Biography
Teddy Waszazak has lived in Barre since 2017, and has served on the Barre City Council since 2019. Originally from greater Boston, Teddy has extensive experience in municipal leadership, the non-profit sector, and campaign and advocacy work. He is the son of a construction worker, the grandson of a Navy veteran and a restaurant owner.
When Teddy was 15 years old, he became housing insecure and has navigated the various programs that make up our social safety net – it is these experiences that have made him a passionate advocate for economic justice, social justice, and racial justice. Teddy knows what it is like to not have enough money to pay the bills, to choose between putting gas in the car or groceries on the table, and wants to effect systemic changes to ensure that everyone in Vermont has what they need to thrive.
In addition to the Barre City Council, Teddy serves on the Aldrich Library Board of Trustees, Barre City Police Advisory Committee, and ran the statewide campaign to bring Universal School Meals to Vermont.
Candidate occupation
Supporter Engagement Lead at Hunger Free Vermont
Why are you running for office?
I am running for office to build a Barre, and a state of Vermont, that is affordable, equitable, and resilient in the face of climate change. As a child who “fell through the cracks”, I strongly believe that we have a responsibility to leverage the resources that we have to take care of one another. In the richest country on earth, there is no reason for anyone to suffer from homelessness, not have access to the healthcare they need, or have a guarantee of housing.
Issues in brief
Do you believe Vermonters are better off now than they were 10 years ago?
No
Do you believe Vermont needs a new education funding formula?
Yes
Do you support imposing new taxes on the wealthiest Vermonters?
Yes
Do you support the establishment of overdose prevention centers?
Yes
Do you support a ban on flavored tobacco products?
No
Do you support increasing penalties for property crimes such as shoplifting?
No
Do you believe Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election?
Yes
Issues in depth
What would you do to help grow Vermont’s economy?
I believe that we have to raise our minimum wage to a truly liveable wage, incentivize more housing development and increase density in already settled/developed areas, and fix our broken education funding system. We have to create a Vermont economy that helps folks not just survive from paycheck to paycheck, but to truly thrive and be a part of their communities. I believe that we should be raising taxes on the largest corporations, big box stores, and the wealthiest among us, while decreasing the tax burden on small business and low-to-moderate income Vermonters. We also need to continue to support our communities financially in the aftermath of the many natural disasters we have seen in our state – our municipalities and individual taxpayers do not have the capacity to make the badly needed investments to make our communities liveable in the long term fight against climate change, and the state needs to step up to provide those resources. When municipal governments can’t cover these costs, services get cut, and tax rates increase regardless.
What changes, if any, would you make to the way Vermont funds its schools?
The current system is simply not working; we have a declining school population, and have closed small schools across the state, meanwhile property taxes are still increasing. I believe that all options have to be on the table. I am in favor of exploring an income based tax model for education funding, to allow each person to pay to their ability and ensure that the wealthiest are paying their fair share. I also believe that we should explore a path of streamlining the administration of schools across Vermont, while leaving small community schools open – so often, the school is the only real community center in our rural towns, and closing these schools has a real and significant impact.
Is Vermont doing enough, too much or not enough to address climate change? Please explain.
I believe that Vermont is doing a good job in being proactive in doing our part to move to a clean economy, but that more attention needs to be paid in mitigating the effects of climate change and our ever more regular experiences with natural disasters. Our community of Barre has been underwater twice in the past 18 months, and neither the City of Barre nor its taxpayers have the budget capacity to take on the tens-of-millions of dollars worth of work that has to be done to ensure Barre City can continue to exist and survive the next 100-year-flood. I support making weatherization and clean heat technologies more affordable for low-and-moderate income folks, and expanding our state and municipal electric vehicle fleets – the federal Inflation Reduction Act is opening up a lot of funding for projects that will allow us to think big. But, in the meantime, we have to help the folks who can’t afford to do this on their own.
Is Vermont doing enough, too much or not enough to regulate gun ownership? Please explain.
I believe that Vermont could do more, including truly universal background checks and waiting periods, strong red flag laws to ensure those with a history of violence, severe mental illnesses, and violent criminal activity cannot get access to guns, and being proactive on emergent technologies like ghost guns.
What would you do to help ease Vermont’s housing crisis?
I believe that, in some cases, we have to make it easier to build and cut red tape. At the same time, in the face of climate change and in keeping with the tradition and character of Vermont, we have to keep a focus on conservation efforts, and preventing unnecessary sprawl. I support making it easier and quicker to develop and build housing units in places that are already settled, looking at infill development and building “up not out” as useful strategies, as well as incentives to increase density. As we know that the work from home model is here to stay in some shape or form, I believe that we should also be proactive in turning currently unused or outdated spaces into creative solutions for housing, such as retrofitting office buildings or converting old industrial structures into space for additional housing units.
How would you address rising homelessness in Vermont?
I believe that housing is a human right, and that every individual who wants to be sheltered, should have access to housing. The motel program was never intended to be a permanent program, and it certainly has its faults – but in the meantime, the State has failed to put together any sort of comprehensive plan for how to transition out of the motel program without kicking vulnerable individuals onto the street. I believe that we need to drastically increase the amount of shelter beds all throughout the state, we need to take some of the steps I outlined above on housing development, and we need to make sure the State government is adequately staffed. The Administration has consistently carried 1,000 vacancies in State Government – how are we supposed to help those in the motel program if there aren’t enough people to do the jobs we’ve already committed to doing? In the meantime, the burden is being placed on municipalities and non-profit organizations, who are doing their best, but it is simply not enough.
What would you do to increase access to health care services for Vermonters?
We need to be centering our policy choices on making sure folks can access the services they need, when they need them. We have to make sure there are accessible options for folks in smaller and more rural communities, which looks like expanding internet access for tele-health purposes, providing adequate transportation, and encouraging mobile healthcare sites. We also have to examine systemic inequities/biases in the healthcare system, and change our practices to push back against those. Additionally, we need to treat mental health just like any other kind of healthcare, and focus on getting folks access to the resources they need. We need more beds for inpatient therapy, we need more mental health counselors embedded in our schools, social service agencies, and non-profit organizations. We also need to ensure that mental healthcare is covered by medical insurance in all instances.
Financial disclosure
Candidates for state and legislative offices are required to submit a financial disclosure when filing to run. These disclosures include each source, but not the amount, of personal income of each candidate, and of their spouse or domestic partner, that singly or jointly totals more than $5,000 for the previous 12 months. The information provided is an opportunity for voters to learn about candidates’ potential conflicts of interest.
You can find Waszazak’s financial disclosure here.
Disclaimer
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