Biography
Born in 1963, John grew up in Tunbridge on a sheep farm. He graduated from Chelsea High School (valedictorian) and Harvard University (majoring in Government). John is married to Emily Howe, and they have two teenage sons. From May through October, John and Emily run an event business on the family farm, Weddings at Landgoes Farm. John produced and directed THE TUNBRIDGE TRILOGY, three independent feature films about a small town in Vermont, MAN WITH A PLAN—starring Fred Tuttle—being the most famous. John is the Clerk of the Tunbridge Selectboard, he is also a Justice of the Peace. Elected to the House of Representatives in 2018, John has been re-elected two more times by Royalton and Tunbridge. As a State Rep, John serves on the House Committee on Agriculture, Food Resiliency & Forestry. He was also appointed to the Vermont Milk Commission and the Fairs and Field Days Committee.
Candidate occupation
Self-employed (run a wedding venue on our farm)
Why are you running for office?
I am a problem-solver. And while the problems facing Vermont are too great for any one elected official to solve, I understand that bi-partisan collaboration and listening to constituents are both essential to tackling our state and town challenges. Many politicians take credit for a new law or a local issue fixed, but in my experience it’s teamwork that gets the job done—generally it begins with a constituent who has a good idea or a complaint, who then contacts their State Rep or State Senator for help. Then those public officials propose a bill or take the case to the State Agency with jurisdiction. Some of the time some of the problems are solved. This is where experience counts. It takes a term or two before one begins to understand how things work in the State House. Whatever rules the General Assembly adheres to, there are almost always ways to get around those rules. As the former Senator Bill Doyle used to say about appropriations, “If you don’t have a seat at the table, you’re on the menu.”
It’s an honor to represent Royalton and Tunbridge in Montpelier. These days, being a public servant is a tough job, but I understand the challenge—the problems keep coming and the solutions aren’t getting any easier.
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?
Yes
Do you believe Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election?
Yes
Issues in depth
What would you do to help grow Vermont’s economy?
Focus on housing. Vermonters can’t find rental housing and can’t afford to buy or build a house. We need to incentivize turning second homes and abandoned houses into rental units. And we need to encourage thoughtful development that makes new homes affordable and grows the construction and energy sectors.
What changes, if any, would you make to the way Vermont funds its schools?
The connection between owning property and paying for education made sense when Vermont towns were entirely made up of small farms. That connection is gone. Today, property is an asset. But why then don’t we tax other assets at the same rate? Education funding should be more closely aligned with income taxes and one’s total assets. The state should also explore the capacity for new taxes (on social media, for example).
Is Vermont doing enough, too much or not enough to address climate change? Please explain.
Not enough. Given our small size, Vermont could be a model for other populations and democracies that could be extrapolated upwards. To be sure, we have challenges with transportation (we have to drive everywhere) and heating (six months of the year it’s cold), but so does Canada or Scandinavia. The cheapest fuel of all is conservation—we should explore opportunities for more remote work and schooling.
Is Vermont doing enough, too much or not enough to regulate gun ownership? Please explain.
Vermont is doing enough. At the moment, Vermont has struck a sensible balance between Second Amendment rights and individual and community safety.
What would you do to help ease Vermont’s housing crisis?
As expressed above, Vermont needs more thoughtful development, more rehabbing of empty houses, more home-sharing of second homes. Every town should create a local housing authority to help Vermonters find homes and to identify potential housing units—a community-based solution.
How would you address rising homelessness in Vermont?
We need to care for the most vulnerable—children—and create opportunities for the homeless (access to mental health, access to jobs, subsidized housing). We should support not-for-profits who are on the frontlines of this crisis; our dollars are better spent there than paying for hotel room vouchers.
What would you do to increase access to health care services for Vermonters?
The problem is is that the officials in office who could make our health care services more efficient, more sensible and kinder, have really good health care and never have to deal with the rat’s nest of our medical system. It would be instructive to have the Governor wait on hold for 38 minutes to ask a navigator why he received—the same day—one letter from Green Mountain Health Care saying he was denied reinstatement to the program and another letter saying he is now re-enrolled. Or make all the Secretaries of Agencies try to find a dentist who takes Medicaid.
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 O’Brien’s financial disclosure here.
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.
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