Chris Viens steps aside as board chair, supports anti-racism education
November 4, 2020 | By Lisa Scagliotti
The decision by Waterbury Select Board member Chris Viens (right) to step down as chair left Vice Chair Mark Frier (left) to run Monday's meeting. The board has not yet decided on a new chair going forward. File photo by Gordon Miller.
After two weeks at the center of intense public reaction to comments during a campaign forum, Waterbury Select Board Chair Chris Viens Monday night announced he would relinquish his leadership role on the board but he would not step down from office.
“After thinking about how this has affected this community, this board, my family, friends and myself I have decided to step down as chair,” Viens said, reading from prepared remarks. “I don’t take this step lightly and I hope that my supporters out there understand and I hope the non-supporters will try in the future to be a little kinder to their neighbors. Take the time to ask if you don’t understand what someone is saying.”
A select board member since 2012, Viens served as chair since March 2017. Viens also was an Independent candidate for the Vermont House, running to represent the Washington-Chittenden district covering Waterbury, Huntington, Bolton and Buels Gore. Viens was the third-place finisher in Tuesday’s election with 15 percent of the vote behind incumbent Democrats Theresa Wood and Tom Stevens who won re-election.
At Monday’s board meeting, Viens read a lengthy letter of explanation to approximately 50 local residents who joined the meeting via Zoom video conference making it one of the most-attended online meetings since the board began holding them in this manner last spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Soon after the meeting began and before the public comment period, Viens explained that he had prepared remarks that he wanted to read aloud, after which he would turn the meeting over to Vice Chair Mark Frier to conduct.
Viens then read his letter of explanation for comments made two weeks ago in a candidate forum, at select board meeting, and in media interviews. At issue was his idea shared first during the candidate forum in response to a question asking what could be done so that individuals of all races might feel safe in Vermont and in Waterbury. Part of Viens answer was to suggest that police departments hire minority officers to be specifically assigned to respond to calls involving minority community members.
In explaining, Viens used the term “segregated,” touching off a firestorm of reaction in the community with many saying the comments were racist. An online petition garnered 464 signatures calling for Viens to step down from office.
But while the initial reaction condemned the comments and Viens for making them, friends and supporters soon added their voices to the chorus pushing back on the criticism and defending Viens for his dedication and service to the community as a select board member for the past eight years. Viens most recently won re-election to the select board in March when he ran unopposed for a third three-year term.
Viens said he and his wife LeeAnne had been overwhelmed by support, yet the controversy was stressful and difficult.
Stepping aside but not stepping down
He referenced the petition and one of the reasons cited in it calling for his resignation being remarks Viens made this summer in a board discussion with members of the newly formed Waterbury Anti-Racism Coalition. Viens said he used a “bad choice of words” in that discussion; he also has said that using “segregated” in describing his recent policing idea was a mistake.
Viens, who is an excavation and construction contractor, explained that while he is skilled at building houses, he doesn’t always express himself well. He suggested that if he was in school today he might even be considered to have a learning disability, yet he still is motivated to run for public office. “I really do care about the people of this town and state and think if I stick my neck out I can do some good for those who don’t seem to have a voice now,” Viens said.
Despite the calls for his resignation, however, Viens said he would only step aside as board chair. “I will not step down from my position as a selectboard member. I have had overwhelming support and been told don’t give up, don’t give in and don’t step down, which has shown me that my work while serving on this board has been valued by those who understandably don’t dare to speak out. I feel it is only right to let you all know there are a lot of them out there and they are also watching and hearing what is going on.”
Viens said he views his role to be representing those who support him. “Those people are the ones I am working for and I have no intention of letting them down. Someone must be their voice and not be afraid to speak for them, even if I have to be the one to take the beating for it,” he said.
He said those calling for his resignation, however, “are and have been, well-represented and it is obvious they know how to use their own voices. They don’t need me.”
Public comments highlight learning opportunity
Many of those in attendance were individuals who signed the petition and about 10 spoke, addressing the board and Viens in particular. Maroni Minter, an author of the petition demanding that Viens resign spoke first. “I am a proud Black man who calls Waterbury home,” Minter said, noting that he moved here from Gabon in 2003. “Waterbury is a community committed to diversity, equity, inclusion and justice. We need leaders in place to uphold and advance these values.”
Minter is a member of the new anti-racism coalition and “part of our mission is to call our racism where we see it,” he said. “We want to help make changes necessary to make the Waterbury area a welcome place for all of us so we don’t hear horrific stories of racism on our community members such as the ones we heard at the racial justice rally this summer.”
As for the petition, Minter said, “I stand by that position tonight.” He also pointed out that more people should run for local office. “Mr. Viens running unopposed term after term is problematic,” he said. “If Mr. Viens does not resign, I can assure you that next term, he will not enjoy the privilege of running unopposed.”
Many said they hoped that Viens would use this opportunity to learn about racism to broaden his understanding of racial discrimination that others experience and to work on ways to address racial bias in the community.
“I believe it’s important for you to stay on the select board to go through any education and training is offered to you,” said Dani Kehlmann. “We ask that we listen when people tell you that your words hurt them. I ask that you put your ego or pride aside .. to learn how to become a better citizen and to be a better leader for this growing community.”
Dana Allen commended Viens for his public service before asking that Viens take the criticism constructively. “I think there’s really a great opportunity here,” he said. “There are a lot of people in this virtual room who are willing and able to help.”
Meg Baldor said she supports the anti-racism coalition and its mission “passionately and vehemently” but she criticized the petition for leveling vague accusations that she tried but couldn’t research to substantiate on her own. “I think that this was a really, really unnecessary exercise in trying to force Chris Viens off of being the select board chair. It could have been done in a much nicer way.”
Noting that she grew up in Vermont, Erin Hurley said she believes from personal experience that native Vermonters can understand issues of racism and bias. “I would love to hear an apology from you, Chris,” she said. “Those comments were real and they were dangerous. You’re running for public office and you have a position of leadership in our town … those comments obviously blew up across the state because they really hit a spot with people who are trying to combat racism as being really deeply scary.”
Brenda Hartshorn from Duxbury thanked Viens for talking with her privately about the matter and commended him for stepping down as board chair. Calling herself a “white privileged woman,” she offered to spend time with Viens learning about racism.
Referring to Viens’ reference to his concern about how his grandchildren would remember him when they in the future look up headlines about him, Hartshorn offered this: “You have the chance to make the headline you want your grandchildren to remember you by.”
Duxbury resident and anti-racism coalition member Life Legeros said he was angry to read Viens’ comments, calling them harmful. “But that doesn't mean you’re a bad person,” he said.
“The kind of vulnerability and humility you showed in that letter - if you keep that going - this could be something really powerful for our community,” Legeros said.
He said he believed Viens should step away completely from the board to do a public learning process and he managed to break the tension of the meeting a bit when he embraced a self-deprecating remark Viens made in his letter. “Help us see what it looks like for a self-described redneck to kind of see what this anti-racism is all about. There’s so many wonderful things about redneck culture that it doesn't have to be associated with racism at all,” Legeros said. “I would love to see an anti-racist redneck movement coming right out of Waterbury.”
Pointing out that she’s a ninth-generation Vermonter, Waterbury parent Meredith Pelkey asked Viens to apologize for his comments. “I have two black children who live in this community. They were hurt by your comments,” she said. “I think you need to step down and do some learning.”
Next steps from the select board
The other members of the select board did not comment on the Viens issue directly. It was at the end of the meeting after many members of the public had logged off that the board at Frier’s suggestion discussed having anti-racism training. Organizations such as the Vermont Human Rights Commission or the Vermont League of Cities and Towns were suggested as possible resources.
Frier said he thought it important for the entire board to take steps to educate itself on the issue. “It’s an important thing for us as leaders of the community to look at the resources we have available and educational opportunities we might have,” Frier said. “It’s an opportunity to be better as a board.”
Board member Mike Bard suggested that the effort include the municipal manager and town staff starting with department heads and member Katie Martin suggested the effort be more than a one-time training. “I think it should be an ongoing thing,” she said, suggesting that members of the anti-racism coalition meet regularly with the board to “actively engage in meaningful conversation” together. “I think it would be really beneficial for all of us.”
Viens was the last to comment. “I want everybody to know that I’m 100 percent on board with this effort, too. I’m willing to be a participant in it,” he said.
Viens’ letter that he read at the board meeting is here in the Opinion section.