WINSTED — While she may not be as active in local politics as she was nearly two decades ago, when she was referred to by some community members as "Winsted’s eighth selectman," community lawyer Charlene LaVoie is striving to keep citizens informed of their constitutional rights, particularly during what she sees as "a dark period" in United States history.
Though the "eighth selectman" monicker has been mentioned many times in private circles, Lavoie said she has never been aware of the nickname.
"That’s the first time I’ve heard of it," she said at her Main Street office Tuesday afternoon. "I would say between 1990 and 1997 I attended probably every town meeting, and I was there to monitor what was going on. But there are a lot of monitors out there in the community."
Lavoie has been less of a presence on the municipal scene in recent years, but she has served as counsel for the Winsted Health Center Foundation during its first decade of existence, while educating the public about Freedom of Information law and fighting corporate abuse. She said her door remains open to citizens who have questions about their constitutional rights and that many residents continue to call her for advice. In recent years, she has dedicated much of her work to national issues, including behind-the-scenes grassroots efforts to oppose the Bush administration’s foreign and domestic policies.
"The events of the last six years have been traumatic and overwhelming," LaVoie said of the George W. Bush administration. "I have been going around the state on a road show to talk about the effects of the USA Patriot Act on the rights of citizens, and I think it has been very helpful."
LaVoie’s road show worked to spread the word about the national Bill of Rights Defense Committee (bordc.org), which is dedicated to getting communities across the country to participate in the national debate about civil liberties. To date, the organization has helped pass resolutions in 412 communities across the country, with another 277 underway, to reaffirm the constitutional rights of citizens and to reject attempts to threaten those rights.
Funded by the Shafeek Nader Trust for the Community Interest, LaVoie said she will vote for Winsted native Ralph Nader if he runs for president next year and that she agrees with Nader’s assessment of both Democrats and Republicans as being ineffective in Washington.
"We elected a Democratic Congress in November and that was a big push by the American people to change the balance of power in Washington," LaVoie said. "In the past 11 months we’ve seen how little the Democrats have been able to accomplish and it’s very discouraging to the American citizenry. We’re in a dark period of history and we’re in a constitutional crisis. I don’t think people will understand this until it’s written in history."
Despite the fact that many communities across the country, including some Connecticut towns, have adopted resolutions calling for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, LaVoie acknowledged that Congress does not appear poised to make such a move.
"There are pockets of resistance, even here in Litchfield County," she said. "I think the one thing that tempers these kinds of efforts is the fact that people realize we are in a democracy and they somehow intuitively understand that this cannot go on forever."
And despite what many see as a series of discouraging events happening at the national level, LaVoie said she is proud to be a champion of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
"That’s why I’m still here, because I’m optimistic about this democracy," she said. "The Constitution is a marvelous creation and a resilient one. The underpinnings of a constitutional democracy are strong and we just have to be vigilant."
