Biography
I’m Esther Charlestin. I’m an Educator, a Mother, a Small Business Owner, and a proud Public Servant. I am running to be Vermont’s next governor.
The eldest child of immigrant parents, I witnessed firsthand the virtues of hard work and the American dream, manifested by a mother who worked 80-hour weeks to provide for my siblings and I. Through my mother’s example, I absorbed the lesson that meaningful achievements require proactivity and effort.
After years of work in education, I ran for and won a seat on the Middlebury Selectboard, and in 2023 received a Leahy award for exceptional leadership in the community. I was overwhelmingly re-elected to my seat; however, I could not serve due to my inability to find affordable housing, something that has spurred me passionately to tackle Vermont’s housing crisis.
I currently co-chair the State of Vermont’s Commission on Women, and I run my own educational consulting firm. Both of these occupations stem from my dedication to proactively creating a just, prosperous, and equitable world, where every voice is heard and respected.
Candidate occupation
Small Business Owner and Cochair of the Vermont Commission on Women
Why are you running for office?
We are in the midst of a housing crisis like we’ve never seen. Our state faces ongoing threats from climate change disasters like the floods of last year. And our education systems, maybe our most important responsibility as public servants, face a horrible binary choice between underfunding or forcing working families to foot the bill.
I am running because the working families of Vermont deserve a Governor who is proactive, who is collaborative, and who has lived the experiences that challenge them everyday. Phil Scott is spending the majority of his time vetoing bills aimed at bettering our state’s future, bills that tackle issues like affordable housing, overdose prevention, and climate change. His inaction is a luxury working Vermonters can no longer afford.
As governor, I will work with Democrats, Progressives, Independents and Republicans to address Vermont’s challenges, ensuring every voice is heard and all are invested in our solutions.
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?
Yes
Do you support increasing penalties for property crimes such as shoplifting?
No answer
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 view our lack of attainable housing as the most glaring drag on Vermont’s economy, and remedying that is our greatest opportunity for economic growth. The more we can ensure that people have affordable homes to rent and purchase, the more it will ripple through the economy, raise people out of poverty, increase consumer spending for small businesses, and increase the wealth of the average Vermonter.
Additionally, I see revamping how we fund our education system and investing in climate change infrastructure as important to ensuring an economically and equitably prosperous Vermont. These will be core focuses of my administration.
What changes, if any, would you make to the way Vermont funds its schools?
There are two undeniable truths about the way our education system is funded: 1) Our schools MUST be fully funded. Full Stop. and 2) The burden of funding our schools is overly tied to property taxes. This model disproportionatetly squeezes lower and middle income homeowners, and ultimately is not sustainable.
As governor, I would work with legislators to develop and implement innovative and viable funding models to ease the education tax burden on lower and middle-income Vermonters while ensuring our schools are preserved.
Some examples of this would be shifting revenue for the Education Fund towards income and wealth taxes rather than predominantly property taxes, implementing an increased second-home tax (excluding hunting cabins) as a source of education funding, and rethinking the complexity of the funding system as a whole.
Is Vermont doing enough, too much or not enough to address climate change? Please explain.
Climate Change is costing Vermont residents money and pain right now, and it will only get worse going forward if we do not act.
The bills passed by our hardworking legislature are the kinds of progress we need to be making in addressing climate change. Bills such as h.687 and h.289 are comprehensive compromises that demand a better, more sustainable future for our state while acknowledging the need for a just energy transition.
Additionally, the bipartisan Climate Superfund Act becoming law despite Phil Scott refusing to sign it, is a major step towards Climate accountability. This law allows the AG to make fossil fuel companies pay for the damages of climate change to Vermonters. It shows that Vermont will be on the vanguard of moving our country in a more sustainable direction.
More must be done though. In addition to these wins, my administration would explore investment in sustainable development including renewable energy projects, dam reinforcement, public transit, energy efficiency, sustainable agriculture, and conservation. We will ensure we are both protecting Vermonters from the damages of current climate disasters while also fighting to turn the tide of climate change into the future.
Is Vermont doing enough, too much or not enough to regulate gun ownership? Please explain.
I would say there is more to be done on gun ownership regulation. As a mother, I refuse to allow background check loopholes and legal ownership of assault rifles to endanger the lives of our children. We can have lawful gun ownership in Vermont and still have common sense gun laws.
What would you do to help ease Vermont’s housing crisis?
Vermont’s housing crisis is constantly on my mind, and it is an issue I feel must be attacked from multiple angles.
First, we need to build more affordable homes. That is a plain fact. Updating Act 250’s land use policy to allow for the construction of more affordable homes was a must, and I applaud the legislature for overriding Gov. Scott’s veto. My job as Governor would now be to ensure these updates be utilized and new affordable homes be built immediately.
Second, we need to increase aid for low and middle income residents to purchase, rent, and keep homes. This means looking at inclusionary zoning, supporting housing first models, implementing rental and second home taxes, and increasing urban density.
Anyone who says the solution to our housing problems is simple is lying, but I am more than ready to tackle the complexity and urgency of making sure every Vermonter can afford their home.
How would you address rising homelessness in Vermont?
I believe that homelessness is an issue solved by operating from a housing first lens and supporting initiatives such as the Lamoille Community House year-round shelter facility. Additionally, we must support the towns who have passed Just Cause eviction laws, and ensure these measures are enacted effectively. As Governor, I will refuse to turn a blind eye to this humanitarian and economic issue.
What would you do to increase access to health care services for Vermonters?
Healthcare is a necessity to every person’s life, and I believe that increasing access to health care services is a core aspect of increasing equity and prosperity for all Vermonters. Specifically, one area of health care I hope to expand is access to mental health services in our education system. Mental health care is healthcare, and we need to ensure that children have the same access to it in schools as they do the ability to go to seek physical medical attention when they are sick or injured.
Additionally, I support the labor rights of nurses and healthcare workers. In addition to their deserving of a living wage and humane labor practices, a fulfilled and prosperous healthcare workforce is a major way that we make access to healthcare prolific across the state.
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 Charlestin’s financial disclosure here.
Campaign finance
Candidates for state office in Vermont are required to report to the Secretary of State’s Office how much they raise and spend on their campaigns — as well as where the money is coming from and where it’s going. VTDigger has analyzed that data and presented it here in a way we hope will best inform readers.
You can use the tables below to view this candidate’s top donors and donors by category. Use the search box to look for a specific entity, or use the arrows to browse through the database. This data is up to date as of the latest filing deadline.
Disclaimer
We emailed a questionnaire to every candidate with a valid email address. The responses provided by candidates are in their own words. VTDigger has not edited or fact-checked information provided.
If this is your candidacy and you'd like to fill out the questionnaire or report an error, please contact us at voterguide@vtdigger.org.
