Vermont’s unaffordability crisis continues to rampage, especially in poverty-stricken areas like our district. We need to start standing up for working people, our farms, our small businesses. To do that, I will support:

• Tax breaks for working families, seniors, and veterans

• Subsidies and economic relief for struggling farms

• Reducing fees/taxes on small businesses

• Medicare for all

• Strengthening workers rights

• Building local, community wealth

Without strong local economies, Vermont will continue to lose its population in search for a state with a better financial future. I will work tirelessly to reinvigorate these industries for the betterment of our rural communities.

For our next generation of Vermonters, homeownership is a completely unattainable dream, and homelessness is on the rise. For years now, Vermonters have been struggling with exorbitant home prices and rental rates. Especially in rural communities, where we are being priced out of the small-town communities we’ve built since the dawn of our state. To tackle these issues, we need to:

• Reform laws that restrict rural housing projects

• Work to lower property taxes on primary homes

• Make it easier to build in currently developed areas

• Tackle short-term rentals and vacancies

• Levy higher taxation for second homes

• Ban private equity from buying our homes

We need to make it easier to build our homes, to make sure our neighbors aren’t priced out of theirs, and fairly tax second homes that contribute to our state’s 20% home vacancy rate. I intend to lead with both current and aspiring homeowners in mind, to ensure none of us struggle getting a roof over our heads.

Climate change in Vermont is only going to worsen over the coming decades, making extreme weather and natural disasters more common and destructive as the planet continues to be polluted. But while we certainly need to enact climate law that protects Vermonters' property, health, and livelihoods, we still need to make sure that climate legislation doesn't make affordability worse in an already unaffordable state. To combat climate change, I believe we should:

• Continue or expand programs that provide subsidized or free clean heating systems,

• Invest in renewable energy, and expand our grid

• Work toward easing everyday Vermonter’s reliance on fossil fuels, without punishing them

Due to the projected costs on Vermonters who are not prepared to switch to green energy, I oppose the clean heat standard. In the future, a similar piece of legislation could be introduced, but not while Vermonters are already struggling and don’t have cheaper alternatives to heat their homes. But let’s not let all that get in the way of the facts: Climate change is a real threat to ALL Vermonters

Vermont’s education funding formula is extremely flawed. Our per-pupil spending is the largest in the nation, and we’ve lagged behind in equitable funding distribution. We are facing legislation that will shut down our rural schools, and allocate small-town resources into bulky, oversized school districts, stripping our state of small-town community. To fix education spending, I will fight for:

• Reducing property taxes

• Ensuring our students and teachers get the resources they need

• Lesser administrative cost burden

If we are really going to tackle property tax increases and spending, we need to spread social service funds throughout the state, while moving forward with per-pupil funding and voluntary district closings.

Outside of education, I will also advocate for tax cuts for working folks, as well as our seniors and veterans, not for those who can already afford to live here.

There is simply no excuse, in this age of technology, for a legislator to not have some regular communication with their constituents. As a member of the legislature, I would:

• Publish bi-weekly legislative newsletters, focusing on big moves in the statehouse, my own bills, and what legislation i do/don’t support.

• Hold Legislative talks, both in-person and over zoom, where constituents can voice their concerns during the legislative session.

• Regularly update social media, similar to the newsletters, on everything from legislation to events and calls to action.

In a world where we have access to thousands of online users at the click of a button, I believe it’s important to utilize these avenues of communication to promote transparency and accountability to the office. And for those without this technology, having in-person meetings would be a more accessible avenue to achieve this goal of making the people’s voice heard in Montpelier.

From mental health to public safety, drug use to human rights, there are many issues centered around our community as a whole that need to be addressed. When I’m in Montpelier, I plan to:

• Support drug prevention resources in our district

• Advocate for policies that will strengthen mental health services

• Protect the rights of all Vermonters, from the 2nd Amendment to our rights of assembly, free speech, and to choose

• Work across the aisle, to make our state better for working people

To build a Vermont that works for all of us, I will do away with political polarity and bring on a new, people-first agenda.