GUILFORD-I don’t think anyone in Vermont who is paying attention and who is not a Republican will argue with the fact that economist Amanda Janoo is a unique and exceptional candidate for governor of Vermont.
Her close but decisive Democratic primary win was unexpected by the establishment, but many of us who volunteer for Amanda know how excited people are when they learn about who she is and how she wants to help Vermont become a better place for us all.
And yet, there has been no mention of Amanda’s people-powered victory in any of the major, corporate media — certainly not The New York Times. The Boston Globe covered only her primary victory, even though we are in New England!
I have sent “tips” in to the Times, The Guardian, and other media about Amanda — no coverage whatsoever, in spite of the fact that she actually is a seriously credible candidate for our next governor and she is one more candidate who is part of the progressive wave washing over the country.
So what a surprise to read in The New York Times a feature story on Aug. 26 about the race for governor in Vermont: “Meet the Teenager Running for Vermont Governor and Ready for ‘Impact,’” whatever that is supposed to mean.
This kid is 15, lives in Stowe, in one of the wealthiest towns in the state, and has a pretty incoherent “platform,” being pro-nuclear power, babbling something about the importance of importing miniature cars from Japan — for people who live in flat areas, which is almost no one in Vermont.
His “cred” is that “I have good grades, I enjoy Formula 1, I hang out with my friends all the time,” he said. Really.
And this unserious kid has been covered by the Associated Press and the New York Post, to name a few.
Unlike Amanda Janoo, who has worked as a well-being economist for the United Nations, whose ideas are exciting thousands of people around the state.
Amanda proposes a higher tax on second homes and short-term rentals to pay for a primary care provider in every town in the state, to proposals to do more than just build housing but to make it accessible to the vast majority of state residents who don’t qualify for a conventional mortgage.
She says no to data centers, unlike the current governor, whose veto of a bill to put guardrails up for communities being faced with the assault of a data center is incredibly unpopular.
She acknowledges that under Trump, we will need to be far more self sufficient as a state, and we need to rely on each other: Our communities need to be given resources so we can protect ourselves from the rampant theft and corruption of the Trump regime.
Phil Scott, the Republican governor, has been in office for five terms, and many people feel he has overstayed is welcome. He almost never travels out of his office and never makes a speech. He freely gave all the personal data about Vermont SNAP recipients to the Trump regime, in spite of claiming that he is a non-Trumpian Republican.
Amanda Janoo, the challenger, has visited my southern Vermont community — Brattleboro and surrounding towns — more times during the past four months of her campaign than Phil Scott has in his 10 years in office.
In calling Phil Scott the “prohibitive favorite to win reelection,” I don’t think New York Times reporter Pooja Salhotra spent more than five minutes looking into the fact that Scott has made some very unpopular moves in the past couple of years and that many of us believe he is vulnerable.
Is Vermont only a quaint little idyllic place with a few quirks? We actually face the same major issues that are confronting a country where all except the most affluent communities are facing huge financial challenges, especially as people are losing health care on a daily basis.
We have a proportionally large unhoused population in our town and city centers, and many fine people running food banks, meal programs, and other resources for the very poor, in the wealthiest country in the world.
Sorry, New York Times. We, the people of Vermont, plan on electing a governor who has vision, who is prepared to run our state, and who is ready to end managed decline of the past decade.
Not someone who decided to create a “campaign” to look great on his college resume. Or maybe to become a social media name.
Nancy Braus
Guilford
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