Former Harwood Unified Union School Board chair and current board member, Christine Sullivan, is seeking a two-year term on the Waitsfield Select Board. Sullivan has a long history of public service in The Valley and a long history in The Valley.
Like many Mad River Valley transplants, Sullivan spent time here as a child. Fond memories and the many opportunities for outdoor recreation drew her back after college graduation. She bounced around the area during graduate school and settled in Waitsfield with her husband in the late 1990s, soon after determining that this was the place to raise a family. They currently have four children who attend local schools. While Christine has long been interested and engaged with local government, the focus of her volunteer time has been supporting local education. She served seven years on the board of directors for Spring Hill School in various capacities, was the treasurer of the Waitsfield PTA for seven years, sat on the Waitsfield School Board for four years, where she was also the representative to the local Act 46 study committee and has served on the HUUSD Board since its inception. Many of these roles were held concurrently, entailed oversight of multiple functions and required the ability to operate in various roles, including financial oversight, project management and contract negotiations.
“I have experienced first-hand and understand many of the challenges we face as a broader community, whether it be the lack of affordable and suitable housing, the cost and challenges of development, our ever-increasing tax burdens or the impacts of our tourist economy. I appreciate the many aspects of community that residents value and support updating and maintaining our local infrastructure,” she said.
“While Waitsfield has undertaken and completed many significant projects in the past years -- and has subsequently worked to get debt payments better under control -- many projects could have been better managed. In the past the discussion has taken too long to shift from whether to do something to how best to do it. As a result, work has been delayed and deferred. This has often served to frustrate residents and added to the overall cost and duration of these projects. Our local tax dollars should be more efficiently and wisely spent. I have the perspective and proven leadership to help that happen,” she said.
“I will bring to the position the dedication, energy and involvement it takes to support a local municipal board in a community that relies on volunteer efforts and engagement. My experience and familiarity with many of the issues related to board work -- from operations, to statute or policy -- will enable me to be a contributing member of what we all hope to be a highly functioning team intent on best serving the needs of our local Waitsfield community and the broader Mad River Valley,” she concluded.
