Feb 24

Feb 24 After a Senate Loss, June Heston Seeks Term on Richmond’s Select Board

June Heston, who is running uncontested for a 2-year seat on the Richmond Select Board, is still learning. During a 2020 campaign for State Senate that she narrowly lost, Heston realized she had more to learn about system racism and racial bias in Vermont.

So, last summer, Heston joined Richmond Racial Equity, a group she remains involved with today. “I want to be part of the solution… I need to understand my own personal bias and the long-standing issue of systemic racism in order to be part of that solution,” Heston said. “I felt like if I joined this committee… I could help in that process of learning and then bring what I've learned to our community.”

As a Select Board member, Heston hopes to keep that process going. “I think it's our job to be educators and to do that we need to have conversations, and we need to know that people are open minded enough to say, ‘Yes, I have something to learn,’” Heston said.

Raised by two politically active parents in Graniteville, VT, Heston said she grew up with strong leadership mentors and a community-focused mindset. Heston’s time at the Vermont Leadership Institute at the Snelling Center of Government, which promotes citizen leadership and public service, further motivated her to run for public office positions. A decade ago, Heston served as Vice Chair on the Richmond Select Board, followed by a State Senate campaign in 2020.

Richmond “has been the place that has been my home… longer than anywhere else I’ve lived,” Heston said. “It means a lot to me to make sure that Richmond is the best community it can be.”

Heston thinks that means making diversity a top priority. “When you talk about diversity — diversity, equity, and inclusion — it’s everything,” she said. “It’s race, it’s age, it’s gender, it’s disability.” As CEO of the Vermont Family Network, Heston worked with a variety of children with physical or developmental disabilities. Speaking to the diverse populations and individuals Heston has worked closely with, she said, “those voices matter.”

When asked about key goals for her position on the Select Board, Heston said she hopes to bring important nuance to ongoing conversations about policing. “I come with a perspective that I think is broader than many,” she said. “I understand people being angry at the police. At the same time, my father was a police officer. My husband was a police officer, his brothers are police officers.”

Considering different points of view is key, Heston said, but so is a commitment to continually ask questions. When it comes to Covid-19, “I don't have all the answers. I don't think anybody does,” Heston said. “No one’s been through this before, so we can’t possibly have all the answers.”

“We should be asking more questions than having answers,” Heston said. “Covid is going to impact us for a very long time… we have to start saying ‘what questions have we not asked?’”

And while a position on the Select Board is all about change on the local level, Heston said this is a key place to craft important policy. “You start at the local level,” she said. It trickles up from there.