Issues & Priorities

A positive vision for our community and our state: building a future where all Vermonters can thrive.

We face serious challenges, from affordability of housing, childcare, and healthcare to the increasing dangers posed by climate change and continued threats to reproductive freedom. I’m working hard to move forward with a positive vision: rooted in the community-driven values we hold dear and investing in an economy that works for all Vermonters.

HOUSING
Our housing crisis is constantly top of mind. If we intend to ensure that the communities we love remain places where a socioeconomically diverse array of neighbors can live, work, recreate, raise their families, and retire, we need to commit to pairing necessary investment with regulatory reform. This year, in addition to our major Act 250 reform, we invested nearly $100 million in housing: developing permanently affordable units, renovating existing structures into new rentals, supporting grants for first generation homeowners, focusing on solutions for those in the “missing middle” income bracket, funding updates and repairs to manufactured homes, and supporting emergency shelter and services. Despite this progress, much work remains. I’m committed to continuing the conversation about how we fund a long-term plan for investing to solve our housing crisis.

EDUCATION & PROPERTY TAXES
Last December, due to a perfect storm of factors, education property taxes for the coming year were headed for an untenable average increase of 20%. Through difficult conversations and by pulling every responsible lever available, we were able to lower that average increase by one-third. This helps, but the increase is still too much for most Vermonters. Factors driving this include: the end of federal funds, the increasing cost of healthcare, our aging infrastructure, and serious student mental and behavioral health needs. I believe deeply in supporting our schools, students, and teachers. I also believe we need structural reform to our systems of funding and delivering education statewide. That might include tough conversations about the most appropriate number of school districts and buildings to serve our kids, as well as what might be the best source of funding for the system. But it would be a serious mistake to rush that work and risk getting it wrong. So, we took responsible action to bring property tax rates as low as possible for this year, while supporting our local school boards, teachers, and staff in delivering the education our kids deserve. And we established a Commission on the Future of Education to engage in a robust public process and deliver specific recommendations on both short-term cost containment and long-term structural reform so we can better fund and deliver education in our communities in a way taxpayers can afford. Finally, I continue to advocate for our unique tapestry of public and independent schools that are committed to serving every student in our rural communities so well.

CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
It’s been a year of significant progress addressing climate change in Vermont, both mitigating its future effects and adapting to its current impact. In light of the devastating floods that have become so common here, we took steps to better manage our river corridors, floodplains, wetlands, and dams to protect our towns, homes, and businesses from increasingly devastating storms. We also created a “climate superfund” using decades of legal precedent to ask the world’s largest fossil fuel companies to pay their fair share for the damage caused by climate change. We worked to modernize Act 250, our statewide land use law, making it easier and faster to build housing in the right places while protecting our forests, farmland, and waters. We set expedited goals to transition our electrical grid to 100% renewable power over the next several years. And finally, we reined in the use of highly toxic neonicotinoid pesticides that have wreaked havoc on our pollinators. Arming our small businesses, farmers, and municipalities with the tools they need to become more resilient in the face of climate change related disaster is a top priority moving forward, as is helping Vermonters of all incomes become less dependent on price-volatile, polluting fossil fuels for heat and transportation.

CHILDCARE
We’re making progress on solving Vermont’s childcare crisis. Last year, we passed first-of-its-kind legislation that commits to making a long-term investment to stabilize our childcare system, provide access to quality childcare for thousands of Vermonters who need it, and make Vermont a more affordable place for families. This work is already making a difference, with nearly 1,000 new childcare spaces opening across the state over the last year. By the end of 2024, over 7,000 additional Vermont kids and their families may be eligible for tuition assistance. And early childhood educators are seeing increased wages, keeping them in the field providing excellent care for our kids. This investment in our childcare system earns a three to one return on every dollar we spend, and makes it more possible for young families to thrive in Vermont.

HEALTHCARE
Our work this year focused on reducing administrative burden on providers, reducing costs, and increasing access to care. First, as we face a severe shortage of healthcare providers, it’s unacceptable that those dedicated folks who are serving our communities end up spending up to 25% of their time dealing with insurance companies second-guessing the patient care decisions they’ve made. That’s why we eliminated the practice of “prior authorization” for all primary care providers. That means that when your primary care provider determines that you need a test or referral, you’ll no longer need to wait for your insurance company to sign off. Clinicians will have more time to spend with patients, and patients will have shorter wait times and better health outcomes. We’re also tackling the benefits cliff faced by too many low-income older Vermonters as they transition from Medicaid to Medicare and see a sudden jump in costs. We expanded eligibility for the Medicare Savings Program, meaning nearly 10,000 older Vermonters can expect to begin saving thousands of dollars each year, allowing them to focus on getting the care they need when they are sick.

REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM
I’m proud to be the pro-choice candidate in this race endorsed by Planned Parenthood Vermont Action Fund IE PAC. Two years ago, Vermonters here at home and all across the state voted overwhelmingly to pass the Reproductive Liberty Amendment, affirming our values and enshrining reproductive rights in the state constitution. At the time, I was the only candidate running for this seat who stood alongside the vast majority of community members and proudly voted yes. Last year in the legislature, I continued to make progress toward ensuring safe access to reproductive healthcare for all, voting to enact legal protections both for those seeking this crucial healthcare in Vermont and those providing it. With nationwide threats to reproductive rights, and the idea of a federal abortion ban on the table, electing pro-choice state legislators is crucial to safeguarding access to reproductive health care. I will not allow us to go back.

GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION
After growing up under the growing specter of gun violence in America, I’ve worked to implement common-sense gun violence prevention. Last year, we successfully banned paramilitary training camps from operating in Vermont, keeping our communities safer. Tragically, Vermont’s rate of suicide is 50% higher than the national average, and that nearly 60% of those suicides involve a firearm. We also know that a child living in a home with a gun has a staggering 440% higher chance of suicide than a child in a home without one. With these statistics in mind, we passed legislation that includes a 72-hour waiting period for gun sales, penalties for negligent storage of firearms, and an expanded “red flag law” to allow household members (in addition to law enforcement personnel) to petition a judge for an Extreme Risk Protection Order so they may remove guns from a home when someone is in crisis. This year, we implemented more common-sense reform, including a prohibition on the possession, sale, or transfer of firearms without a serial number (also known as “ghost guns”) and a ban on firearms at polling places during elections and early voting periods. I believe strongly that Vermont, with such a storied history of responsible gun ownership and hunting tradition, can set an example by continuing to pass laws that respect those traditions while protecting our families and communities from gun violence.