Vermont Rep. Jarrod Sammis has switched to the Libertarian Party, becoming the first Libertarian in the state House in 25 years.
May. 3, 2023 - Rep. Jarrod Sammis -- who represents Castleton and Bomoseen -- on Wednesday dropped out of the GOP and joined the Vermont Libertarian Party. The freshman legislator says the Libertarians are more in line with his political views, including the party’s Anti-War Coalition, which opposes sending Guard members into conflict without Congress declaring war.
“'I would say there is a lot of work that can be done in terms of social justice issues, but in terms of the Republican Party, there are quite a few Republicans I work with, I’m friends with, and quite a few I’m quite flexible in working, in terms of those issues, in terms of the transition, I only wish them the best of luck,' Sammis said
"'Generally speaking, our platform really focuses on the rights of the individual, every individual. We don’t believe in any oppression, especially oppression from the government,' said Vermont Libertarian Party Chair Olga Madach-Duclerc.
"Sammis will be the first Libertarian in the House in 25 years. Sammis says he is not sure yet if he’ll caucus with the Republicans or the Democrats."
Read more: https://www.wcax.com/2023/05/03/vt-gop-lawmaker-switches-libertarian-party/
Jared Sammis | From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - May 28, 2023::
"Jarrod Sammis was born in 1989 or 1990 in Middlebury, Vermont, and ... grew up in Ticonderoga, New York. His family has resided in the region for several centuries.... Sammis graduated from Castleton State College in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in communication and public relations. He works as a realtor and marketing coordinator at his family's real estate company, Century 21 Adirondacks...
"Sammis ran for the Vermont House of Representatives as a member of the Republican Party in the 2022 election, running in the Rutland-3 district, which contains Castleton.... A self-identified libertarian who had previously been a volunteer for Gary Johnson's 2016 presidential campaign, Sammis campaigned on three key issues: protecting Vermont's education system by sequestering the education budget to 'protect it from being siphoned from other programs', improving substance abuse and mental health programs, and preserving civil liberties, including LGBTQ rights. He also favored 'reducing the tax burden to make Vermont more affordable', and was opposed to a proposed carbon tax.
"During the campaign, several deleted YouTube videos published by Sammis re-surfaced when archived copies were posted to a blog; in the videos, he 'question[ed] the legitimacy of Joe Biden's 2020 election win and joked about shooting communists'.... Sammis was elected to the state house, receiving 835 votes to Droege's 793, a margin of 43 votes.
"During his tenure, Sammis voted against the Affordable Heat Act, a bill which regulates the importation of fossil heating fuels into Vermont in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He also opposed the merger of Castleton University, Northern Vermont University, and Vermont Technical College into a single university, Vermont State University. According to the Vermont Daily Chronicle, he has also been a 'strong defender of Libraries of the Vermont State College System, and has worked to keep herbicides out of Lake Bomoseen'. He is a member of the House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development.
"During the press conference for this party switch, Sammis stated his intention of introducing a bill which would 'forbid the Vermont National Guard from being deployed overseas without a formal federal declaration of war'."
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarrod_Sammis
VT House Representative switched to Libertarian Party | Latina Libertarian - May 3, 2023:
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