News

OP/ED

You may have noticed the lawn signs appearing in the Addison-5 legislative district towns (Bridport, New Haven, Weybridge and northwestern Middlebury) saying “Jubilee for Vermont.” These signs introduce Jubilee McGill of Bridport, who is running for the Vermont House to represent the Addison-5 District.

Jubilee is a native of Middlebury and is property manager and coordinator of rental housing for John Graham Housing & Services, where she works with people experiencing homelessness to find permanent housing. Previously she worked as a senior property and compliance manager at the Addison County Community Trust, which provides affordable housing in our area. Jubilee identifies with the people she works with, having overcome through her own efforts and an ACCT housing subsidy her own period of housing and financial insecurity.

Jubilee is strongly dedicated to helping the less fortunate in our society through providing more affordable housing, working for racial and climate justice, promoting a livable wage for workers and helping Vermonters to recover from the economic devastation resulting from the pandemic. On a voluntary basis Jubilee helped organize Addison County Mutual Aid, which connected scores of people with pandemic-related needs to volunteers who could assist them.

Jubilee will work hard on the issues of importance to all Vermonters — environment, racial justice, affordable housing, public education, living wage and more. I encourage residents of Bridport, New Haven, Middlebury and Weybridge to join me in voting for Jubilee McGill as State Representative.

On Sunday, September 11 under beautiful sunny skies, about 30 people joined Jubilee and Addison County Senator Chris Bray, Addison State Representatives Amy Sheldon and Robin Scheu at the home of Spence and Fran Putnam in Weybridge. Jubilee spoke to residents about her vision to create a prosperous and just Vermont where all voices are represented and heard.

BRIDPORT DEMOCRAT JUBILEE McGill is taking another run at the Addison-5 House seat that’s being vacated this year by longtime Rep. Harvey Smith. McGill is confident she can serve in the Legislature, be attentive on the home front and maintain her career with Vergennes-based John Graham Housing & Services, where she serves as property manager and coordinator of rental housing. Until early 2020 she worked as senior property manager and compliance chief for Addison County Community Trust (ACCT), the county’s largest affordable housing provider.

We are happy to inform you that your campaign has been awarded the 2022 Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate distinction. Thank you again for advocating for gun violence prevention and making a commitment to govern with gun safety in mind, if elected.

Thoughtful understanding of both early childhood education and what the public education system offers to both students and communities is important in understanding the needs of the families, children, and students who live all across the county. Jubliee McGill, (has) this understanding and (is) developing new visions that can be among the new faces in the legislature in January. If elected, (she) will join our early childhood champions from Addison County in Montpelier. Ruth Hardy, Robin Scheu, Amy Sheldon, Matt Birong, Diane Lanpher, Mari Cordes, and Caleb Elder are each reliable advocates for our schools and early childhood programs.

Congratulations! I am writing to inform you that you have earned the endorsement of the Planned Parenthood Vermont Action Fund IE PAC in this 2022 election cycle. We are very excited to support candidates like you who are committed to a person’s right to make their own decisions about their health care, as well as to prioritizing equitable, unwavering access to sexual and reproductive health care for all. Especially now in this post-Roe era, we need to protect reproductive rights in Vermont by passing the Reproductive Liberty Amendment in November.

Editor's note: This commentary is by Jubilee McGill, an active leader in Rights & Democracy and a member of the Vermont Raise the Wage Coalition, and the Rev. Joan Javier-Duval, minister of the Unitarian Church of Montpelier and president of the board of Vermont Interfaith Action, a member of the Vermont Raise the Wage Coalition.