Promises to You
As your representative in Montpelier, I make four important promises to my
constituents in Manchester, Arlington, Sunderland and Sandgate.
- I will listen to you: I have spent much of my career working as a professional journalist. I listen carefully to people’s stories and points of view. I conduct research, I explore all sides of an issue, and I know how to discern fact from opinion and misinformation. These are critical skills in the state legislature.
- I will work toward collaborative solutions: Though I’m a proud Democrat, I grew up in a Republican family. I respect people and ideas from all parties and I believe that collaborative solutions, forged from conversation and reasonable compromise, are the most powerful and enduring path to lasting progress. In Montpelier, I am keeping this promise through active participation in several tripartisan caucuses and through my committee work. Though high-stakes votes understandably draw the most media attention, most bills arrive at the House floor with unanimous — or at least convincing — multi-party support.
- I will keep you informed: You deserve to know where where I stand—and how I’m voting as your legislator—in Montpelier. As your representative, I hold regular constituent meetings and office hours across our district, I send a periodic online newsletter to anyone interested in receiving it, I write columns for the local newspapers, and I post frequent statehouse updates on my political Facebook page. You will not have to dig into a database to understand my voting record, or wonder what I believe. Click here to follow me on Facebook!
- I will represent our district with integrity: We live in highly partisan and polarized times. That’s why I care so much about integrity and respect. We all love Vermont; we all want to help Vermonters. We all want to find cost-effective solutions to our shared challenges. At home and in the statehouse, you can count on me to build positive, trusting and respectful relationships within my party and across the aisle.
Politics is about policy. But it’s also about people. To be an effective legislator, both of these skills matter.
As your representative in Montpelier, I can’t promise that we’ll agree on every issue. But I can promise that I will listen, that I will do my homework, and that I will work hard to represent all of us in the statehouse. As my favorite T-shirt says: Not Right. Not Left. Forward.
Kathleen
Paid for by Kathleen James for State Representative |Alexandra Heintz, Treasurer |
P.O. Box 1044 | Manchester Center VT 05255