Imagining Vermont: John McClaughry Commentary

Four months ago the Council on the Future of Vermont released its report, Imagining Vermont: Values and Vision for the Future.

The report culminated an 18‐month, $400,000 process, during which some four thousand Vermonters attended over 100 meetings. Ably written and attractively produced, the report collected and transmitted the ideas and dreams of its participants of the possible Vermont of the future.

It’s not easy to fairly summarize the findings, but here’s an attempt. The Council members heard Vermonters say that, by and large, they wanted a future Vermont with a working landscape, vigorous small industry, renewable energy, public transportation, creative arts, human scale, shared cultural values, affordable housing, excellent education and health care, more secure jobs and higher incomes, a renewed sense of community and, of course, intensified government planning to bring about the desired results.

Whenever a panel of citizens goes forth to hear the voice of the people, they are naturally more likely to hear voices that express their own vision and values. Thus itʹs worth looking at the composition of the council, selected by the Vermont Council for Rural Development.