Bill Coleman

Bill Coleman earned a high school diploma from Stowe High School. He earned a bachelor's degree from Goddard College in 1982 and a graduate degree from Springfield College in 2013. His career experience includes working as a public policy advocate.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My name is Bill Coleman. My primary residence has been in Newark, VT since 1984. I have worked in psychology for nearly 30 years, mostly in small therapeutic oriented communities of 6 to 12 residents, or as a Shared Living Provider. My childhood was somewhat privileged, growing up in Fairfield County, CT where there are excellent public schools. I completed high school in Vermont at a small private high school in Stowe. From ages 15 to 35 I struggled with alcohol and other substances that nearly claimed my life. Since then I enjoy a robust and continuing recovery spanning nearly 34 years. My life experiences have clearly illuminated to me that people can and do become healthier when provided with supports aligned with their needs. Conversely people can become very ill, both mentally or physically when critical warning signs for health are not responded to. Education is paramount to provide a wise path towards a livable future. I'm saddened that teaching has become so much less widely respected as a profession composed almost entirely of deeply caring people working for far less income than might occur in the private sector. Educated people understand that cooperative solutions to major challenges including climate change, AI, and the excesses of capitalism must be implemented or we die. We cannot afford failing to rise to the challenges we face today. Political expedience may kill us; we must support leaders who dare to speak the truth in unvarnished terms.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Republicans fail to recognize how GOP control over all three branches of the federal government destroyed the safety net that once came close to providing minimums of basic human needs. They insist on confining discussion to what's become Vermont's austerity budget. GOP promises everything will be fine; just put them in power in VT so they can implement their Vermont Promise agenda. That agenda turns our backs on the global climate crisis rooted in unrestrained capitalism and addiction to fossil fuels. It also seems to value maintaining the culture of driving gas guzzling vehicles and turning our backs on renewable energy. Fossil fuel heating and transportation drive planetary doom; is racist, and millions are killed globally.Ultimately the way to address affordability is to reject the corruption and sick priorities in Washington DC under Trump. As a small state we can still demonstrate that a different path is possible. Solutions to health care financing must involve single payer Medicaid for all. This will lower school taxes, and make us healthier by eliminating needless layers of bureaucracy and focusing on care. We send three wonderful people to Congress to represent us, Bernie, peter and Becca. We struggle greatly with the widespread propaganda in the news media consumed in large measure by people in other states. Dissemination of lies masquerading as news coverage on Fox, Newsman and America One Network instills anger and division, as does MAGA/Trump.We must transform our soils waste system into one that closes the NEWS-VT landfill in Coventry. Sewage sludge is trucked here by the tons by Casella, a multi-billion dollar corporation that rolls on unquestioned in the legislature. Materials brought in from out of state places like Boston are even more loaded with forever chemicals than what comes from Vermont. Only 6% of what is dumped in Coventry is from the three counties of the NEK; but so unfairly bear the burden of the PFAs escaping into our air, water and soils. The EPA admits that all landfill liners eventually leak and we know the one in Coventry leaks very sadly into Lake Memphremagog. We are not being good neighbors continuing to ignore the need for a publicly owned landfill.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Threats to our democracy are intensifying daily under the Trump 2 administration. Nationally, the Republican Party is determined to restrict voter participation by making largely false and non-sensical claims about non-citizens voting, dead people voting, problems with voting machines, etc. The only election results they don't complain about are when they are found to have won. The GOP wraps themselves up in the American flag, sometimes literally, while rapidly dismantling the Voting Rights Act of 1963 and shutting down polling locations in communities where they lose. This activity undermines any claims they can make to be patriotic or pro-American. The legitimacy of our government is now in question due to their open corruption.

Bill Coleman did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2020 Candidate Connection survey.