Dear Chittenden-Central Voters,
I am thrilled to announce that I am running for a third term in the Vermont State Senate. As the primary approaches this August 11th, it is important to remember what is at stake. With high turnover occurring in both the House and the Senate, who we choose to send back for the upcoming biennium is more consequential than ever!
Over the past session I’ve heard from constituents on a variety of issues. From education transformation and healthcare costs to environmental conservation and the safety of our immigrant and New American neighbors, your voice matters. I hear the deep care you all share for Vermont and your optimistic vision of the future, a future centered in equity, inclusion and sustainable people-centered investment.
With this in mind, I want to take a moment to highlight the impactful work achieved by the legislature this past biennium. At the end of the 2025 session, we began the work of education transformation. I did not support Act 73, because it didn’t address some of the fundamental flaws of our system and it called for forced mergers and “new maps” within an unrealistic timeframe. An aggressive timeline that mandates massive change is not a workable solution for our kids, families or communities.
That said, as part of Act 73, a taskforce was created to draw new district maps. I co-chaired this School District Redistricting Taskforce, and we conducted countless interviews, gathered data and information and ultimately concluded that rapid transformation and forced mergers were not the right path for Vermont. Instead, the taskforce concluded that CESAs, Cooperative Education Service Areas, could regionalize our school districts to save money and improve outcomes. If you are interested in reading more, take a look at Appendix E of the taskforce’s report.
As the second year of the biennium approached, legislators hit the ground running. This session I sponsored bills to ban the toxic herbicide paraquat that is directly linked to Parkinson’s Disease (S.176/H.739). The bill passed and we will now be the first state in the country to ban this toxin, joining 74 countries around the world. I also sponsored bills to rein in and regulate AI therapy (S.241), and to protect our students with stronger immigration protocols in our schools (S.227).
I served on the Finance committee and served as Vice Chair of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee. Notable bills include: S.142, relating to a pathway to licensure for internationally trained physicians and medical graduates, S.157, relating to recovery residence certification, and S.239, relating to the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Working Group.
I continue to champion and support fair taxation policy, public education, clean energy and climate resilience, healthcare reform and criminal justice reform. And over the course of my first two terms in the Senate, I was lead sponsor of bills to create an Office of New Americans, to allow free-standing birthing centers, to ensure our most vulnerable have access to community-based doulas. I championed a bill to improve literacy and to support libraries.
The impactful legislation that passed this session will need more work in the coming years, especially H.955, the education bill. I am seeking re-election to keep working on what I’ve begun and to keep fighting for children, families and communities. You can register to vote and request a ballot here: https://sos.vermont.gov/elections/voters/registration and I ask for your support and your vote on or before August 11th!
Sincerely,
Senator Martine Larocque Gulick