In Vermont, small town meetings grapple with debate on big issues
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Municipalities in New England and elsewhere are increasingly grappling with major national and international issues at the local level.'/> Typically concerned with local issues, residents at town meetings in Vermont and elsewhere increasingly use the forum to debate polarizing national and international events. (Image credit: JOSEPH PREZIOSO)
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National In Vermont, small town meetings grapple with debate on big issues March 2, 2026 10:38 PM ET By Tovia Smith Tuesday is town meeting day in Vermont. Municipalities in New England and elsewhere are increasingly grappling with major national and international issues at the local level. JOSEPH PREZIOSO/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption JOSEPH PREZIOSO/Getty Images If you haven't lived in certain New England towns, it can be hard to fathom their centuries-old direct democracy-style Town Meetings , where everyday residents vote on mundane town business such as funding for schools, snow plows and road repairs. These days, voters are also being asked to weigh in on national and international issues, for example, demanding the de-funding of ICE, and condemning "the unprovoked attack and start of an illegal and immoral war against Iran." It's all fueling a separate – and fierce– debate on what towns ought to be debating. "When you have people sleepwalking into an authoritarian regime, it's up to us to sound the alarm," insists Dan Dewalt, an activist in Newfane, Vermont, one of several communities where residents scrambled to draft a resolution against the Iran war in time for their annual Town Meeting on Tuesday. Local resolutions are a uniquely effective tactic, activists and experts say, and they're being used increasingly around New England and beyond, especially as national politics have become so polarized. "People feel isolated, helpless and hopeless. And when you hear about other people who are just like you taking a stand and representing something that you believe, that gives you not only hope, but it gives you power," said Dewalt. Several other Vermont towns will be considering resolutions Tuesday calling for the removal of the president and vice president "for crimes against the U.S. Constitution," while many others will vote on a pledge to " to end all support of Israel's apartheid policies, settler colonialism, and military occupation and aggressi...
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