I ran into Rep. Rachel Weston yesterday. The first-term Democrat from Burlington is headed to Vietnam for a couple of weeks this month, in the same program that took Vermont Democratic Party Executive Director Jill Krowinski to the Philippines this summer.
It’s the prestigious and cool sounding American Council of Young Political Leaders, who conduct two-week international exchange programs. The program takes "emerging leaders" aged 25 to 40 to show them firsthand the political and cultural dynamics of other countries, according to its Web site.
Weston, 26, said U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy nominated her. Council spokesman Mike Garretson said Leahy nominated her "based on her stature as a rising political star in the State of Vermont and her potential to assume higher office."
Weston will be among a group of six, led by Oklahoma Rep. Dennis Adkins, R-Tulsa, studying the e Vietnamese political system, talking about international issues and making connections with Vietnamese counterparts from Oct. 11-25.
Other than Krowinski, other Vermont alumni of the program are: State Sen. Vincent Illuzzi, state Rep. Mary Morrissey (R-Bennington), Gov. Jim Douglas and Rep. Peter Welch.
Weston noted that she has a fair number of Vietnamese immigrants in her district, people who might have more than a casual interest in the state of affairs in Vietnam.
- Terri Hallenbeck
