[C]hittenden County does not appear to be fertile ground for rising stars of the Republican Party. The county’s six senators are Democrats, and and only six of its 40 state representatives are Republicans.
But Alex Farrell is giving it a shot. For most of last year, the 25-year-old was chair of the Burlington Republican Party, and last week he announced his candidacy for state Senate.
As a data analyst with Union Mutual of Vermont, Farrell says he is constantly “surveying the business environment in Vermont … and surveying home values and unemployment.”
The theme of his campaign, he said, will be addressing the area’s “affordability crisis” through a two-pronged effort to expand economic opportunity and lower the cost of living.
“I saw friends of mine who grew up here leaving, or friends from college leaving, because they had to pursue more economically feasible opportunities outside of Vermont,” said Farrell, who grew up in Shelburne, attended Champlain Valley Union High School and graduated from UVM with a degree in business administration.
He comes from the prominent Farrell family, owners of the eponymous 300-employee beverage distributor with offices in South Burlington and Rutland. Farrell said his political aspirations began in college, while working at BioTek Instruments in Winooski and watching the Alperts, who own the company, stick it out in Vermont despite economic challenges.
Farrell said he hopes that people are able to look beyond his party, noting his own support for Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger, a Democrat who just won a third term in office (without a Republican challenger).
“We’ve gotten to the point where folks are afraid to support someone with a different letter next to their name,” Farrell said. “Mayor Weinberger has done a lot for this city, he’s made it more business friendly, and he’s made housing more accessible.”
Rep. Kurt Wright, Burlington’s sole Republican emissary to the Statehouse, said he thought Farrell’s odds of unseating any of the incumbent senators were “a long shot,” but that he has both the temperament and fundraising capabilities to run a quality campaign and inspire more young conservatives to run for office in Vermont.
“We desperately need balance in the Chittenden County delegation,” said Wright. “I’m particularly excited because he’s a bright, articulate young professional with a focus on keeping young people in Vermont and not having to leave here for other job opportunities.”
That focus is shared by Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican who has made expanding Vermont’s workforce one of his signature issues.
Farrell is also on board with the Scott’s commitment to reining in state spending.
“I 100 percent support the governor’s commitment to no additional fees and taxes,” said Farrell. “However, government’s real role is to foster an environment where people can live and build businesses, so one thing we can do is to make it easier for the types of development that we would like to see.”
Democratic legislators have critiqued Scott’s hard line on no new taxes and reducing state spending, claiming that Vermont will not be able to address challenges like water pollution or the opioid crisis without public investment.
Sen. Ginny Lyons, D-Chittenden, said state initiatives like the Working Lands Enterprise Initiative, which provides technical and financial assistance to rural businesses, require an initial investment from the state but lead to rural economic growth.
“I think you have to embed yourself in the budget and understand the needs in the state before categorically saying we should not raise taxes,” she said.
One of Farrell’s campaign promises is to “revamp Act 250” as part of efforts to make it easier to start and expand a business in Vermont. He said the current permitting process for businesses is “too political.”
He also supports Scott’s Think Vermont initiative, which markets Vermont’s natural beauty and accessible leaders to attract businesses and employees to Vermont.
“One potential drawback (of Think Vermont) that I see is having folks come here at retirement age and maybe not contributing to the workforce,” said Farrell. “We need to make sure folks who are coming here are trying to raise families and providing jobs.”
Farrell said a bill mandating a $15 minimum wage, which was passed by the Senate last month, would be acutely felt by Vermont’s small businesses, and consumers by extension.
“What’s going to happen is bigger companies not from here can survive a higher minimum wage, which will make it harder to buy local,” said Farrell.
Lyons argued that “the bill that we’ve passed for minimum wage was extremely conservative, raising it to $15 over the next six years, there’s plenty of time for small businesses to accommodate.”
Lyons, who has been a senator for almost two decades, said she would be watching with interest as Farrell made his foray into state politics.
“We welcome all comers to the Senate race,” she said. “The incumbents have done a really good job for Chittenden County, so it will be interesting to see how [Farrell] presents himself.”
CORRECTION: Alex Farrell became chair of the Burlington Republican Party in January 2017 and stepped down from the position in September.
