Changes. I don’t really like changes. Who does? But I am at a point in my life where I have to make them. Some situations have a way to sneak up on you and you wake up one morning asking yourself, “How did I get here?” Take health for instance. I have high blood pressure, cholesterol, and very bad back pain. I am a good boy and I take my medicine every day, but this does not do anything to correct the problem. It just masks it, makes it easier to live with.

So in order to get more positive results, I had to change. I had to redesign and adhere to a more sensible and stringent diet, lose weight, and watch what I was eating when and why. Just so you know, there is nothing worse for a Frenchman than to be on a diet. Food is oh, so important, bread, pastries, cold cuts, more bread, sauces, cakes (my cholesterol is rising just thinking about it). All this is so much a part of our culture, so big in the order of priorities.

Back to changes, they are never easy. They require long and short-term vision. We need to set very obtainable goals and be ambitious enough to make a real difference, if we expect to attain the end result. Immediately we set ourselves on a path of failure and disappointment.

Changes. We hate them. We curse at them. We expect the other guy to do it for us. We don’t really think anything good is worth that much effort. But deep inside we all know that they are probably what we need to do in order to survive, that they are indeed constant and inevitable, and that they require a long-term commitment that we all procrastinate to make.

I still feed myself and still enjoy most food. I have lost weight and feel better, and once in awhile I indulge in eating pleasures that I know are not really good for me, and I can live with that.

 

Let me start by letting you know how sorry I am not to be at the Sheldon Town Meeting today. As many of you know, I always look forward to meeting and discussing issues with you. I am out of the country to officiate at my son’s wedding.

I am writing this letter to let you know in a few words the status of my legislative work so far. I serve on the Commerce Committee and we have been working on a couple of very important bills for the future of Vermont.

The first one is the implementation of a fair, consistent, affordable and constant coverage for the whole state of Vermont, for broadband and cell phone coverage. We are focusing first on unserved areas. We are looking at ways to involve municipalities and towns in the implementation, streamlining the permitting process and supporting small entrepreneurs. A final draft should be coming out soon.

The second one is largely based on the “Next Generation Report” by the Next Generation Commission, and is concerning the continued workforce development in our state. Through a grant process and support from the Department of Labor, we hope to be able to bridge the gap between education and the real needs of our industries, supporting technical centers, internships and apprenticeships both at the high school and college levels. The law will include displaced workers, continuing education in the workplace and adult learners. This will help our new generation to be more competitive and better prepared for the changing work landscape. These are very important tasks as they will be shaping the landscape of our state for a long period of time.

On a more local issue, I have been working with Co-chair Lori Oliver and Norma Tedford on behalf of their committee members, Co-chair Deborah Lindley, Amanda Baranik and Kerri Irick, to assist them in the task of replacing our aging school playground. They have already made some very positive steps in the right direction. Please support their efforts and dedication to provide our children with a safe place to play.

I welcome your comments and ideas. Please contact me any time.

Sincerely,

Representative Michel Consejo
 

 

As I am writing this letter, a few things appear clear to me. One of them is that I am not a reporter in the pure sense of the word. I really had the best intentions in keeping you informed with names, dates, numbers – the fact is, I am terrible with all those topics and unless I keep a very close tab on those details, they get away from me in a hurry. Really! How many stick-up notes can one handle? In my case, not many. We all are who we are, and we have to do with the cards dealt to us. So I will keep you in-the-know in my own style, and hope you will forgive my lack of precision.

The first two weeks of my tenure seems to have come and gone in a hurry. So many things to learn in a place where everybody seems always so busy, and so sure of what they are doing and why (even if some just pretend to do so). I was assigned my seat in the house, which happens to be nine, through a lottery. I like nine. It is my birth date and somewhat a lucky number for me. It is also easy to remember. We then were assigned to committees. I was very happy to be placed on Commerce. This was my first choice, and lo and behold, where I went.

The second week was more dedicated to getting acquainted with a lot of the departments that are under the control of commerce: banking, insurance, trade, small and large businesses, to name a few. Oh, Boy! So many names, so many positions, all important, all considering themselves as the most crucial player, all vying for their share of the shrinking pie.

By the end of the second week in my committee, the fog was starting to lift and a few issues started to emerge as fundamental to the years ahead: the dire need for a solid, reliable, equitable communication infrastructure; and the need for a greater level of communication and partnership between schools, colleges, and businesses to improve the integration of our workforce into positions really needed. There is a need for our methods of teaching to shift from curriculum-based to a consumer-based, student-oriented style.

Also important, as I heard from you numerous times, there is a need for me (and others) to contribute in an effective way to find a solution to relieve us from the burden of an excessive reliance on property taxes to fund our schools. This is still very much in my mind and I will continue to explore all avenues to do as much as possible to achieve this goal. I welcome and need your ideas.

Okay, now for those of you who are still awake and still reading this, you may be thinking, “What in the world is that guy writing about?” You get extra credit.

On a more personal note, on my second day in the legislature, I started probing my fellow freshmen about the need for us to organize ourselves into a support group, a freshman caucus if you will. I was pleasantly surprised that everyone I talked to thought it was a good idea, and that there was a real value in doing so. So I am pleased to announce that the Freshman Caucus is now a reality. We had our first meeting, attended by 75% of the newbies, on Wednesday, January 17th. The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 31st, and then every week until the end of the session. We are planning to invite guest speakers to help us understand topics that pertain mostly to new legislators. It is a multi-partisan caucus, as we are fortunate to have representation from three parties and an independent. In this forum, I am proud to announce that I cast my first No Vote on my nomination and election as temporary chair of the freshman caucus. They elected me anyway, with no regard for my dissension.

Lastly, I am thinking about introducing a resolution for my need to have a full-time reporter following me everywhere and keeping track of who I talked to and when. All of you reporters (and you know who you are), don’t be surprised if you get a request from Montpelier.

The bottom line is, it is such an honor to represent you in this wonderful place that is the legislature. You have, by electing me, given me the chance of a lifetime. I will do my very best to repay you through my work and my ideas. Keep in touch.

Michel Consejo
State Representative, Sheldon & Swanton

 

To deny that there is something magical, almost mythical, happening to a freshman legislator entering the capital building for the first time would be in my view, denying being human. As I stood in the rain, staining my new pants and shoes, with my head looking up at that glorious golden dome, a flow of mixed emotions overwhelmed me. I truly realized then that I was part of the very few privileged citizens designated to enter the house of the people to do the business of the people, carrying their hopes, their frustrations, and their desires.

And then you get inside and the magic carpet ride starts. It does not take very long to understand the basic rules. It is a very small, tight, assertive and dedicated community. As I suspected from the start of my quest, the main values that anybody will be assessed on are more character-based, rather than educational background or political inclination. Your word is your principal asset, your biggest chip in the game of politics. If you put it all on the table and call, “all in,” you want to be sure you are not bluffing, as if you lose your word, the chances of getting it back are slim to none.

But I digress…on to the building itself. It is without a doubt a place of energy, positive energy I should say. The walls, carpet and furniture ooze out a sense of past and present uniform goals of integrity, service, dignity, and pride, all values that are dear to Vermonters and those who serve them. It is intense and palpable. Most all of it has been preserved the way it was at the very beginning. And no matter where you are in the building, you have to wonder what great Vermont politicians preceded you here, whose spirit is going to help you make your next decision, influence your next move.

Traditions are preserved to help us steer the vessel clear of the known obstacles; they are the guiding lights in the middle of the new storm. Very few ideas are new, they just are modified with the time, transformed to accommodate the immediate need. To ignore what has already been said and done is somewhat equal to redoing and reinventing the wheel. We certainly can make a lighter, stronger, bigger or smaller wheel, but we can’t change its shape. It is and will forever stay round.

I know that the first time I will sit in my assigned seat in this beautiful building, I will be thinking of who preceded me there. I hope that my contributions to the betterment of our state will be, at the very least, as good as my intentions are.

Michel Consejo, Sheldon
Representative-elect, Sheldon & Swanton

“Learn how to speak English,” a short, clear, concise and loaded message that was left on my work answering machine a few days after the election results. Over the years I’ve had very few of those messages, always anonymous, always formulated with anger and disgust. It’s somewhat like telling me, “I dare you to come here; I dare you to think you can speak for me; I dare you to exist; go home, wherever that is, and don’t come back.”

But wait – home is here. I have left my native country and established myself in this corner of the world. I have worked hard at my business, supported my community, made lifelong friends. Does that count for anything? This is where I want to die. This is home. And even though it is very true that I have a thick accent, my heart and my brain both speak perfect “Vermonter.” In my dreams, everybody involved can understand me perfectly the first time. In my dreams, I am one of you.

This little exercise is really to show you how we all can react, with very short, preconceived ideas, to anything new or different that comes our way. If I was speaking with no accent, would that increase my ability to think globally, to make me more aware of our real problems? Would this be a key that opens more doors? That solves more problems? Not hardly, but what is happening here today with me is also happening to others: color, sex, age, social position, strength. The list goes on and on, and they’re all factors that can be applied to that line of thinking.

So how do we change this? We go and pet the beast, we make ourselves vulnerable and walk toward them with our hands open, we let them smell us, and once they realize that we are neither afraid nor threatening, they may stop barking.

I recently was at a conference at the statehouse, and after, I asked a question to one of the panelists. I could see he was as embarrassed asking me to repeat the question as I was in repeating it in my best English effort. We both felt we were in the spotlight, and we both dealt with it the best we could. The important part was not the delivery, the important part was the content. We have a saying in France: “It’s not so much about the bottle, but more about what’s in it that’s important.” So I know when I go to Montpelier and speak for you, not only will they have to pay more attention to what I am saying and get used to my delivery, but I will have to pay attention to the same, a lesson to be learned by me and them.

As far as how you correctly pronounce my name, don’t worry too much about it. Even my wife is not quite sure if she says it right. To be honest, it really doesn’t matter how you enunciate. What matters most is the context you are going to use it in.

Michel Consejo, Sheldon
Representative-elect, Sheldon & Swanton

December 2006
“Michel, we are a nation that is morally bankrupt.” This statement flew across the table like a guided missile, finding its way to the inner core of my soul. I sat there in pain and disbelief and asked myself, “Is that so?” Coming from a person that has spent most of her life helping, supporting, and nurturing others, from a person that is very fundamentally an optimist, I knew I could not just discard the opinion as a reflection of the moment. It was and it is a snapshot of what is happening to all of us.

We have slowly accepted the fact that in order to sleep at night we need to lower our expectations. We need to make it okay to accept the leveling of the lowest common denominator. We need to turn our heads away when we witness a wrong being done or find good reasons as to why the bad and the ugly is happening right before our eyes and our choice is to do nothing to change it.

I am by nature a skeptic of human behavior. I believe that the same person who today puts you on a pedestal is perfectly capable of being the one that will tar and feather you out of town. Not many things are forever: power, money health, all can go away on a whim.

One of the few things that is constant, and that nobody can take away, is our personal integrity; our core values are controlled by us. Or are they? If we instill at a very young age, by constant repetition, the lower morals that we as adults have become accustomed to accepting, if we show that our society is loaded with double standards, if we tell that money and power, influence and position are the most important measures of a successful life, should we be surprised that our children are not a bunch of happy campers?

What has happened with respect, pride, honesty, compassion, understanding, love, and fun? These are only words, but their meaning is timeless and crosses over generations and continents. They are the base of a more livable world, one where it would be easier to face all the challenges that we are facing together. Words of a dreamer, if you so wish but words that all of us would be happy to have carved on the headstone of our final resting place.

So I guess it boils down to basic education: to understand that we teach by example; that we can’t expect others to accept the standards that we do not apply for ourselves; that it is okay to fail; that having feelings and showing them is not a weakness; that money does not replace human touch; that time can be made available for family and friends; that stopping the race to recharge is not always a waste of time; that it is good to have dreams and ambitions but that the goal is not as important as the journey; that there is not one right and one wrong; and that allowing others to be different, even if we are uncomfortable with their way, is not a threat but the proof that we are all unique.

We need to show and tell that ideas are more powerful than armies, that there are things that you cannot change, but that there is nothing wrong in trying to make them better. All voices are important and valuable, all questions should be asked, and all answers should be provided.

We have the power to choose our leaders, moral, political, social, spiritual. Our choice is to know in which order we want to place these values. Yes, I believe we are on a scary moral landslide. But I also believe that if we stop asking others to fix it for us, if we stop thinking it is not our job or our duty to be involved, if we stop turning our heads the other way, we as a society in constant evolution can change the way our children look at us, and show that indeed it is a wonderful thing to be human.

Michel Consejo, Sheldon
Representative-elect, Sheldon & Swanton

November 2006

Dear Readers,

For months now, you’ve had the opportunity to learn more about my husband, Michel Consejo, Candidate for State Representative for Sheldon and Swanton. You’ve seen him on local television shows, you’ve seen him at events and meetings, you’ve heard him numerous times on the Comment Radio Show, he’s visited businesses, and if you live in Swanton or Sheldon, he (or I) has been at your door.

There have been occasional comments that Michel is running a race he will lose, simply because he is from Sheldon, the much smaller town. To be honest, that thought did cross our minds, too. BUT, as we have been out there listening to all of you, a different message has been emerging. Voters are not numbers. Voters are people, and people can think. It is not a given that people will place their vote solely because the candidate is from their town. People are telling us they vote for the person who listens; they vote for the person who shares a like philosophy; they vote for the person who is approachable; they vote for the person who has new ideas to try; they even vote for someone from a different party if they trust that the person sincerely does have the good of the people at heart. Over and over, we are hearing how refreshing it is that Michel is intelligent, a creative thinker, a problem-solver, that he’s got a heck of a sense of humor and that he is REAL. He is someone to talk with at the kitchen table, or in the barn, or at the local diner. He is one of you. He is us.

If you value and believe in Michel’s message, you will not vote divisively, whether that be by party or by town. You are telling us these things yourselves, and we believe you. You, too, know how to think, rather than to blindly follow a prescribed category. Disregard the constricting boxes we sometimes put ourselves into. Ask yourselves to honestly vote for the person you truly believe will best represent you in Montpelier. Will that person be there for you after the election?

One last thing, even if Michel is not elected to be your representative, which would be highly unfortunate in my opinion, he wouldn’t lose. He is a winner, heart and soul, because of all of you.

Tammie Colburn Consejo
Sheldon

November 2006
Let me start by congratulating both Representative Kathy Lavoie and Brian Savage. It was for the most part a positive, respectful campaign. As for my supporters, and you know who you are, thank you so much for believing that a political newcomer has what it takes to be your voice in the House of Representatives.

I have received many phone calls and emails, hugs and handshakes, so much so that it is overwhelming. These interactions were filled with genuine happiness, sincere pride, and a sense that people from both towns have expressed a desire to change the way we do politics in our neck of the woods.

The fact is, I am so proud of you. During my entire campaign, I told you I would listen and you talked, that I would understand and you explained. I came to you and you opened your doors. I said I would stand up for you and you stood at my side. This by all means is your success, your voice, your choice.

It is now up to me to represent you in a fair, equitable, and dignified way, and I will do just that. To all the people that supported my opponents, I extend the invitation to talk with me and express your concerns and needs. I represent you as well and will take your views with me to the House.

It is now time to put aside our ideological differences and start working toward what is best for all of us. I am hopeful that Representative Lavoie and I will find balanced ways to cooperate and that she will put her knowledge of the intricate work of the legislature behind me to best serve the people we both represent.

Much needs to be done, but my first order of business in Montpelier will be to meet every legislator from all parties and make them aware of who I am, who I represent, and what our ideas and priorities are. Politics is a team effort.

It is a great honor for me to be able to represent you. I will take this duty very seriously and give it the time, respect, and attention it deserves.

Sincerely,
Michel Consejo, Representative-elect
Sheldon & Swanton