Charles Russell enjoys watching democracy in action

Sometimes being town moderator isn’t an undiluted joy. This year, for example, Charles Russell got overruled on the first motion of the day. However, unless someone else steps up to the plate, he’s willing to continue in the position as long as the town wants him.

Russell is no stranger to municipal government. He served on the selectboard for over a decade, spending half of those years as chair before leaving in 2015. He decided to run for town moderator in 2018 when Jerry Schwartz retired from that position.

Every year the Vermont League of Cities and Towns provides a tune-up training for moderators, helping them walk through the process and letting them know what kinds of issues they might encounter. Through that, and on his own, Russell has learned a few tricks that help him run an efficient meeting.

One of those tricks is to have someone else on the dais keep track of the order in which people raise their hands so he can make sure he calls on people in that order. Another is to call a voice vote slowly. After what appears to be a positive vote, he will slowly say, “The ayes appear to have it.” This gives people the opportunity to object before he says, “The ayes have it.”

In the past, when there was no definitive voice vote, the moderator would ask people to raise their hands. Russell asks them to stand, finding that a more obvious way of stating a choice.

If it is still unclear which way the vote has gone, it takes seven people to request a paper ballot. Russell said some towns have increased that number. Westford, for example, requires 25 people.

“It hasn’t been a problem in Charlotte,” he said. “It’s pretty obvious when people want a paper ballot.”

This year’s town meeting was a tough one for Russell. “It was pretty embarrassing,” he said.

The first order of business was a routine article on whether to hear the reports of officers and act on them. When Nancy Wood rose to move that motion, she proposed additional language.

“That threw me for a loop,” Russell said. He concluded that it was a replacement motion, but he was overruled, and the motion was then considered as an amendment to the original motion.

Russell grew up in Brandon, attending Otter Valley Union High School. He and his wife moved to Charlotte in 1995, in part so their children would be able to attend Champlain Valley Union High School. He was familiar with the area after spending summers in Charlotte during his childhood.

“We moved for the school system,” Russell said. “I didn’t know what an AP class was until I went to college. Going to school here did my kids good.”

Russell has a degree in engineering and worked in electronics for a military contractor for 11 years when the family lived in Massachusetts. When Russell’s wife got a job at UVM and they moved back to Vermont, he began farming so he could stay home with their children.

Russell worked seven “enjoyable but intense” years with H&R Block in Brandon, helping people with their taxes.

“You can be helpful to people but it’s a terribly upsetting process,” he said.

Although Russell still farms, he doesn’t raise as many cattle or grow as much hay so he and his wife, who has retired, have more time to spend with their grandchildren.

Russell’s father and grandfather were in the Navy, and he inherited their interest in maps. He and Jenny Cole put together a collection of maps which is currently on display at the library.

“We had a big atlas in the house when I was growing up,” he said. “I also learned about nautical charts and how to tie knots.”

Russell was on the committee which looked at alternatives to town meeting. A hybrid meeting was held for three years but it had a sunset provision and was not reestablished.

“There has been a lot of talk about reviving the plan,” Russell said, “but the vote at town meeting to go to straight Australian ballot failed.”

As long as nobody is interested in taking over, Russell is willing to stay on as town moderator. At his most recent Vermont League of Cities and Towns training, he met a man who had been his town’s moderator for 50 years, inheriting his civic pride from his mother who had been town clerk. Although Russell doesn’t plan on holding his title for that long, he does enjoy the work.

“It’s nice to hear people having a reasonable discussion and being civil,” he said.