Candidate Statement – Jessica Van Oort, Vermont State Representative

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Transcript

[00:00:25] Speaker 1: I'm Jessica Van Oort.
[00:00:27] I'm running for state rep in the Rutland -Bennington district
[00:00:30] because I'm tired of living in unprecedented times,
[00:00:33] and I bet you are too.
[00:00:35] Costs are too high, and our freedoms are slipping away.
[00:00:39] I've heard from my neighbors that they're
[00:00:41] worried about affording groceries,
[00:00:43] about the skyrocketing costs of health care.
[00:00:45] They're worried that they won't be able to send their kids
[00:00:47] to the same school that they've always gone to,
[00:00:51] that our votes might not matter in the next election,
[00:00:54] that masked federal agents might show up in our communities.
[00:00:57] I want to help.
[00:00:59] I know that there are some things we can solve
[00:01:01] at the state level, and some we can't.
[00:01:03] But during the pandemic, when times started
[00:01:05] to get unprecedented, I got involved in local government.
[00:01:09] I did some practical good in Pawlet,
[00:01:11] like helping bring high -speed internet
[00:01:13] to every part of our town,
[00:01:15] streamlining our zoning to make it easier
[00:01:17] for people to build on their own land,
[00:01:19] and getting a grant to put in geothermal heating
[00:01:21] and cooling in town buildings,
[00:01:23] which will save taxpayer dollars.
[00:01:25] I'll look for similar practical ways
[00:01:27] to improve people's lives at the state house.
[00:01:30] I truly believe we can do better.
[00:01:33] Here's some policies I support.
[00:01:35] Regulate data centers so they don't drive up
[00:01:37] electricity costs and pollute our environment.
[00:01:40] There was a good bill about this,
[00:01:41] with tripartisan support that died this year
[00:01:44] after the governor vetoed it.
[00:01:45] We should bring it back next year.
[00:01:48] Raise the minimum wage to keep up with the cost of living.
[00:01:51] It's currently $14 .42 an hour.
[00:01:53] That's not a living wage here in Vermont.
[00:01:56] Pass a state law revoking the right of corporations
[00:01:59] in Vermont to make political donations
[00:02:01] to get around Citizens United.
[00:02:03] Montana is doing this this year.
[00:02:06] Look up the Montana plan to read more
[00:02:08] about the details of it.
[00:02:09] If Montana can do it, we can sure do it,
[00:02:11] and make big money stop twisting our politics
[00:02:14] and turning us against each other.
[00:02:17] And finally, tax equality.
[00:02:18] Every day Vermonters pay too much
[00:02:21] while the ultra wealthy get federal tax breaks.
[00:02:24] They should pay back those tax breaks to the state
[00:02:26] so we can fund important needs like roads and education.
[00:02:30] And if big corporations are using AI
[00:02:32] to take away people's jobs, we should tax the AI agents.
[00:02:37] Human workers pay taxes, robots should pay them too.
[00:02:40] If you have other ideas about how we can improve life
[00:02:43] for everyone and protect our freedoms, I'm all ears.
[00:02:46] I think it's gonna take everyone's ideas
[00:02:48] and everyone's efforts to get us out
[00:02:50] of these unprecedented times and into some better times
[00:02:54] where we can get back to worrying about normal things
[00:02:56] like how the sugaring season is going to be
[00:02:59] and what date it'll be safe to set out our tomatoes.
[00:03:03] Thanks for listening.
[00:03:04] I'm Jessica Van Oort, I'm running for state rep.
[00:03:07] Check out my website at vanoortforvermont.com.