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Hey Folks! Will be updating this site very soon. So stay tuned.
Happy post-election Day!

I know last night was a tough one at the national level, but the news is not all bad. We did lose both top-of-the-ticket seats in Vermont, and face two years of Governor Douglas and Lt. Governor Dubie. The Governor's race was close-- within 3%. The Lt. Governor's race was a three-way race. Although a strong majority of Vermonters voted for either the Progressive or the Democrat, Dubie got the plurality of the votes.
Now for the good news. We're thrilled to announce that in the legislative races, where VCU and VFFF focused the bulk of our energies, the news is downright exciting!
On the Senate side, we held on to all of the pro-civil union seats that were at risk, and then picked up three new friends, bringing the pro-civil union majority in the Senate to 20-10 (and the Democratic majority to 19-11). Mark MacDonald, who lost his seat in 2000 in the anti-civil union backlash, won by a healthy margin in Orange County, newcomer Claire Ayer knocked off fiercely anti-gay rights Senator Tom Bahre in Addison County, and newcomer Don Collins picked up an open, formerly-Republican seat in Franklin County. We're disappointed that our longtime loyal ally Judy Murphy didn't quite pull it out in Bennington, but she ran a great race that we can all be proud of, and she made a great showing!
On the House side, the news is equally inspiring. Although we suffered some disappointing losses (such as civil union supporter Cheryl Hooker, the lone voice for equal rights in the entire Rutland County House and Senate delegations last biennium, and Donny Osman, loyal friend from the Plainfield-Calais-Marshfield district), in all, we picked up many more pro-civil union seats than we lost. Perhaps the most exciting pickup is the Grand Isle seat won by Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force coordinator Mitzi Johnson. Way to go, Mitzi! The dust is still settling, so we don't have exact numbers, but it appears that 74 Republicans won House seats, and that the total of Democrats, Progressives, and Independents is 76. That means there's a very good chance-- to the surprise of the pundits-- that leadership of the House will pass back to the Democrats. Not all Democrats are pro civil union, and we still have some allies on the Republican side of the aisle, but last session the Republican leadership worked hard to pass a bill to gut civil unions, so the possible transfer of leadership bodes well.
More news as we can clarify the situation. For now, though, we feel safe predicting that civil unions are secure for the next two years, and perhaps once and for all! Thanks so much to everyone who contributed so much-- time and money-- to make this possible!
Cheers!
Beth Robinson Susan Murray Jakki Flanagan
Jakki Flanagan Vermonters for Civil Unions P.O. Box 1574 Montpelier, VT 05601 www.vtcivilunionpac.org (802)899-2930 jakki@sover.net

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