County Democrats Honor Jim Vires
A goFundMe has been started to aid in the memorial costs. Please consider donating here.
Bennington County Democrats inaugurated their downtown campaign headquarters recently at a “Meet the Candidates” open house, which included Vermont State Treasurer Mike Pieciak and a number of local candidates from across Bennington County. In addition, it was announced that the location was officially named after longtime friend, colleague, and CAT-TV camera operator Jim Vires, who died on October 15. The space at 353 Main Street in the Putnam Block is the center for rallying support for state and national Democratic candidates between now and election day on November 5. The Bennington Democrats also created and posted a banner in their storefront headquarters to honor Vires.
“No one epitomized the energized spirit of our party more than Jim Vires,” said County Chair Jim Ramsey in making the announcement at the campaign headquarters opening. “And it’s fitting that we dedicate our headquarters to Jim Vires tonight as he was an initial and quite vocal proponent of a campaign home for Democratic candidates, Town and County committee volunteers, and voters.”
The open house drew over 75 attendees eager to meet candidates and each other, and reconnect with friends and neighbors from the surrounding towns that make up Bennington County. In his welcoming remarks, Ramsey evoked the memory of Jim Vires and then announced the naming of the office in his honor to rounds of applause.
Attending the event was Genie Rayner, Vires’ longtime partner. Three close friends addressed the crowd, sharing memories of Vires’s political advocacy and activism. Vickie Lampron recalled their protests in Washington, D.C., Mary Gerisch spoke of Vires as “a fierce defender of the most vulnerable,” and Tom Haley concluded in an emotional comment, “Jim Vires has left us. The work is up to us now.”
The new headquarters is a space for organizing, registering voters, social gatherings and engaging the public in person or by text and phone banking to Get Out the Vote. “Elections finally get down to people talking to people, shaking hands, exchanging views and sitting down for a coffee together,” said Ramsey. “Especially in times of such political polarization, the Jim Vires Campaign Headquarters reminds us — like Jim did every day — that politics is about people.”
The Bennington County Democratic Committee unanimously voted to donate $500 to the GoFundMe campaign organized by longtime friend of Vires and Raynor, Vermont State Representative Mari Cordes, to help Raynor with memorial costs and other expenses. Members of the public are invited to support this effort at: GoFundMe
A memorial service for Vires is scheduled for Sunday, November 10th, 2024, from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM at the Bennington Elks Lodge number 567 at 125 Washington Avenue.
