Biography
Kesha is the first woman of color to serve in the State Senate and serves as chair of the Senate Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs Committee. She also sits on the Senate Finance Committee and the Joint Justice Oversight Committee. She received a BS in natural resource planning and a BA in political science from the University of Vermont in 2008. She served in the Vermont House of Representatives on behalf of Burlington from 2008 to 2016. Kesha earned her Master of Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in 2018. When not in the legislature, Kesha teaches Structural Inequality and Environmental Justice at Vermont Law & Graduate School. Kesha lives with her husband, Jacob Hinsdale, and their daughter Mira in Shelburne, Vermont, and they are expecting their second child in September of 2024.
Candidate occupation
Environmental Justice Scholar & Author
Why are you running for office?
Government policy has the power to grant or limit opportunity for Vermonters, and my goal has always been to remove any barriers and empower more Vermonters to experience the richness of Vermont’s opportunities.
Issues in brief
Do you believe Vermonters are better off now than they were 10 years ago?
Yes
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
Do you believe Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election?
Yes
Issues in depth
What would you do to help grow Vermont’s economy?
Create more housing options that are affordable for all Vermonters, which is the fundamental way we build a workforce and close the wealth gap.
What changes, if any, would you make to the way Vermont funds its schools?
Create incentives for “newer and fewer” schools that meet the demands of 21st century learning and allow former school buildings to be converted to housing and community use.
Is Vermont doing enough, too much or not enough to address climate change? Please explain.
Vermont is beginning to rebuild its commitment to local renewable energy generation that keeps jobs in-state, but still has a long way to go.
Is Vermont doing enough, too much or not enough to regulate gun ownership? Please explain.
We have passed strong gun safety legislation, but we need to ensure it is being carried out in practice in our judicial and extrajudicial systems.
What would you do to help ease Vermont’s housing crisis?
Speed up the timeline for housing development in municipally and regionally agreed upon areas by reducing duplicative permitting and diversifying funding.
How would you address rising homelessness in Vermont?
Purchase motels and hotels currently housing unhoused Vermonters and convert them to permanent use, increase the number of units of housing (research consensus is that this is the most direct way to reduce rent costs and homelessness), and create more mobile mental health and substance use treatment offerings.
What would you do to increase access to health care services for Vermonters?
Create more mobile and rural health care offerings, revisit universal and all payer health care models.
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 Hinsdale’s financial disclosure here.
Disclaimer
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