PUTNEY — There isn't a time when I go outside Vermont, that something doesn't spark me to think of calling it a “Vermont appreciation trip.”
I can't think of better people or a better place to be, or of better work to do, than helping keep Vermont moving forward.
That's why I'm running for re-election to continue working for the people of the Windham-4 District of Putney and Dummerston, in the Aug. 9 Democratic Primary.
With Vermont's part-time citizen Legislature having adjourned for 2022, it's clear there's more work to do.
The aftershocks of Covid are still rumbling in our economy, health care, and education landscapes.
Oil monopolies are holding us hostage with their wild price increases, even as climate change keeps reminding us it's going to get worse. Continuing the work to move us away from a fossil-fuel economy is essential.
Whatever issue comes up, though, voters can reliably count on me bringing the values of community, common sense, and justice in looking out for others; to see broadly the big picture in any question; and to understand that it's made up of what's happening at the ground level, for hard working, caring Vermonters.
With the politics of grievance being used to turn back the clock on progress, especially on women's rights, climate action, and racial justice, I want voters to know I will continue to stand up to shine a light to make progress and to do so with justice.
And, I assure the voters of this district, I am not only “woke,” but I am wide awake! For me, “woke and wide awake” represents being stable, openhearted, open-minded and, assuringly, reliable.
• I have helped put Proposal 5, Reproductive Liberty, on the ballot in November because I trust women to make those choices about their own bodies.
• I am fighting for working families who are struggling to fill their gas tanks, while billionaires are playing in sandboxes full of cash to send big-boy toy rockets to the heavens and buy and trade companies like they're playing Monopoly with real money.
This year, we've provided some family friendly tax relief with the Child Tax Credit and increasing the deduction for Social Security.
• I am working with the Legislative Climate Solutions Caucus to craft and implement policies in transportation and home heating to address what can feel daunting about climate issues - and fuel prices.
• I am a founding member of the Racial-Social Equity Caucus in the State House as Vermont and our nation see changing demographics.
With people of color, refugees, and other marginalized groups coming to our state, I want to be as welcoming to them as Vermonters were to me and my family when we showed up here 40 years ago.
Vermont is a beacon of hope on many of these issues. The late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg once said, “Fight for the things you care about , but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”
For more information on this session's work and the campaign, please email me at [email protected] or look for me on Facebook or at my website.