Vermont State Senate Windham District candidate surveys, 2022

Elections in Vermont, 2022

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On the ballot: U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Governor • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • State ballot measures • Local ballot measures • Municipal

This article shows responses from candidates in the 2022 election for Vermont State Senate Windham District who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

• Click here to see candidates and election results.
• Click here to see Candidate Connection survey responses.

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for Vermont State Senate Windham District (2 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Vermont State Senate Windham District on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Wendy Harrison (D)	34.2	10,968
✔		Nader Hashim (D)	31.2	9,997
		Tim Wessel (Independent)	11.5	3,677
		Richard Morton (R)	10.1	3,249
	Submit photo	Richard Kenyon (R)	9.6	3,082
		Mark Coester (Independent)	3.2	1,036
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	42

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 32,051
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

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Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Wendy Harrison (D)

Climate Change is truly an existential threat. We must be bold, strategic and relentless in our commitment to effective climate action. I support Vermont's Climate Action Plan, which contains specific actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, buildings and other sources. Because of the state and federal incentives, many of the actions required will also financially benefit low-income Vermont families.

Equitable Economic Development: Economic growth must benefit the entire community for the long term. When public funding is used, the benefit to the pubic should be clearly identified. I support compact, walkable and bikable development, predictable permitting, increasing public transit options, and inclusive processes to determine funding.

To address the crippling workforce shortage, I support increased housing at all price points, targeted educational incentives, increased support of childcare and expanded support of construction trade training.

Tim Wessel (Independent)

I’m passionate about creating initiatives and policies that serve the citizens of Vermont. Too often, political perspectives can cloud good public policy decisions. We need to get back to some basics when it comes to serving Vermonters. That means listening to all sides, evaluating options, studying past policy mistakes and then moving forward together. Let’s let go of divisive dogma and find progressive common ground to truly serve ALL Vermonters.

As a parent of a four-year-old during the Covid-19 pandemic, I can tell you that no other single issue has caused more stress to our household of two working parents than the uneven childcare landscape. I am committed to improving early education access in southern Vermont. We need to organize commitments from both government and private sectors to identify barriers to improving this vital need in Windham County.

I have the experience, the patience, and the stamina to dedicate my time to serving my constituents as their independent voice in Montpelier.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Wendy Harrison (D)

Compact communities combined with accessible transit, bicycle and pedestrian-supportive amenities provide benefits far beyond their cost. Transit and bicycles can connect workers to jobs, students to education, friends to each other, non-drivers to everything, and could significantly reduce the 40% of greenhouse gasses generated in Vermont by transportation More rural areas would benefit from electric vehicles, which are currently subsidized by both the state and federal government.

Tim Wessel (Independent)

Child care availability and affordability, increasing housing opportunities for all Vermonters, and expanding the quality of living for those seeking to work and live in our great state of Vermont.

I am also a fierce advocate for local democracy. Throughout my time serving Brattleboro, I have advocated for local towns and villages to have more control over their affairs with less Montpelier-controlled edicts coming from the north.

In 2018 and 2019, I made several trips to Montpelier to advocate for more local control with bills designed to allow experiments in limited ‘Home Rule’ – taking some burden off of the legislature while granting some modest improvements in local control of municipal decisions.

In 2021, I was appointed to the Cannabis Control Board Advisory Committee by the Vermont Senate, to represent the interests of municipalities in legal cannabis concerns, where I continued to advocate for towns’ autonomy when it comes to the safety, zoning and taxation issues of the approaching cannabis marketplace. This experience has made me even more of an advocate for the rights of taxpayers in determining the fate of their own towns and villages.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Tim Wessel (Independent)

I've looked up to many historical figures through the years but I have to say that I most looked up to my father, who served in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam, and was an intelligence officer in the Air Force until he retired as a Colonel right around 1980. We often differed on many political questions once he retired, but I never stopped admiring his commitment to serve - he even served on our local Town Council in New Jersey (similar to the role I hold with the Brattleboro Selectboard now), so I gained from him the belief that involvement in both national and local politics is very important.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Tim Wessel (Independent)

An elected official must be a good listener, and be able to grasp fully the perspective of their constituents, even when they differ greatly from their own. That's the starting point of effective elected service. From there, a good elected official needs the communication skills to be able to articulate their position on an issue and fight for that position passionately. Finally, the ability to respectfully disagree and move forward with the democratic process is essential - this allows policy to move forward and supports a healthy, functioning democracy in the future.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Tim Wessel (Independent)

I'm a good listener and a good neighbor. A good neighbor, who listens, is essentially who I think every public servant should be. I'm someone who can discuss any topic while letting go of some of the emotionally charged rhetoric that can surround many issues. In the end, we may continue to disagree, but we will both be satisfied that we understand one another a little bit better, and mutual respect has increased.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Tim Wessel (Independent)

When I was about 9 years old, I remember attending a big 200 year celebration of 1776 and the founding of our nation. We lived very close to downtown DC at the time, and I remember seeing the Presidential motorcade, lots of fireworks, and meeting some members of Congress but I cannot remember which! Either way, I'm quite sure it helped encourage my early interest in politics, since before I was 13 we would tour the White House and Congress and attend lectures on the Mall there in Washington.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Tim Wessel (Independent)

I believe my very first job was delivering newspapers for an afternoon daily in Ocean City, New Jersey. I probably had that job for about three years.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Tim Wessel (Independent)

Baby Shark. Because I have a four year old. And it gets stuck there at least once a week, until I can hear a good Beatles song again to make it disappear!

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?

Tim Wessel (Independent)

One that respects the separation of powers, and one where policy can move forward in cooperation, for the most part. This is not always possible but it should be a constant goal.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

Tim Wessel (Independent)

It is essential to build relationships, even when (and perhaps especially when) there are clear differences in political philosophies. We are too often stuck in our own "bubble" or sphere of beliefs to take the time to see an issue from the other perspective. But by doing so, we gain an insight that not only helps us see our opponent as more human, but also sharpens our arguments to make our position stronger.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Tim Wessel (Independent)

Compromise is often essential to be able to craft effective and sustainable policy. This does not mean that one must abandon ideals in order to be involved - in fact it is essential that you keep your beliefs intact throughout the messy process of debate and deliberation.

See also

More about these elections:

• Vermont State Senate elections, 2022

Select a district below to read responses from candidates in those races: