Is our Democracy for sale?
Much has been said about the descent into oligarchy in the United States. Elon Musk and his billionaire friends spent hundreds of millions of dollars to elect Donald Trump, and are now being rewarded with unprecedented political power in our government.
We are already seeing the same dynamic play out on a local scale here in Vermont. In November’s election, a small group of very wealthy business owners and landlords -- mostly from the Burlington area - spent tens of thousands of dollars to elect candidates who they believe will do their bidding in the Vermont Legislature. They were largely successful.
Now they are trying to do it again this Town Meeting Day.
Progressives are running a strong slate of candidates across Vermont this election. Right now I have an urgent request to support two amazing candidates running for City Council in Burlington.
Jennifer Monroe Zakaras and Kathy Olwell are running to advance their progressive policy ideas. When elected, they will work closely with Mayor Emma Muvaney-Stanak to fight for an agenda that supports the needs of working people and the planet – not the political and economic elite of Vermont.
That is why they are being targeted by the same group of wealthy landlords and business owners who dumped tens of thousands of dollars into our political system this past November.
This past election, State Senate candidates, who campaign in much larger areas than a city council candidate, spent $21,000 on average. With a month to go to Town Meeting Day, the Democratic candidates running against Jen and Kathy have already raised nearly $17,000 EACH. They have both accepted large sums of money from real estate developers, landlords, and large business owners.
We are used to being outspent by opponents with deeper pockets, and our path to victory has always been through building a powerful grassroots volunteer network to knock doors and get our message out one voter at a time. We certainly don’t want to spend $20,000 to attempt to buy a city council seat in Vermont. But we do need to raise money to purchase lawn signs and campaign materials so we have a decent shot at winning against the flood of money being dumped into our local elections.
Please donate whatever you can. No donation is too big and no donation is too small. Your support means so much.
In solidarity,
Josh Wronski
Director, Vermont Progressive Party
