Vermont towns try to balance open government and the threat of political violence

Vermont’s form of local, participatory government demands open access to our local officials.

It’s in our town offices and open meetings where we debate each other, question our government officials and hopefully move peacefully forward.

But the poisonous political discourse in this country is too often showing up in even our smallest towns, and it threatens open access to our elected leaders.

The town of Strafford this summer had to lock the front door of its town offices and only allow people in by appointment after a resident allegedly threatened the town clerk and some select board members.

Like a lot of small towns in Vermont, the town office is the nerve center of activity in Strafford.

It’s where locals come to pay their taxes, and where visitors pop in to seek out their fami