Castleton Republicans

01/20/2025

01/20/2025

Inauguration of President DJ Trump scheduled for noon today. You can watch live here.

01/18/2025

Don't miss this opportunity! Sign up today at [email protected]
It will be a very worthwhile way to spend your Saturday morning!

You should plan to come! Meet our new Lieutenant Governor (!), share breakfast with other local citizens, congratulate our newly appointed representative for Castleton - Zak Harvey, hear updates from our county's House & Senate legislators, and support our local American Legion! (Local candidates can bring their petitions for some signatures. March 4th is Town Meeting Day!)

01/18/2025

Here's info to contact all of our Vermont legislators. Thanks, VDC!
https://vermontdailychronicle.com/every-vermont-house-member-listed-by-town-district-party-committee-and-email-address/?fbclid=IwY2xjawH4tPBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHRNl7MP84XAqDAqpxTiBYQ2zcJrJGGzrrSq1s-JZUtUwBDd_LB-t2SJKJA_aem_-BfklXt-jkS1At9-HyAQHQ

Use this sortable list to contact your Representative and committees working on bills of interest to you.

01/17/2025

Joint committee meetings happening this week on major state problems - PUC met with both House Energy and Senate Natural Resources today...

01/16/2025

01/15/2025

Are you interested in starting a business? Maybe someone you know is. If so, CO.STARTERS' local business accelerator at The Hub CoWorks is the program for you!

With support from Heritage Family Credit Union and SCORE Vermont, participants will deep-dive into the process of launching a business in this in-person, 10-week program.

Meetings are on Wednesdays from 5 PM to 8 PM and this spring cohort will run from April 16 to June 18.

Visit thehubcoworks.com/co-starter-program to learn more and apply, or email [email protected] with any questions!

01/15/2025

What happened in the first week at the State House? From the Governor: "But when it comes to politics, I know it can be hard to admit when you’ve gone down the wrong path and need to turn around. But we’re not here to worry about egos. We’re here to do what Vermonters need.”

Back before Apple Play and phone navigation apps, we had a Garmin (we referred to it as Gladys) to help us with directions to unfamiliar destinations. If we made a wrong turn, Gladys would start saying “recalculating.” And to make it more annoying, Gladys would keep repeating it until you got ba...

01/14/2025

VTGOP Monday Message for 1/13/2025

01/13/2025

You should plan to come! Meet our new Lieutenant Governor (!), share breakfast with other local citizens, congratulate our newly appointed representative for Castleton - Zak Harvey, hear updates from our county's House & Senate legislators, and support our local American Legion! (Local candidates can bring their petitions for some signatures. March 4th is Town Meeting Day!)

01/08/2025

Thank you, Jarrod, for serving our Castleton district in the State House. We wish you all the best in the coming year! =)

To my family, friends, constituents, fellow Vermonters, along with everyone else who believed in me and supported me, past and present:

I just wanted to thank you all personally from the depths of my heart for the opportunity to serve the greater Castleton community as well as Vermont as a whole. It was a honor to be able to do so, and the experiences gained during my time "Under the Golden Dome" will surely last a lifetime.

In that time, we pushed to protect Castleton & the Vermont State College system from crippling cuts that would have deeply impacted our region. We advocated to protect our public water ways and drinking water sources. We advocated for increased access to mental health treatment, substance dependency treatment and prevention. We advocated for civil liberties of all Vermonters, medical freedom, and autonomy - not just a select few groups.

We advocated for government accountability, along with term limits. We advocated for measures to increase public safety, while helping protect our first responders, our military members, and veterans. We advocated for affordable child care for all Vermont families and for every child to be able to have access to food in school.

We advocated for Vermont consumers, responsible government spending, affordable housing, along with ensuring investment in Vermont's economic future.

All done while operating a full-time business and physically driving from Castleton to Montpelier then back to Castleton every day of session. To say the past few years have been busy is an under-statement.

In short, I have zero regrets in the work done in my term or any of the decisions made in office - as I know those decisions will not only help invest in increasing the standards of living for Vermonters for generations to come, but to help save lives.

Every decision made was to best represent all Vermonters, not just one political party of favor, or a special interest group, or one area of voters. Everybody.

Because, in the end, it's all about what actually helps people - not parties or politics.

With that in mind, I would like to take a moment to thank United States House Rep. Becca Balint for her kind words in the attached letter in regards to my retirement. I would also like to congratulate Representative Zachary "Zak" Harvey on his nomination by Governor Phil Scott to fill the vacant seat I once occupied.

As a fellow Fair Haven Union High School graduate and former classmate of Zak's, I have high hopes he will continue much of the work I left off on and work diligently towards protecting and investing in the future of Vermont and the Castleton region.

After everything being said and done, I think it's safe to say I'm finally officially retired.

But who knows what the future will bring?

Until then, my warmest wishes are with you all.

Thank you.

Jarrod E. Sammis - Retired VT State House Representative

01/07/2025

Congratulations and Thank You, Zak!

GOV. PHIL SCOTT APPOINTS HARVEY TO HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MONTPELIER, Vt. - Governor Phil Scott today announced his appointment of Zachary Harvey, of Castleton, to fill the vacant Rutland-3 seat in the Vermont House of Representatives. Harvey replaces Chris Brown, who resigned last month.

“I am appreciative of Zak’s willingness to serve his constituents in this role,” said Governor Scott. “As we enter a new legislative session, I believe we have a real opportunity to address the affordability crisis we face and I’m confident Zak’s perspective will make him an effective legislator.”

“I am deeply honored by Governor Scott’s appointment and grateful for his confidence in me to represent Rutland’s 3rd District in the Vermont House of Representatives,” said Harvey.

“As the new legislative session begins, I am focused on addressing the issues facing Vermonters, such as affordability and education. I look forward to working with the Governor and my fellow legislators to build a stronger, more prosperous Vermont for all.”

Zachary Harvey, a proud fifth generation Vermonter, was born and raised in the Green Mountain State. Over a decade-long career in financial services, he held various roles at the New York Stock Exchange and its parent, Intercontinental Exchange, a Fortune 500 technology and data services company. He began his career at Nasdaq, a global technology and exchange operator.

Harvey earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Economics from Providence College. He has served on several advisory boards supporting his alma mater and non-profit organizations.

Harvey’s appointment is effective Wednesday, January 8, 2025. He was selected from a list of candidates forwarded by the Castleton republican party.

01/07/2025

As the 2025 legislative session begins on Wednesday, Vermont has problems to solve - like education funding.

The legislature should make education reform priority ONE for the next two years.

01/07/2025

"The US Chamber of Commerce and the Petroleum Institute have jointly filed a lawsuit against the State of Vermont for a 2024 first in the nation Superfund Law seeking damages on Big Oil corporations for their alleged contribution to climate change."

Vermont’s Secretary Agency of Natural Resources is now being sued on ‘both sides’ of the political spectrum for a law seeking to recover billions from Big Oil.

01/04/2025

"We will propose amendments to Act 153 that establish carbon reduction goals and timelines that reflect the availability and affordability of proven carbon reduction technologies, an appreciation of Vermont’s winter climate and heating needs, and will not cause undue damage to Vermont’s economy or families. We will also move to remove the private right to sue Vermont in Act 153 if it falls short of carbon reduction goals."

For Immediate Release:
December 19, 2024

HOUSE AND SENATE REPUBLICAN JOINT STATEMENT ON GLOBAL WARMING SOLUTIONS ACT

Senate and House Republicans to Propose Amendments to Global Warming Solutions Act

In 2020 Act 153 (Global Warming Solutions Act) was passed by Democrats and Progressives over Governor Scott’s veto, with every Republican voting to sustain the Governor.

Act 153 was the catalyst for the Clean Heat Standard, which has been widely criticized as unworkable, unaffordable, and revealed for what it is, a carbon tax. We are confident that the Clean Heat Standard will be repealed by the legislature in 2025, voters have clearly spoken.

Senate and House Republicans believe that global warming and climate change is real, and that humans have caused a significant portion of this increase, including 150 years of carbon emissions.

This reality does not mean that we can ignore science moving forward. While science has clearly measured the increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and linked that increase to a warming planet, Act 153 and its goal of zero carbon emissions by 2050 ignores many scientific and technological realities: economics, the limits of alternative energy, and Vermont’s winter climate.

Vermont needs to focus on science. We will propose amendments to Act 153 that establish carbon reduction goals and timelines that reflect the availability and affordability of proven carbon reduction technologies, an appreciation of Vermont’s winter climate and heating needs, and will not cause undue damage to Vermont’s economy or families. We will also move to remove the private right to sue Vermont in Act 153 if it falls short of carbon reduction goals.

Governor Scott was correct in 2020 and is correct today, “We’ll continue to do our part but at a pace we can afford”.

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