Biography
I grew up on a small, second-generation farm in Western Massachusetts and learned from an early age how much physical work, ingenuity, and dedication is required to maintain a family farm. In 2000, I moved to Vermont to pursue a career in architecture. Vermont has been good to me. In 2012, I married my wonderful wife, and in 2013, I became a parent and started my own business.
When I started my architectural practice, Hinge Inc., I relied on state safety net services to build my business from the ground up while raising my young family. A cornerstone of my business approach is to make design services approachable and affordable for everyone. This commitment to fostering inclusion and access is rooted in my experiences as a queer person and as a woman in a male-dominated field. I know how important it is to be seen, heard, and valued, and I know what it takes to persist and thrive in spaces not designed for me.
I have also served on Burlington’s Development Review Board and Montpelier’s Planning Commission.
Candidate occupation
Architect
Why are you running for office?
Simply there are not enough people like me — queer parents of young children and small business owners who know what it is like to be low-income — in elected office. This lived experience is essential to have in the State House.
The issues facing Vermonters are interconnected and I know firsthand from the way I run my practice that the best solutions come from inviting everyone to the table and, in the case of design work, empowering my clients by valuing their input throughout the design process. As an elected official, I will use the same process of asking for and integrating input from those most impacted be it farmers, parents, teachers, or anyone. I am also excited to bring my unique skill set into the State House, drawing on my experience of proposing reasonable and practical solutions. This process can be utilized for the issues facing our community.
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
Do you believe Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election?
No answer
Issues in depth
What would you do to help grow Vermont’s economy?
We need to make sure that Vermonters get paid livable wages in all sectors and eliminate gender and racial wage gaps. When people have more money they spend more at local businesses. Livable wages also tend to increase productivity and create a broader tax base. When workers are not living in poverty, consumer markets can grow. Providing universal primary care in Vermont would eliminate the burden placed on municipalities and small businesses year after year to meet the demand of rising healthcare costs. This cost savings would open up the ability to invest in workers.
What changes, if any, would you make to the way Vermont funds its schools?
We need to create a new education funding model that uses a revenue stream that is income-based. In Burlington, we have a higher number of students who are English learners and a higher number of students in poverty so it is essential to protect pupil weights so that Burlington gets the additional funding for school services to support these students. We need to ensure that we pay all employees of a school district a livable wage so that critical positions like para-educators that are vital to running a classroom are sought-after positions rather than being left vacant year after year.
Is Vermont doing enough, too much or not enough to address climate change? Please explain.
Vermont is not doing enough to address climate change. We have done a decent job in most communities responding to the climate disasters we’ve faced but not enough to stop things from getting worse. We must start with the reduction of our energy use. In the housing sector, we need to invest further in weatherization programs so that middle-income Vermonters can also receive assistance to weatherize their home. We need to eliminate barriers such as the cost of asbestos remediation for low/middle-income Vermonters which often prohibit weatherization work. We must also create a framework for reaching a net-zero emission public transportation system and make it fare-free so that it is convenient and affordable for people to ride public transportation. Additionally, we must invest in clean energy infrastructure such as solar power generation so that we are producing the energy at the source of consumption for transportation and municipal buildings.
Is Vermont doing enough, too much or not enough to regulate gun ownership? Please explain.
Vermont is not doing enough to regulate gun ownership and access. The USA as a whole does not regulate guns enough. I do believe in the right to own guns responsibly. We need to create an Office of Gun Violence Prevention to do this effectively. This office would provide background checks; safe storage and trigger locks to gun owners at no cost; education in tandem with schools to promote gun violence prevention and safety; and partnership with other agencies to address and prevent mental health issues that sometimes play a role in gun violence. Firearms are also the number one cause of death in domestic violence-related homicides and more needs to be done to protect victims of domestic violence and prevent guns reach the hands of abusers.
What would you do to help ease Vermont’s housing crisis?
We need to work with municipalities to allow for innovative and thoughtful in-fill housing and provide incentives to do so. We can require developments that are providing large quantities of rental housing to also provide a percentage of ownership options such as condominiums or cooperatives that could also be kept as perpetually affordable units. We need to also consider taxing second home/vacation homes to free up existing housing stock or increase revenue.
How would you address rising homelessness in Vermont?
To address rising homelessness, we need to create more permanently affordable housing options. We must simultaneously invest in the safety nets that help Vermonters with the rising costs of living so they don’t have to choose between basic needs like shelter, heat, medicine, and food. We need to increase the funding of temporary and emergency shelters and eliminate the barriers that prevent individuals from accessing shelter. We also need to provide secure storage and a community kitchen space so individuals have protection for their belongings and access to a space to cook their own food. We must build stronger community systems that are responsive to the different needs of those facing homelessness would bring dignity to those in crisis. All of this needs to be done in tandem with improving preventative services such as funding group homes for those recovering from substance abuse so that individuals have a safe home and built-in support network.
What would you do to increase access to health care services for Vermonters?
Work to create Universal Primary Care (UPC) in Vermont so that every Vermonter has barrier-free access to primary health care. It is a known fact that increasing access to primary care improves health outcomes and reduces healthcare costs.
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 Aloisi’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.
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.
