Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship
WINOOSKI — While they are unopposed in the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 3, both candidates for Winooski’s two-seat district in the Vermont House are still engaging voters on issues they believe are crucial.
Rep. Daisy Berbeco, D, is seeking her third two-year term in the House, while Matt Gile, P/D, is running for his first term. Rep. Chloe Tomlinson, P/D, currently holds the seat and is not running for reelection.
Winooski residents can vote for the Chittenden-21 District race and other statewide and county offices from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Winooski Senior Center on Barlow Street. Because of the late date, those with mail-in ballots should drop them off in person at the City Clerk’s Office.
Daisy Berbeco is running for her third term as Vermont State Representative. Photo courtesy of Daisy Berbeco.
Berbeco, 47, has a background in global health and grew up in Alaska. She moved to Winooski in 2019 after spending two years working on the Hopi Reservation in Arizona.
Berbeco says her top priority is health, specifically issues around mental health and substance use and housing.
“People have (been) struggling to make ends meet, just for basic necessities like food and putting a roof over their heads,” she said. “As a renter myself and a single parent, I understand those challenges really well … so I feel more prepared than I ever have to find solutions to those problems.”
As vice chair of the House Committee on Health Care, Berbeco will focus on addressing those challenges over the next two years. She said the best way to do that is to address health care costs.
“The cost of healthcare impacts property taxes, [which] impacts the cost of our rent … and all of that impacts the cost of groceries as well,” Berbeco said.
She said her primary focus is universal primary care, and in her role as chair earlier this year, Berbeco helped guide the way to enactment of Act 173. That measure expresses the Legislature’s intent to establish universal primary care, laying the groundwork for progress toward such a plan.
According to Berbeco, Act 173 is the “biggest way” to have a positive impact for Vermont and hospital reform. It also reduces the cost of primary care services, she said.
Berbeco has also been partnering with the Office of Professional Regulation to ensure there are no unintended barriers for people looking for careers as mental health professionals in Vermont.
In previous terms, she worked on policies to reduce prescription drug costs, including a requirement that manufacturers provide outpatient drugs at a significantly reduced price.
“That was probably … the biggest cost-reduction impact that our legislature’s ever had,” Berbeco said.
After studying science and international development at the University of Sussex, Berbeco said she was drawn to Winooski by its diversity and tolerance for differences.
“When you become a parent … you see your kid in every person,” continued Berbeco. “When I see people attacking trans people and queer kids … I just get incredibly adamant in my responsibility to protect them and protect their rights.”
Berbeco sponsored H.576, which would establish the Affirming Health Care Trust Fund to address costs related to gender-affirming care. She has also defended Vermont’s shield laws, which seek to protect recipients of reproductive and gender-affirming care.
“I think I just got tired of not seeing progress — progress for people who are not in positions of power,” Berbeco said on why she first got involved in politics. “I’m often working with people who are really marginalized and underserved … I got angry about that.”
She said the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic was the tipping point of her frustration. That was when former Winooski Rep. Taylor Small, P/D, suggested Berbeco run for state representative.
“I feel like I’ve been able to channel some of that frustration and anger, and every day I look around and see more and more people who are doing the same,” Berbeco said.
While Berbeco can point to her accomplishments during four years in the Legislature, Gile is setting out to achieve his own if he wins his first term.
According to his website, Gile is focused on supporting immigrants and increasing access to affordable housing.
He aims to help Vermont’s immigrant community, especially the large contingent in Winooski, by guaranteeing access to immigration attorneys. He points to a measure proposed by state Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky, P/D-Chittenden-Central, that would bar ICE agents from wearing masks when carrying out their work.
“I think that’s a pretty fundamental thing,” Gile said. “If we’re going to be defending ourselves against aggressive federal agents, who are often acting illegally — to have them identify themselves so that we can hold them accountable.”
Gile, 42, currently works as a school librarian and is an active union member of both the Winooski and National Education Association. He is also a member of the Winooski Planning Commission, which he says has identified significant gaps in housing affordability and family-sized housing.
“We have a lot of families who love this community and want to stay here, but can’t find a house that fits their family,” he said, adding that providing “robust incentives” for developing housing would be an important step.
Gile would also seek ways to help renters and prospective homeowners.
“[I’ve seen] cases where landlords evicted people so they could renovate the housing, which meant those units are no longer as affordable as they had been,” said Gile.
In 2023, Winooski residents voted on a charter change on just-cause eviction, which would require a landlord to provide a specific reason and documentation for evicting a tenant. The Legislature has not yet approved the charter change, and Gile said he hopes to change that as a representative.
Gile has also been involved with the Vermont “Healthcare is a Human Right” campaign led by the Vermont Workers’ Center, which has been pushing for universal healthcare in Vermont.
He said universal primary care is the most feasible action for Vermont to take, and could be implemented with increased taxes on the wealthiest 5% of Vermonters.
Universal primary care would support “a huge gap in our healthcare system,” Gile said.
The first-time candidate said he has had a “slow entry” into politics, but his background as a union member and work with the Winooski school district propelled him forward in his political career.
“We have a really amazing, (active and) engaged group of students, (which) has been so inspiring,” said Gile.