For many Vermonters, Iraq is on the ballot

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Towns to Vote on Antiwar Resolution

Vermont's town meetings next week will offer the nation one of the first popular referendums on the Iraq war. In one-fifth of the state's 251 towns, residents on Tuesday will be asked to vote on a resolution that calls upon President Bush to withdraw troops from Iraq and urges the state's elected leaders to reconsider the use of Vermont's National Guard in the war.

By utilizing the time-honored format of New England town meetings, often seen as incubators of democracy, antiwar activists hope to express what they say is a deeply rooted and widening opposition to the war. The state has borne a heavy burden from the Iraq conflict. Vermont has the second-highest per capita rate of reservists called to active duty, after Hawaii. It has also suffered a high casualty rate: 11 service members, from a state with a population of 621,394, have died during active duty.

The balloting is largely a symbolic effort, with the towns' votes having no binding effect. But by utilizing the time-honored format of New England town meetings, often seen as incubators of democracy, antiwar activists hope to express what they say is a deeply rooted and widening opposition to the war. ''The timing is pretty special because there is a real concern about the war that is growing," said Ben Scotch, of Montpelier. ''You can feel it creeping." Scotch was among a handful of Vermonters who mounted a statewide effort to obtain the signatures necessary to place the resolution on town meeting ballots. They succeeded in 52 towns.

Middlebury, a town of about 8,000 residents and home to Middlebury College, is among those that will be voting on the war resolution. Selectmen there initially resisted placing the resolution on the town meeting ballot, saying the war in Iraq was too far afield from local affairs. But they relented when Secretary of State Deborah Markowitz intervened, saying that at least 5 percent of town residents had signed the petition and that the law required the resolution be placed on the ballot. ''Many here wondered how a town meeting could direct something on a national scale," Middlebury Town Manager Bill Finger said. ''But it does send a message that hopefully people are listening to."

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0226-02.htm
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/02/26/for_many_vermonters_iraq_is_on_the_ballot/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+City%2FRegion+News