I'm Anne Watson, and I'm asking for your vote for State Senate to represent Washington County. I've been a high school physics, engineering, and math teacher at Montpelier High School for the past 17 years. I'm running because every day I work with students who are worried about climate change.
Especially in teaching physics, I end up talking about energy and thinking about Vermont's energy systems a lot, and I'm really passionate about decarbonizing Vermont's economy. Especially in that transition, it matters that we are centering minorities and those without economic means, because they are often the hardest hit by the effects of climate change, and they often have the fewest resources available to transition away from fossil fuels themselves. I am particularly interested in state support for transitioning rental properties off of fossil fuels. Additionally, I'm the Mayor of Montpelier, and I frequently hear from folks about how Vermont's economic policies are just not working for them. This includes the lack of high quality affordable childcare, the lack of paid family and medical leave, and the lack of affordable housing. As Mayor I have been working on these issues, and we have actually been able to make progress in small ways, but we really need the support of the state to make progress on a larger scale.
We need to take climate science seriously and do everything we can to ramp up our transition off of fossil fuels. Those with means in our communities will be able to make the transition on their own as the price of fossil fuels continues to climb. So the role of the government should be to support and facilitate that transition for moderate- and low-income households so that they are not stuck paying high prices for oil and gas. We especially need to support the transition off of fossil fuels for renters. I’m pioneering a program with the City of Montpelier specifically for rental units to transition their hot water systems to heat pumps that use renewable electricity.
This means funding high quality childcare, including programs for 0 through 5 year olds. Why support childcare for the very young? 1) It’s a critical time of development for children, and all of Vermont’s children deserve to have access to high quality care. And 2) childcare is essential for economic development. When the pandemic hit, many women left the workforce to care for their children. According to a study by Let’s Grow Kids, in Washington County 72% of Infants that are likely to need care are in fact without access to regulated care, and 92% of infants likely to need care are without access to high quality care. Similarly, we need paid family leave to support working parents of young children and those who must care for sick or elderly family members. No one should have to worry about their income while their loved ones are ill. And no one should have to choose between being with their baby and getting paid. According to the National Partnership for Women and Families, “Even unpaid leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act is inaccessible for 65 percent of Vermonters.” and “Paid leave means people — especially women — aren’t forced to leave the labor force to care for their families”. |
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Anne's Story
Anne grew up in Essex, VT, attending Essex High School. She received a B.S. in Physics from Penn State, with a minor in mathematics. She then completed a Masters in Education at UVM and began teaching physics and math at Montpelier High School starting in 2004. A highly acclaimed teacher, Anne is a Knowles Science Teaching Senior Fellow, and a 2015 Rowland Fellow.
She became a resident of Montpelier in 2008 and was appointed to the Montpelier City Council to fill a vacancy in 2012. Since then Anne has championed environmental issues, creating equity for low-income residents, and financial sustainability for Montpelier’s residents. Anne co-wrote an RFP that landed the city a 1 MegaWatt solar array to offset 50% of the municipality’s electric load, at no cost to taxpayers. She supported the installation of a municipal district heating plant, which now heats most of the municipal buildings with sustainable wood-chip heat. As a result of her advocacy, the Montpelier City Council has set a goal to reach “net-zero energy” by 2030 for the entire city. This means Montpelier would locally produce as much energy as it consumes for electricity, heat, and transportation. She advocated for a change to Montpelier’s total winter parking ban that disproportionately affected renters and low-income families. It is now an alternate-side winter parking ban, which has been a success now for two winter seasons.
Anne recently got married and had a baby. When Anne is not teaching or at City Council meetings, she is either hanging out with her family or playing ultimate frisbee. She coached the Montpelier High School Boys Varsity team from 2010 to 2021, and won three State Championships. She successfully advocated that ultimate frisbee be included as an official varsity sport, making Vermont the first state in the country to do so. She also started a small business that runs ultimate frisbee day camps for middle school students in multiple towns in Vermont over the summer and fall.
She became a resident of Montpelier in 2008 and was appointed to the Montpelier City Council to fill a vacancy in 2012. Since then Anne has championed environmental issues, creating equity for low-income residents, and financial sustainability for Montpelier’s residents. Anne co-wrote an RFP that landed the city a 1 MegaWatt solar array to offset 50% of the municipality’s electric load, at no cost to taxpayers. She supported the installation of a municipal district heating plant, which now heats most of the municipal buildings with sustainable wood-chip heat. As a result of her advocacy, the Montpelier City Council has set a goal to reach “net-zero energy” by 2030 for the entire city. This means Montpelier would locally produce as much energy as it consumes for electricity, heat, and transportation. She advocated for a change to Montpelier’s total winter parking ban that disproportionately affected renters and low-income families. It is now an alternate-side winter parking ban, which has been a success now for two winter seasons.
Anne recently got married and had a baby. When Anne is not teaching or at City Council meetings, she is either hanging out with her family or playing ultimate frisbee. She coached the Montpelier High School Boys Varsity team from 2010 to 2021, and won three State Championships. She successfully advocated that ultimate frisbee be included as an official varsity sport, making Vermont the first state in the country to do so. She also started a small business that runs ultimate frisbee day camps for middle school students in multiple towns in Vermont over the summer and fall.
Paid For By Anne Watson For Vermont Senate, 221 Barre St., Apt 203, Montpelier, VT
