Rep. Torre: ‘Grateful for good conversations’ during the campaign

November 1, 2024  |  Rep. Dara Torre

Dear Washington-2 voters,

As election season winds down, I'm reflecting on all the amazing nooks and crannies I've gotten to explore with a wonderful band of volunteers, and the friendliness encountered all over the Washington-2 House district. I'm grateful for the good conversations and for the concerns, priorities and appreciation shared with me. Campaigning is hard work, but staying connected, inspired and informed makes us all better off. The issues we're facing are not easily fixed and the solutions will likely require some difficult changes. The repeated flooding, the housing crisis and the unsustainable costs of both our education and healthcare systems demand our most diligent, innovative and collaborative solutions. 

Should I return to Montpelier, I will advocate for the simpler, fairer education funding system we all want, and continue to push hard for more funding and regulatory reform to support housing development and flood-resilient communities.

To ensure an affordable, quality education system, we must all stay engaged in the important processes underway. Please follow the work of the Commission on the Future of Public Education here.  You can also read about the Agency of Education's Listen and Learn Tour at this link, including a recently released State Education Profile with new data and trends. 

Finally, a word on climate action and the opportunities being explored to lower emissions and stabilize costs as our energy system transitions. Please be assured that there’s no “carbon surcharge” or “carbon tax” kicking into effect in January, despite what you may have read or heard. The Clean Heat Standard won’t “automatically” kick in and is still under exploration. Legislators will be assessing lots of information being compiled by our Public Utilities Commission (follow their work here) to help Vermonters who wish to switch to cleaner, less expensive heat be able to do so. The goal of this exploration is to enable fair access to cleaner heat options in a gradual, thoughtful, and cost-effective way. 

It's been a privilege to serve as one of your Washington-2 state representatives in Montpelier, and I look forward to working hard on your behalf in the coming session if re-elected. Please email me for assistance or with any questions (daratorrevt@gmail.com). Check out my website and sign up for a monthly newsletter at daratorrevt.com. 

Thank you!

Rep. Dara Torre

Moretown 

State Rep. Dara Torre, D-Moretown, is one of two representatives in the Washington-2 district in the Vermont House of Representatives that covers Duxbury, Fayston, Moretown, Waitsfield and Warren. She is a member of the House Environment and Energy Committee.