Publisher’s Note: Today, August 9, is Primary Day in Vermont. As our friend and neighbor Gwen Hallsmith writes below, our elected leaders will move us either towards or away from a resilient and independent 2nd Vermont Republic. Choose wisely, and remember, in the words of Henry David Thoreau, to “Cast your whole vote – not a scrap of paper merely, but your whole influence.” Free Vermont! Here’s Gwen and the Vermonters for a New Economy…

Today is the primary in Vermont and there are some key choices. Richard Dunne is running on the Democratic ticket for State Treasurer. Richard favors both a state bank and divestment from fossil fuels, two issues that are pivotal for a new economy in Vermont. I apologize for not getting this information to you sooner… I was not aware of his position on the state bank until the other day.

Marci Young is running for the legislature, she is also on the Democratic primary ballot in the towns of Woodbury, Worcester, Morrisville, and Elmore. Marci is currently the staff of the Onion River Exchange in Montpelier, a Time Bank we established there back in 2007. So she understands the need for a new economy.

In the Lieutenant Governor’s race, David Zuckerman has won our endorsement, based on his realistic, farmer’s eye view of what it takes to improve the Vermont economy, especially in rural areas. He favors universal health care,

The governor’s race has been more difficult. As people who read this newsletter know, when we asked William Lee (aka “Spaceman”) his view on the new economy, he pulled out his dog-eared copy of Limits to Growth, a book authored back in the 1970s by Donella Meadows, Dennis Meadows, and others, that described the impending environmental crisis if we didn’t change the way the economy worked. We held a fundraiser for him at Headwaters, and tried to convince his party compatriots to run a write-in campaign for him on the Democratic ticket. We were not successful, and so it is true that many people in Vermont still have not heard of him, which is unfortunate because in my opinion, he would make a good governor.

Ironically, one of the reasons we were able to pull a fundraiser for him together so quickly was because we had planned to do a meet-and-greet for Matt Dunne, who came out early in favor of Bernie Sanders for President and showed promise for being the New Economy candidate for governor. But when his campaign staff required us to guarantee at least $3,500 – $5,000 before they would commit to the fundraiser, this pay-to-play attitude made us think twice about the candidacy. The next day, Bill Lee announced his campaign, so we went to meet him.

Meanwhile, Sue Minter has been gaining the endorsements of many people who share our concerns about climate change and poverty. And Peter Galbraith says that raising the minimum wage is a key element of an economic development plan for the state.

None of the gubernatorial candidates in the Democratic or Republican parties truly speak to the need for structural change in the economy, unfortunately. They are silent on public banks, divestment, coops, worker owned business, Time Banks, and other critical systemic improvements. So we’ll leave the primary decision up to you. To read their views on improving the economy, you can look at theVermont Digger article by clicking here.

Whatever your choice, making one on primary day is important. Personally, I plan to check Sue Minter’s box today, not because of her economic platform but because I feel she represents someone with the deepest experience working in and around state government. I would also like to see a woman in the governor’s office again.

VOTE. It’s important.