the Statehouse. I was heading into the cloakroom as Becca was hurrying out. But she stopped, greeted me and asked what brought me to Montpelier. When we parted, Becca warned, “Don’t leave your car keys in your pocket in case someone mistakes your coat for theirs!” The cloakroom was stuffed with Vermont winter wear. It would be easy for someone to grab my black parka thinking it was theirs.

I’ve also witnessed Becca’s thoughtfulness as a legislator. As Newfane Town Moderator, I invite members of the Windham County delegation to Town Meeting. The years that Becca comes, I’m always impressed by how clearly she articulates complex issues, like how to move beyond acknowledging the desperate shortage of affordable housing in Vermont by explaining the ways she’s working in the Senate to make more affordable housing available. I was again impressed when Becca turned down my invitation to come to Newfane’s Town Meeting. “I have to get to all the towns in the county,” she said.

Becca gets things done.

Becca has been serving Windham County since 2015. In both her second and third terms, Becca became Senate Majority Leader, a position she used to ensure the votes needed to increase affordable housing, raise the minimum wage for low-wage workers, and protect reproductive freedom for Vermonters. Now, in her fourth term, Becca is Senate president pro tempore, overseeing the Senate’s legislative agenda to pass legislation that benefits those of us lucky enough to live in Vermont. Becca’s concerns are our concerns: consumer protections, workforce training, assistance for small businesses, climate justice, and equal protection under the law for everyone.

Becca gets all this done without name-calling or calling attention to herself. Even if she had the inclination toward self-aggrandizement, she doesn’t have the time. In addition to all the legislative work she does as a Senator, including chairing two of the five committees she serves on and guiding the Senate as president pro tempore, Becca is also a wife and mother, a runner, a singer, and a writer par excellence.

Becca embraces difference rather than opposition.

I know Becca best through her weekly columns in the local paper. Becca writes about political theory, social psychology and other wonky subjects with clarity and grace. These are the sorts of subjects that usually make my eyes glaze over, but Becca makes them personal, meaningful and humane. And when she’s writing about something controversial, she writes with nuance. Her columns are inclusive and thought provoking. I so admire how she shows us how it’s possible to have differing opinions, not just opposing ones. Sending Becca to Washington won’t just be good for Vermont, it will be good for the nation.

Want to know more about Becca Balint?

• Watch this video
• Read about the work Becca has accomplished in the Vermont Senate
• Read about Becca, who believes the best thoughts are not always from the loudest voices
• Read Becca in the news