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Town Clerks Speak Frankly About Democracy

Tuesday February 8, 2011

Women Town Clerks Of Vermont – Reflections On Democracy will be exhibited at the Vermont Folklife Center in Middlebury from February 1 – March 31st.  This unique exhibition created by New York-based photographer, Sandra Elkin, combines portrait photography and the voices of 19 women clerks to create a fascinating glimpse of who they are and their concerns. Whether plainspoken or boldly provocative, the “Clerks” challenge us as they speak openly and frankly of democracy, town meetings, the obligations of citizenship, state government, and their towns.

    Sandra Elkin began work on her “Town Clerks” project in the summer of 2008 in the midst of a historic presidential campaign that held our country and most of the world captivated. An unpopular war and an ailing economy were on people’s minds. The candidates talked of making choices between personal freedoms and national security. Questions about the health of our democracy and our political system swirled around the campaign.

    To find answers, Elkin turned to the strong basic democratic tradition in small towns in Vermont and to Town Clerks, the government officials closest to the people and the neighborhood watchers of our most cherished expression of democracy - elections. “They are, I think, the first firewall of our democracy,” she says. “And I learned that we all need to broaden our definition of what’s a threat.”

    “Sandra’s in-depth documentation brings forth the voices and views of these town clerks for who they are—hardworking individuals at the front gates of Vermont’s political process,” says the Vermont Folklife Center’s Executive Director, Brent Bjorkman. “Sharing the stories of everyday life has been our focus for over 25 years, and it is an honor to host this thought-provoking exhibit.”

    Public programming for the exhibit will include sessions—organized by town clerks—on the Australian ballot and its impact on town meeting and the changes imposed on town government by state-level decisions. UVM political science professor Frank Bryan will also weigh in with a lecture titled “Town Meeting and Local Government: Focus on Women.”

     The VFC's mission is to broaden, strengthen, and deepen our understanding of Vermont and the surrounding region; to assure a repository for our collective cultural memory; and to strengthen communities by building connections among the diverse peoples of Vermont.

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