City Council Candidate Profiles | Irene “Kerubo” Webster
This article was written by Doug Phinney and Jenny Koppang
Seven candidates are vying for two open seats on the Winooski City Council this Town Meeting Day. The top two vote-getters will be elected to two-year terms. This election will be the first in the city to allow non-U.S. citizens the right to vote, a result of an amendment to Winooski’s charter that ensures that all residents can have a voice in municipal elections.
These interviews have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Irene “Kerubo” Webster (she/her)
Q: How old are you and how long have you lived in Winooski?
I am 54. I’ve lived [in Winooski] for almost 15 years now.
Q: What is your educational background?
[I am] still going to school, at Champlain College, doing integrated studies in business.
Q: What’s your profession and work background?
Before I came to the U.S, I was working amongst communities [in Nairobi, Kenya] and my work was doing community outreach. Before I moved here, we lived in DC, and I felt very isolated because I didn’t feel connected to the community there. I missed home. But we moved to Winooski, to my husband’s work, and I was able to reconnect to the community again. It was so cool to be able to have my window open and to see a bunch of people passing through and speaking a language that I speak. I was able to find ethnic stores where I could find my food, and before long I was connected to the community at large. Years later, I started my work with the Association of Africans Living in Vermont, and I started to build larger connections with the people I helped. My job as a caseworker, particularly for non-English speakers, includes community outreach and cultural advocacy. I am also an artist.
Q: Why are you running for Winooski City Council?
I have knowledge of the daily lives of the people I serve. Not just the non-English speakers, but all the people who live in Winooski. My grassroots point of view helps me understand the challenges that the residents face. Coming to the table with the other contenders and having an additional voice that serves others, it has prepared me in finding lasting solutions to problems. Because I am now known within hospitals and schools and within the community at large I feel that I can bring that to the position of Winooski city council. I am an artist, and my approach is creative, and I believe I can encourage alternatives and provide access to a wider range of information and perspectives to some of our community members that are non-English speakers. And I know that this position will help me give back to the Winooski community on a larger scale, which has always been my biggest desire. And I think that I can fill the gap for communities who feel sidelined for various reasons—language barriers being one of the biggest ones. I understand how they feel, and I can walk in their shoes alongside them because I know what it feels to be on the other side and because I can speak both languages: English and Swahili. So, I think my past experiences have prepared me for this position.
Q: What do you see as the most important issue facing the city of Winooski?
Just being able to be the bridge between the immigrants and the larger groups of other people in Winooski [is very important to me].
Q: Winooski has an acute housing crisis. What ideas do you have for creating more affordable housing?
If I were to speak about immigrants, because that's where my biggest points are—when they are resettled here their services are centralized in one place, and the help they get doesn't last long. They are forced to zoning and living in particular housing, and the houses also come with issues. And the more families come they find that there are no houses, and their houses are older houses, and they are very pricey, very expensive. So that has continued to be a topic that remains a crucial point within discussions, there are various groups of people trying to find lasting solutions. I know that is one of the topics that is already being discussed. I will be very happy to join in and offer my perspective once I understand the full range of challenges that are compounding this problem.
Q: Winooski is schedules to receive $2 million in American Rescue Plan funding. How would you like to see that money spent?
I’m new to this role, and I don’t want to over speak, I’d like to be very careful as I come into this role. The thing about me is that I'm a dreamer, an idealist if you like, and I hope to have lasting social change. I trust the process and I know that it is something that is gradual, but slow sometimes. But I believe in Winooski, and so far, I've seen that there have been wonderful things that have been happening. And I think we'll continue to make strides to make this a stronger city. I think looking at what has already been done and trying to find things that have not been addressed from discussions, and looking for strategies, having the best interest of all Winooski residents. Push for policies—doing more research, asking questions from the people that live within those communities. I believe an informed mind is protected mind. I am a believer of positive results. So, I'm sure we'll figure it out once we start the discussions.