Approved ~~ MJM
MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) Two years after Christine Hallquist ran for governor as the first openly transgender candidate on a major party ballot in Vermont, three transgender women are running for seats in the Statehouse.
Taylor Small, Ember Quinn and Jamie Dufour are all first-time Democratic candidates vying for House seats in this August’s primary election in Winooski, Milton and Manchester, respectively. If any one of them goes on to win in November, they will be the first openly transgender person elected to the Vermont Legislature.
The candidates say Hallquist’s run was inspiring to them as members of the LGBTQ community, paving the way for better representation in the Statehouse for marginalized individuals. But the candidates say what really influenced their immediate decision to campaign was the change they say needs to happen in their own backyards.
“I feel like we, as a progressive state, are typically very ahead of the curve, and this is one where we are recognizing that the voices represented in our Legislature right now are not congruent with the voices that are across the state of Vermont,” said Small.
“It’s important when we, as transgender people, get to hold a position that people look up to and that kids can look up to,” said Quinn.
“I recognize that if it happens, yeah, that would be great, but it’s not about me,” said Dufour.
Right now, New England only has two lawmakers who identify as trans. Gerri Cannon and Lisa Bunker were elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 2018. It was only a few years ago, in 2017, when Virginia elected the first openly transgender person to a U.S. statehouse. Democrat Danica Roem unseated a socially conservative lawmaker in the Virginia House of Delegates.
Small, Quinn and Dufour agree that while they’d be proud to make state history, they’re running primarily to support the communities in which they live.
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