Issues
WHY WOULD ANY SANE PERSON RUN FOR THE VERMONT STATE SENATE?
Six months ago, I had no intention of running for the Senate. But this first half of the year 2024, the Democrat super-majority in the legislature has made a total mess of things, to the extent that most people want nothing to do with the legislature and certainly don’t want to be a candidate for office. Having been unsuccessful in a diligent search for good candidates to run against our three Democratic incumbents, I decided to take the challenge myself. Someone has to, or we will automatically be re-electing people who show no independence, follow the party line every time, and are part of the problem, not part of the solution.
What has happened in the last six months?
Our education funding formula (Act 60) finally proved conclusively that it is irreparably broken and needs to be replaced. The shock of a 20% increase in education property taxes caused the Democrats to take action to reduce the final increase to 13.8%. How? By raising other taxes and adding the newfound revenues to the education fund. So, what kind of solution is that?! Then, instead of reforming the system, they created yet another study committee to produce yet another report that nobody will read. So on the issue that affects most Vermonters this year, and calls for the most important action, the Democrats have just kicked the can down the road and gone home!
In recent years, the Democrats have passed the “Global Warming Solutions Act,” the “Heat Act,” and now this year, over Governor Scott’s veto, the “Renewable Energy Standard.” All three of these bills raise the price of fossil fuels or electric energy for Vermonters, force us to turn to solar or wind for electricity, and purchase (by 2035) only electric vehicles! These are all pipedreams that will cost Vermonters more but will do nothing substantial to counter the effects of climate change; these plans are bound to fail, just as the Democrats’ plan for a single-payer health care system failed ten years ago!
The one industry the Democrats have helped grow is the unlawful drug industry! Vermont is known for being soft on crime: releasing most criminal defendants on their own recognizance pending trial; treating 21 year old defendants as juveniles because their poor little brains aren’t fully developed until age 25; taking forever to bring cases to trial; and imposing light sentences with little or no jail time. No wonder Vermont has become a haven for drug crime, with pushers coming from other states and setting up business in Vermont, and employing violence, including murder, when things don’t go their way! It’s time to stop believing that these individuals can be rehabilitated; it’s time to get tough on crime!
There are numerous other reasons why I am running, but to sum thing up, the Democrats have, over a period of years, passed legislation that is unrealistic and based on fantasy. It’s time to G.E.T. R.E.A.L!! The Washington Senatorial District has three Senators; they are all Democrats. I think it’s time to replace at least one of them, and I respectfully ask voters in the District to give me one of their three votes.
GIVE ME A CHANCE—I WON’T DISAPPOINT YOU!