Dave believes there is no more important investment we can make than in Burlington’s children. He will be a strong champion for our public schools and fight to ensure every student has the support, opportunities, and learning environment they need to succeed.

Dave believes that as a state we need to:

• Invest in strong public schools and make sure students have the resources they need in the classroom.

• Support the people who make our schools work every day, including teachers, paraeducators, custodians, crossing guards, bus drivers, and other school staff.

• Expand access to technical education, career training, and the skilled trades so every student can find a path that works for them.

• Make sure students receive the academic, mental health, and special education support they need.

• Give educators the respect, resources, and working conditions they deserve.

• Find a fairer and more sustainable way to fund public education without continuing to place the burden on property taxpayers.

Dave believes that strong schools are the foundation of a strong community. He will work to protect the quality of our schools, support the people who make public education possible, and build a funding system that works for students, families, educators, and taxpayers.

Across our state, Vermonters of all income levels and ages are struggling with acute mental health conditions and a serious lack of higher levels of treatment and care. 

We have Vermonters, both housed and unhoused, who are struggling with Substance Use Disorder. Our state is failing to meet the demand. Rehab facilities are in short supply and our precious few beds are frequently full when someone is finally ready to seek help—a moment we can’t let slip away. 

Some folks experiencing homelessness and addiction say that the drugs are sometimes the only thing that makes being on the street tolerable. We’ve got to invest in more transitional and recovery housing options to reduce the possibility of relapse.

I will reach across political boundaries and bridge the rural-urban divide to advocate for more resources for treatment.

We hear a lot about the affordability crisis in Vermont, and especially our own community of Burlington. It's often become a complicated buzzword that intersects with dozens of different aspects of life and our economy. Here are three key areas I plan to address if you elect me to be your voice in Montpelier:

Vermont must retain and attract young adults by directly tackling the housing crisis. Because market demand continuously outpaces supply, building alone will not lower prices. We should focus on scaling public subsidies for permanently affordable workforce housing through proven partners like the Champlain Housing Trust. Additionally, we should expand access to lower-cost, owner-occupied manufactured housing through federal funding and invest in trades workforce development to expand local homebuilding capacity.

Accessible Healthcare and Direct Tax Relief: High living costs also stem from expensive healthcare and underutilized financial aid. We should collaborate with health insurers and employer groups to design high-quality, lower-premium health plans for small business employees and the self-employed, prioritizing low-cost primary and preventive care. To put money back in families' pockets, we should increase participation in underused federal and state tax credits like the Earned Income and Child Care Tax Credits, while introducing targeted tax credits to foster small business startups.

Growing Vermont's Workforce and Economy: A stronger, growing economy is essential to making Vermont affordable for everyone. Partnering with initiatives like the Vermont Futures Project, we should focus on filling our critical labor shortage—where job openings outnumber job seekers two to one—by attracting working-age Vermonters and re-engaging locals outside the current workforce into rewarding, high-quality careers. Often I hear from young people how student debt keeps them from being able to afford to buy a home, build businesses, or frankly just live here. If elected I will advocate for creative programs that would incentivize living and working here by offsetting student debt for skilled, critical trades. I also believe we need to listen to the people we hope to attract. I would look to form a formal Statewide committee to advise legislators by identifying the barriers, like housing, childcare, and student debt costs for example, and proposing creative policies and programs. Our aging population depends on this type of investment. 

Food insecurity is a growing reality for families across our community. Increasingly, working families are forced to make tough sacrifices at the grocery store and our elders on fixed incomes whose limited income can’t keep up with skyrocketing inflation. When faced with tough choices, nutritious food is one of the first things we cut from our budget. Federal cuts to critical programs like SNAP and Medicaid, are putting too many Vermonters at risk for experiencing hunger.

In Montpelier, I will advocate for strong funding and policy support for community anchors like CVOEO, Feeding Chittenden, and our North End food shelf to ensure every neighbor has access to nutritious food. With the federal cuts to aid programs, we can’t afford to take our eye off the ball.

Every Vermonter knows how badly more housing is needed for all family-sizes and income levels and Burlington is doing its part to build thousands of units over the next two decades with major projects like Cambrian Rise in the New North End, City Place and others downtown, and SECORD in the South End.

Everyone deserves safe, clean, and affordable housing and if elected, I will lend my voice to efforts in Montpelier to grow our housing stock.

With that said, we should not and don't need to sacrifice our beloved local parks and green spaces, many of which were gifted for the public good by previous generations in hopes that we would do our part to steward them for generations that come after us. They are increasingly critical wildlife habitats, spaces to care for our physical and mental health, and some of our last true free and public spaces for socializing with new and old friends and neighbors. I will set aside politics and personal beliefs to keep our parks and green spaces protected rather than paved over.