VERNON — I am a native Vermonter, U.S. Army veteran, property owner, resident, voter, and taxpayer of Vernon, Vermont. I have never met the present Vernon/Guilford state representative, Sara Coffey.
With all the information available on our Vermont state legislative website as well as other tracking websites, I have the information necessary to assess the job Sara has been doing as our Windham-1 state representative for the past four years.
We all have to live under the laws and policies our elected officials vote into place. Holding them accountable is our duty as citizens in our state's constitutional republic form of government (Article 6). We elect individual persons to serve us and represent us in our government. We should hold them to the standard and purpose of their elected position.
While Sara Coffey professes to be a Democrat, she has voted along with the radical Progressives during her time serving as a representative. While all legislators take an oath to uphold the Vermont Constitution, some Vermont lawmakers, including Sara, have ignored their oaths and flagrantly voted on and passed bills that usurp the state constitution.
Many of the bills proposed and passed by Vermont legislators work against the individual freedoms and privileges they take an oath to protect.
Sara voted to approve legislation that would allow non-citizens to vote; our state and federal constitutions both say United States citizenship is a requirement to vote in the United States.
She also voted for a bill that would have allowed 15-to-17-year-old persons to vote. Our constitutions say that attaining the age of 18 years is a requirement to vote in the United States.
Many of the bills proposed and passed by Vermont legislators are unbalanced and draw conclusions without facts. They hyperfocus on dividing Vermont citizens into levels of importance rather than working for the best interests of all human beings who are taxpayers and residents of the state.
It is also very obvious to me from reading many bills that the climate, the weather, and the land are given far more importance and focus than the lives of human beings.
My wife, Nancy Gassett, is running against Sara Coffey on Nov. 8 for the Windham-1 representative position. She is running to give Vernon and Guilford residents and taxpayers a clear choice.
If you want to be represented by someone who believes in and will work to protect the individual freedoms and privileges we all have equally, as declared by our United States and Vermont constitutions, vote for Nancy. She is resolved, and she will stand up and speak out for commonsense, livable policies without prejudice.
All voters, taxpayers, property owners, and residents of Vernon and Guilford should do their own assessments of Sara's voting record. You can do this by reading Nancy's blog post, “Do you Know How Your State Representative Is Voting?” on her website, along with other information about her candidacy.
You can also visit Vermont's legislative website for House and Senate voting information at legislature.vermont.gov/bill/search.
Please remember to vote on or before Nov. 8!