Klar campaign endorses new legislative candidates

Editor’s note by Guy Page: The following Vermonters are running for the Vermont Legislature as Republicans and are among those endorsed by the campaign to elect John Klar as governor, according to a press release from the Brookfield resident’s campaign.

Peter Briggs, Addison County Senate

Peter is a native Vermonter; born at Porter Hospital in Middlebury and raised in Addison Town. He operates his family’s fourth-generation dairy farm, purchased in 1928. Like many Vermonters’ forebears, Peter’s great-grandfather survived the Great Depression of the thirties — Peter is confident that Vermonters today will come through their current economic hardships with similar fortitude and courage.

Peter is very active in the Vermont National Guard, inspired to serve our military from an early age by the example of his grandfather, who served in World War II in Europe in the Army Corp of Engineers. Similarly, Peter’s farming family imbued him with the values of dependability, honesty, perseverance, and hard work — values he pledges to employ in public service in the Vermont Senate. Peter emphasizes a particularly important Vermont farming value for 2020 — how to make the most of limited resources; to live within available means.

Ken Alger, Washington County Senate

Ken is a seventh-generation Vermonter who has lived and worked here his entire life. Ken seeks to serve to improve Vermont for all citizens, especially by restoring Constitutional protections, reducing government overreach, and imposing sensible fiscal balance in Montpelier.

Ken’s family all still reside in Vermont. Ken has worked hard all his life, having worked on his grandfather’s dairy farm during and after high school. He has been a commercial flooring installer for thirty years. Ken has been active in his community in many ways over the years, including work on the Barre Town bike path committee, a volunteer for Barre Town bulk waste collection, teaching gun safety to youth (NRA Eddie Eagle program), service as an officer in various clubs, and service as an NRA-certified basic pistol and rifle instructor.

Ken is a competitive shooter, a passionate supporter of Constitutional protections, and a proven contributor to his community and Vermont.”

Dawnmarie Tomasi, Washington County Senate

Dawnmarie and her family are property owners, so they have seen taxes swell. With college degrees in Business Management and Computer Management, Dawnmarie also has degrees in child rearing (five teenagers!), running her own business (including a daycare, soapmaking, farming, and other ventures), running others’ businesses (including management at a prominent flooring company, and a family-run food service business), and community volunteer work (PTO, organizing charitable events, VAST trail system volunteer, youth coaching, Finance Chair of the Washington County GOP, Vermont Traditions Coalition, Women Gun Owners of Vermont, and many other contributions).

Dawnmarie is standing up to serve her fellow Vermonters, so that they and her children can enjoy the culture, liberties, and future hopes that she has been privileged to experience as a Vermonter. Those foundations must be preserved and defended, and 2020 is the year.

Shannara Johnson, Lamoille-Washington District House Seat (1 of 2 seats)

Shannara is a first-generation German-American and has lived in the US since 1999, which gives her a good understanding of legal immigration. She was an adopted child, so being pro-life seems the natural choice to her. For the past 18 years, she’s been residing in Vermont with her family, which currently consists of her teenage son, a badly trained dog and an entirely untrainable cat. Shannara is a seasoned classical and direct marketing copywriter and editor by day and a Law of Attraction author and blogger in her spare time. Since 2004, she has been working for a well-known publisher of investment newsletters and always gets the inside scoop of what’s in store for the US economy. As a Vermont State Representative, her main issue will be to help Vermonters survive and thrive in the challenging post-COVID-19 reality that lies ahead. She is determined to support commonsense bills that lower taxes, promote freedom, and make life more affordable and worth living—and push back on those that don’t.

Levar Cole, Orange-1 District House Seat (1 of 2 seats)

Levar Cole resides in Chelsea with his wife of 11 years and their 5 young children. The Coles moved their family to Vermont to live more intentionally and are currently expanding their agricultural pursuits.

For 15 years, Levar worked in management positions for the federal government, ensuring Americans were protected against foreign and domestic terrorism, nuclear and radiological hazards, and inefficient and unaccountable government programs and policies. He brings the experience of leading numerous audits and evaluations of government programs to ensure public accountability, efficiency, and effectiveness. With a Masters Degree in Public Policy (George Mason University), Levar earned respect (and steady promotion) for ensuring thorough audits of numerous government agencies, ahead of schedule! He also worked in emergency planning and preparedness operations. Vermont needs skills like these.

Levar is running to help ensure that people’s voices, whether they are in the majority or minority, are heard and considered by the government. Levar also wants to keep Vermont affordable for families, farmers, and all who want to call Vermont home.

Zachary Lang,  Orange-2 District House Seat

Zachary resides in Bradford where he graduated from Oxbow High School & River Bend Career & Technical Center. Zachary is currently a firefighter with the Bradford Fire Department where he has volunteered since his Junior Year in High School and is currently working towards his EMR medical license. Zachary also works as a Paraprofessional at Oxbow High School, helping educate Vermont’s youth. Zachary’s focus is on education, no carbon taxes and YOUR concerns being number one.

Jeannine Young, Orleans-Caledonia District House Seat (1 of 2 seats)

A lifelong resident of the beautiful Northeast Kingdom, Jeannine resides in Craftsbury with her husband Joe (a retired Border Patrol agent), where she has been town moderator for years.

Jeannine offers her management and community service experience to serve her constituents. A graduate of Woodbury College (paralegal), she was the Derby Water & Sewer Commissioner for 15 years, has worked as an administrative assistant to businesses through permitting processes, and has worked (and volunteered) in different school systems over the years. Jeannine says ‘We need an economy that works for our farmers so they can stay in business and for businesses so they can provide jobs for Vermonters. Our communities know best what students need.’

Mrs. Young has worked for decades as a volunteer in her community, helping raise over $25,000 since 2008 for area organizations — without government subsidy. She and her husband are avid gardeners, sharing surplus produce with many in the community.

Jeannine will listen patiently and thoughtfully to all voter voices before making any decisions as their representative. She understands the importance of the state and federal Constitutions, and she understands that Vermont needs strong determined leadership in 2020 to repair problems of overspending and over-regulation at the Vermont State House.

Brock Coderre, Washington-Chittenden District House Seat (1 of 2 seats)

Brock studied Business Administration, Law, and Finance at Vermont Technical College in Randolph for four years, graduating in 2012. He then moved to Burlington to work, and to experience Vermont’s more bustling and socially active communities. Brock has always been motivated to give back to the same support systems that helped him achieve his potential, beginning with his hundreds of hours of volunteered community service before graduating high school.

Serving his community has always seemed like the right thing to do: running for office is the logical next step! Vermont’s younger political minds must voice their opinions about how to best save this state from financial ruin. Brock understands hard work and practical business sense: he worked construction for years, as well as in accounting and clerical jobs, and was employed selling and installing solar panels for years. These experiences have provided him with unique insights and experience to serve voters in 2020 and beyond.

Chris Viens, Washington-Chittenden District House Seat (1of 2 seats)

Chris is a true-blue Vermonter, well-respected in Waterbury for a lifetime of proven hard work and integrity. His family now counts nine generations of Vermonters.

Chris has operated his own businesses, in excavation, concrete, and construction. He  has always held a strong work ethic, and started his first successful business at 21. He is very close with his family, and has been married for nearly 40 years to his high school sweetheart.

Chris served Waterbury as a Selectman for ten years (including as Chair), where he proved that fiscal restraint and integrity work well at the local level — he is convinced those are needs at the state level in 2020.

Chris is running as an Independent. The policies of restraining government bureaucracy and taxes, returning school oversight to local control, and preserving Vermont’s constitutional protections, are priorities that Chris passionately supports. In particular, Mr.Viens has taken on the issues of school and government efficiency, and has many creative ideas grounded in his business experience to curtail bureaucratic excess and improve efficiencies in government.

Randy Gray, Windsor 3-2 House Seat  (1 of 2 seats)

Recently recognized in the ‘Springfield Community Spotlight’ for his long-standing public presence, Randy is a lifelong resident of Springfield (and a proud grandfather!). His volunteer activities include the Vermont Lay Monitoring Program, the Black River Action Team, and the VSNIP (Spay and Neutering).

Currently self-employed, Randy’s small business has been compromised by this pandemic. Randy fully understands business needs because he worked for many years serving hundreds of Vermont businesses in sales and sales administration for one of the largest building materials wholesalers in the Northeast. He is committed to supporting local businesses, and improving Vermont’s future prosperity and opportunities for our youth.

Image courtesy of Public domain

3 thoughts on “Klar campaign endorses new legislative candidates

  1. May you all win. The state desperately needs more conservative republican leadership.

  2. Looks like a great group of hard working realists. Wish them well. Just hope Vermonters in their respective districts send them to Montpelier. We NEED them!!!

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