MONTPELIER — All politics was postal Monday afternoon as Capital City residents gathered in front of the flood-damaged federal building on State Street yearning for the days when they used to be able to walk inside to send and receive mail.
It’s been a while.
Too long if you asked those who attended an afternoon rally in front of the post office, which has been a source of simmering frustration in the community since July.
Residents, like Sally Armstrong and Brenda Greika, have struggled to understand why establishing a post office somewhere in Montpelier doesn’t appear to be part of the federal government’s short-term plans.
On a day when U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders was a late scratch and U.S. Sen. Peter Welch and U.S. Rep. Becca Balint helped rev up the respectable crowd, Tino O’Brien suggested the fact there is no post office in Montpelier’s ZIP Code was either a reflection of “incompetence” or “intentional.”
Given the political leanings of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, O’Brien said he leaned toward the latter, while conceding it didn’t much matter to those who used to rely on a once walkable post office and now have to drive to Barre, East Montpelier or Worcester.
“I’m lucky because I can do that, but there are other people in my neighborhood who can’t,” said Armstrong, who expressed concern about the environmental implications associated with forcing Montpelier residents to drive several miles out of their way for a basic service.
“I want my post office back,” she said.
Armstrong, who helped spread the word about the noon-hour rally, was in a very long line. It’s one that included Greika, who heard about the rally while she was downtown buying salt for the steps of her Hebert Road home, and scooted over to the federal building to show her support for the cause.
“Every city needs a post office,” she said, suggesting that was doubly true of Montpelier.
“It’s the state capital,” she said. “We need a post office.”
Greika wouldn’t have gotten an argument from 6-year-old Ellory O’Gwin, who was brandishing one of several handmade signs — hers said: “Santa never got my letter” — designed to convey discontent with the state of postal affairs in Montpelier.
That ire was aimed at DeJoy and postal service bureaucrats, as speakers went out of their way to point out in case anyone missed the sign — “We love our postal workers” — 4-year-old Estelle Gwinn was toting.
Those who process, sort and deliver the mail were characterized as “victims” of an inexplicable decision that was beyond inconvenient for postal patrons in Montpelier.
Ben Doyle, chair of the Montpelier Commission on Recovery and Resilience, kicked off the brief series of speeches with what proved to be a tough act to follow.
“In the days after the July flood the residents and friends of Montpelier showed up,” he said. “Police and firefighters kept people safe, Montpelier Alive supported businesses, teenagers mucked out basements, neighbors checked on neighbors. The (congressional) delegation showed up, the governor showed up, philanthropy showed up, you showed up, but 182 days later you know who hasn’t shown up? United States Postal Service leadership.”
Doyle heaped praise on local postal workers, called out DeJoy, and suggested Monday’s rally was a missed opportunity for postal service bureaucrats.
“They could have said that Montpelier will have a post office again, (and) it will be a model for the nation of a what a resilient downtown post office looks like. It will be a beacon of hope that says government works, Montpelier matters, we’ve got your back.”
He went on. “If they can’t say it, or they won’t say it, we will say it for them. We will say it to them,” Doyle said. “Montpelier will have a post office again because this city doesn’t give up, because this city matters, because our friends have our backs, because we’re Montpelier Strong.”
After listening to Doyle, Welch suggested he would make a fine postmaster general.
“That’s the leadership we need,” he said.
Welch echoed the support Doyle expressed for local postal workers, while noting the absence of a post office in Montpelier was, in his view, unacceptable.
“We’re the only capital that doesn’t have a McDonald’s,” he said. “We can handle that, but we have to have a post office.”
Balint agreed, noting the congressional delegation was familiar with the impact losing the post office has had.
“It is a hardship for seniors; it’s a hardship for small businesses; it’s a hardship for regular people who are just wanting to be part of their community,” she said, adding: “Part of a vibrant community is having a post office.”
Sanders, who had planned to attend, was represented by aide Katie Van Haste, who offered some advice to local residents and officials.
“Keep your voices loud,” she said, noting there has been a detectable increase in complaints involving the absence of a postal presence in Montpelier.
“Keep telling them what you need, and we will keep fighting for you,” she said.
Those attending the brief rally also heard from Kate McCabe, chief executive officer of Vermont Evaporator Company, and Johanna Nichols of the Montpelier Senior Activities Center.
McCabe said the postal service’s temporary solution is costing her business $30 a day — money needed to cover the cost of sending someone to the post office in Barre daily.
“We are not asking for a miracle here,” she said. “We have done what we need to do to meet this moment as a community and as small businesses. What we’re asking for is for our federal government to do the most basic of things … to give us a working post office right here in town.”
Nichols stressed the importance of accessibility for seniors.
“The location of the post office matters,” she said.
david.delcore
@timesargus.com
