LETTER: Independent John Burns runs for Washington-2 House seat
September 22, 2024 | By John Burns To the Community:
Moretown resident John Burns is an Independent candidate for a seat representing the Washington-2 district of the Vermont House. Courtesy photo
My name is John Burns and I am running for one of the two seats representing the Washington-2 legislative district. (Duxbury, Fayston, Moretown, Waitsfield and Warren) The current legislature is wildly out of balance, and I am running as an independent candidate to restore some balance. This imbalance led to six vetos by Gov. Phil Scott as he attempted to protect Vermonters from outrageous tax increases, “heating fees” and other unnecessary legislation.
The current representative, Dara Torre, supported all six legislative overrides of the governor’s fiscally sensible vetos. This was a major factor in my decision to add my name to the ballot so people have more choice and a bit of hope for this upcoming election in November.
For a short biography, I was born and raised in Burlington I graduated from UVM in 1992 with a Political Science degree and an Army officers’ commission. I moved to Moretown in 2007 and retired from the Vermont Army National Guard in 2020 with over 30 years of service. I am a craftsman, have completed a lengthy “sustainable building” program at our Yestermorrow Design/Build school, and I earned my Master of Public Administration degree at Norwich University in 2020.
My first legislative priority is to do everything I can to prevent people from being taxed and expensed out of their homes! The “affordability” issue is damaging the fabric of our state and gutting our communities. I think that climate change is most appropriately addressed here in Vermont by picking up a shovel and doing hands-on flood mitigation projects, not meddling in the global energy market.
To see my thoughts on other issues please visit my website and get in touch through email at independent4vt@gmail.com or by phone at 802-328-8001.
John Burns
Moretown
Independent John Burns of Moretown is a candidate for one of two seats in the Washington-2 House district covering Duxbury, Fayston, Moretown, Waitsfield and Warren. Other candidates are incumbent Rep. Dara Torre, D-Moretown, Waitsfield Democrat Candice White, and Eugene Bifano, on the Common Sense Party ticket.
The Valley Reporter published this Q&A interview with Burns on Aug. 12.