I enthusiastically support Brenda Siegel for lieutenant governor in our upcoming primary.
As fellow activists, Brenda and I have worked side by side on the economic-justice issues of livable wages and paid family and medical leave for working Vermonters, on advancing the cause of universal health care as a basic right, on justice for immigrants and asylum seekers, and on bold climate action.
Brenda has been an outspoken voice for racial justice, for reform of our criminal justice system, and for commonsense, evidence-based policy on opiate-use disorder which prioritizes saving lives.
Over the years, I've watched Brenda draw on her own experiences as someone who has struggled economically while raising her son as a single parent, and as someone who has experienced tragedy in her own family, to emerge as a strong voice on a full range of progressive issues.
During a walking tour of Porto, a spectacular city in the north of Portugal, the sunny, peaceful, spring-like day highlighted the orange clay roofs, the pastel-colored three-story apartments with the ubiquitous tiling, and the wide Douro River. I was amazed to hear from our guide, Cyril, that before 2001,
Yet again, like a bad penny, the local option sales tax has raised its ugly head. I understand the necessity for Brattleboro to take in more revenue, as the federal government has starved state and local municipalities for decades. However, there is a very sound reason why border towns...
The so-called president and his merry gang of thieves want us all to believe the economy is booming and that trickle-down economics is lifting all citizens. Some say that the drug crisis and the lack of affordable housing, as well as stagnating wages, will be improved by this great economic situation, but it only appears to be getting worse. All of these crises could be alleviated with a fraction of the money being showered on the wealthiest Americans through tax...
The brutal Trump administration, which has absolutely no grasp of history and no compassion, need look no further than the sad and violent history of U.S. intervention in Central America to learn why so many people are fleeing El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Each of these countries, plus Nicaragua, has its own story to tell about the many and terrible military interventions made more violent and heavily weaponized in order to make Central America safe for United States corporate interests...
Since my first meeting with Nader Hashim, I have been excited about his candidacy in the race to represent the district covering Dummerston, Putney, and Westminster. He brings an original voice to our community and a needed voice for the Legislature. Nader is a young officer with the Vermont State Police who has a strong commitment to criminal-justice reform. He has been with the police for seven years, and is ready to take what he has learned firsthand about the...
Please go to the polls on or before Aug. 14 and support Brenda Siegel in the Vermont Democratic gubernatorial primary. So many issues in Vermont require fresh, younger, more progressive leadership than we see from the other candidates in the primary or from the current governor. Brenda is the only candidate running for governor with a solid record of working for social and political change. She volunteered tirelessly for Bernie Sanders' campaign, and she has participated enthusiastically in the many...
Earlier this month, Oregon senator Jeff Merkley visited the Texas-Mexico border. It is difficult to minimize the horror of what he witnessed. Outside a dead Super Walmart, he was escorted by the police away from the facility without being able to witness the conditions inside. We know there are thousands of children being held in prison camps such as this facility. These children range in age from babies to teens. If a sitting senator is not permitted to see the...