Why I Ran. Why I serve.
Michelle with her granddaughter, Lydia, a ninth generation Vermonter, at Bald Hill Reserve in Westminster
In 2013 my granddaughter Lydia was born in the heart of Windham County. In ways I never could have imagined, our country has changed since then, and I have found myself asking a simple question: am I doing enough? Hate crimes in Vermont have increased dramatically since 2016, our state economy is under greater strain than ever, and currently we are experiencing a healthcare crisis unlike any before. Vermont has long been a leader in progressive policy. Now more than ever, America needs the example Vermont can be. The Trump administration has shown a side of America that is not the country I want nor one that reflects the values of Windham County.
At the same time, we have seen during the COVID 19 crisis, how caring Vermonters can be for each other. Mutual Aid centers have risen to fill the needs of our transformed world. Hundreds have sewn and distributed masks, meals are being delivered along school bus routes, people are shopping for their neighbors, residents of the seasonal warming shelters are housed.
It is an honor representing the people of Westminster, Putney and Dummerston, to help build a Vermont that celebrates traditions of our past, while planning for a more just, healthy, and welcoming community.
My Vision
How can we make post-COVID Vermont a better place to live, thrive and do business? As we rebuild our economy and our lives after COVID, it will not be easy. We can learn from this moment, and emerge stronger from it.
There are four main areas I focus as our state representative.
Healthcare / Mental Health Care: We know from COVID-19 that healthcare impacts every part of life in Vermont. We need affordable healthcare for all, and access to mental health supports that can strengthen individuals and our community.
Criminal Justice Reform: I serve on the Corrections and Institutions Committee, and submitted legislation related to bail reform. We should eliminate cash bail for misdemeanors in the state of Vermont; the current system keeps people not convicted of a crime behind bars because of inability to pay.
Environmental /Economic Sustainability: We must preserve the Vermont quality of life. There will be tough decisions headed forward, and protecting our environment and our people have to be at the center.
Welcoming Asylum Seekers / Inclusive Community: This term I am working with the Brattleboro Development Corporation to help resettle dozens of new members into our community. This is one of those situations where doing right and doing good are the same thing. New residents help our economy grow, new children will benefit our schools, and Vermont can show community resettlement is an alternative to putting kids in cages at the border.
As we head forward, Vermont can be a national leader in a more compassionate, sustainable, and healthy way of life.
Freedom and unity for all
Since 2003, Vermont is where I have put down roots and made my home. My granddaughter Lydia is a 9th generation Vermonter on her dad’s side, and I want our communities to remain as strong for the next nine generations. The past two summers I marched with my Governor’s Institute of Vermont, Global Issues and Youth Action students in the Brattleboro July 4th parade carrying the same sign I took to the original Women’s March Protest: Make America Kind Again.
One day I told Una, one of my GIV students, that working with youth gave me hope for the future, that her generation could find solutions to the messes created by earlier ones. She looked at me and said “Thanks, but that’s a lot to lay on us, why don’t YOU do something?”
I thank Una Fonte for prompting me to get to work finding solutions to the challenges we are facing today, which have become ever more complicated with the COVID-19 crisis. I am eager for the opportunity to work together as Vermonters to make our state what it can be: a place of Freedom and Unity. For all.