Voices of the Environment (VOTE) endorses Lewis Mudge, Kesha Ram Hinsdale and Virginia (Ginny) Lyons in the Chittenden Southeast district Senate race.
LEWIS MUDGE
Lewis Mudge’s positions on addressing the climate crisis and preserving the natural environment are aligned with VOTE. He wants to prevent further forest fragmentation, maximize weatherization for the most vulnerable, cut out loopholes for biofuels, limit waste going into our landfills, build affordable housing with maximum efficiencies in urban areas while preserving existing open space, reduce runoff into Lake Champlain through best practices and incentives and enact carbon pricing which leads to both economic and climate benefit. He supports zoning regulations which ensure that housing does not outstrip a community’s needs and resources. Currently, Lewis Mudge serves on the Charlotte Selectboard, where he also serves as a liaison to the Energy and Conservation Committees.
We are confident that Senator Mudge will fight to protect and preserve the natural resources in South Burlington and elsewhere in the State. We know from his answers to our questions and from meeting with him that he understands what is at stake if we continue to cut down trees and pave over meadows. Lewis Mudge knows the benefits open lands provide in mitigating the effects of climate change. He will bring a much-needed fresh approach in state legislation to stem the ever-increasing loss of Vermont’s natural lands, and at the same time improve the economic conditions of the average Vermonter.
VIRGINIA (GINNY) LYONS
Senator Ginny Lyons brings years of experience as a Senator representing our district. She has long listened to the experts behind the science of our climate crisis and helped lead the charge for renewable generation, transportation alternatives, energy efficiency, weatherization, land use planning, the reduction of fossil fuel use, and the growing health issues related to climate change. As the Chair of the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee, Ginny Lyons has sponsored a number of bills focusing on environmental justice, including a renewable energy economy bill, a bill banning BPA in consumer products and the first greenhouse gas reduction goals for the state.
She supports the principles of Smart Growth and the need for communities to be zoned properly encouraging village and town core development for mixed housing of all types. She believes municipalities need to plan land use together through the Chittenden County Regional Planning Committee. She is a member of the Lake Champlain Advisory Committee and has been a tireless advocate for cleaning up the pollutants upstream by working with the Agricultural Department to create buffer zones to prevent pollution discharge into the tributaries and the Lake Champlain.
She co-sponsored Prop 5, the constitutional amendment for reproductive liberty, supports the Global Warming Solutions Act, H175 the Bottle bill, H715, the Clean Heat Standard bill and continues to advocate for placing a price on carbon.
KESHA RAM HINSDALE
Senator Kesha Ram-Hinsdale’s legislative record proves her grasp of the related crises of climate change and environmental degradation. She co-authored the recently passed Environmental Justice law and is a vocal supporter of measures that would increase our resilience to climate change, including a just transition for home heating fuels, establishment of a Civilian Climate Corps and critical investments in electric grid hardening. Senator Ram-Hinsdale supports numerous pending pieces of legislation focused on similar issues, including a senate bill (S. 234) which would prevent the dismantling of Act 250, a house bill (H.715) which would establish a clean heat standard, and a house bill (H.175) which would expand Vermont’s bottle bill.
Senator Ram-Hinsdale is a champion for human health, co-sponsoring a bill that was passed by the Senate to restrict dangerous consumer product chemicals, including the notorious PFAS. Likewise, she is committed to workable strategies for reducing contamination of our rivers and lakes with agricultural and other forms of pollution.
Senator Ram-Hinsdale recognizes that Vermont’s housing crisis is intertwined with the environmental crisis, co-authoring a bill (S.226) that calls for transit-oriented, inclusionary housing in neighborhood development areas, in addition to grants for first-generation homebuyers and repairs for mobile homes to help increase and sustain our workforce while preserving our remaining natural resources. If re-elected, she would work to restore blighted properties in downtowns and village centers while preserving essential green space.
Tom Chittenden
Senator Tom Chittenden requested that Voices of the Environment not consider him for endorsement and we will of course respect that request. We would like, though, to compare and contrast his responses and record with that of the candidates we have endorsed.
Like the other candidates, Tom Chittenden is in favor of a price on carbon and voted in favor of the Clean Heat Standard. These measures are both critical to addressing the climate crisis in Vermont and we are pleased with his stand in this regard.
However, he was against the version a bill to amend Act 250 which would have provided much needed improvements to Vermont’s environmental protection regulation. This version of the bill had the support of the Vermont Natural Resources Council, Audubon Vermont, the Vermont Land Trust and the Nature Conservancy.
He also voted against expanding Vermont’s bottle bill. This bill would have kept an estimated 100 million more bottles and cans out of Vermont’s landfills and off our roadsides every year. According to the Vermont Public Interest Group, the Bottle Bill would also save nearly 16,100 metric tons of greenhouse gases annually and shift costs from consumers to producers.
As City Councilor, he consistently voted against enacting interim zoning in South Burlington, which was an effort to assess methods for South Burlington to better protect its open space. He also disagreed with and voted against critically important environmental protections unanimously approved by the Planning Commission.
Please join Voices of the Environment in voting for Lewis Mudge, Kesha Ram Hinsdale and Virginia (Ginny) Lyons in the Chittenden Southeast district Senate primary election on August 9th