Biography
Mollie Sullivan Burke of Brattleboro grew up in Buffalo, NY, and on the Niagara River in Canada, the eldest in a family of eleven children. She was a competitive figure skater in childhood, received an undergraduate degree in Political Science, and did graduate study at the London School of Economics.
She later embarked on a career in the arts as a painter and teacher. She received a Master of Fine Arts from Goddard College for work connecting art and climate change.
Mollie has served on the Transportation Committee in the Legislature since 2009, with a focus on diversification, electrification, carbon reduction, and the affordability of our transportation system.
She is founder and director of Art in the Neighborhood, a non-profit that provides tuition-free classes to low-income children. She also conducts school residencies under the auspices of the Vermont Arts Council. Her teaching includes bookmaking and cartography projects related to Vermont history, pre-history, and culture.
Mollie and her husband have three grown children and five grandchildren.
Candidate occupation
Director of non-profit arts organization
Why are you running for office?
I was inspired to run for office in 2008 because of my concern about climate change. I was part of an organization called Brattleboro Climate Protection. When a seat opened up in my legislative district I put my name forward, believing that I could work on the issue more effectively at the State level. I asked to be assigned to the Transportation Committee. At that time the majority of greenhouse gas emissions came from that sector of the economy.
It took time before the issue of climate change rose to the top in our committee priorities. It is now a priority, thanks in large part to the Climate Action Plan. It has been exciting to initiate programs for vehicle electrification and expansion of our state vehicle charging network, as well as promote innovative public transit projects. I am running because I feel committed to continuing the work of carbon reduction. I am also excited about the co-benefits: making our communities more livable, walkable, bikeable, and accessible; improving air quality; and cutting transportation costs for low and moderate income Vermonters.
Other priorities include my work with the Women’s Caucus, addressing women’s economic well-being, and alternatives to prison for women in the system.
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?
No answer
What changes, if any, would you make to the way Vermont funds its schools?
There are no easy answers to this question. The issue of high propert’y taxes this year makes it imperative that we investigate ways to support our schools within the parameters of the ability of Vermonters to pay. I am confident that the Commission on the Future of Public Education in Vermont as set up in the Yield Bill (H. 887) will be fulfill its mandate to create a “statewide vision for Vermont’s public education system with recommendations for the policy changes necessary to make Vermont’s educational vision a reality. “
Is Vermont doing enough, too much or not enough to address climate change? Please explain.
I believe we are doing a lot, but it is not enough. According to the 2023 Energy Action Network report, we are not on track to meet the requirements of the Global Warming Solutions Act that requires a 26% reduction in greenhouse gases (GHG) from 2005 by 2025 and a 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. According to the Agency of Natural Resources we are only on schedule to make a 13% reduction by 2025 and a 15% reduction by 2030. Transportation and Thermal are the most polluting sectors. I am looking forward to the report on the Affordable Heat Act, hoping that will be feasible to cut thermal emissions as well as heating costs. And another report required by Act 148, this year’s transportation bill will give us sustainability options for possibly regulating transportation fuels and/or participating in a regional invest and trade program like the Western Climate initiative, or other potential revenue-raising, carbon-pollution reduction strategies. These programs provide a hopeful path for actually meeting our emissions goals and I plan to follow progress in these areas closely and advocate for adoption.
Is Vermont doing enough, too much or not enough to regulate gun ownership? Please explain.
We are making progress. Over the past several years the legislature has been passing a variety of incremental and common-sense measures to regulate gun ownership that in no way interfere with hunting rights, which I strongly support. They are public safety measures.
We have prohibited high-capacity magazines, raised the minimum age to purchase a firearm to 21, required background checks for all gun sales, addressed the Charleston loophole, passed an Extreme Risk Protections law, and prohibited people subject to domestic violence restraining orders from having firearms.
In 2023 we passed a comprehensive suicide prevention package that required secure storage of firearms, a waiting period for firearm purchases, and strengthened our Extreme Risk law.
Just this past session we passed a bill to regulate “ghost guns” requiring serial numbers on guns that are privately made with individual parts, kits or 3D printers. And we also banned guns from polling places. Governor Scott allowed these measures to become law without his signature.
. There is certainly more we could do. For example, we could ban assault type weapons designed for military use. These are conversations I hope we can have going forward. I would follow the lead of Gun Sense Vermont.
What would you do to help ease Vermont’s housing crisis?
I enthusiastically voted for H. 829, a bill that would have invested $900 million in housing investments between fiscal year 2026 and 2034. The stated purpose of the bill was to create a “long-term solution to Vermont’s housing shortage. This was a “comprehensive and strategic housing plan” that was to create permanent affordable housing in all 14 counties. I supported this bill because it took a giant step towards solving one our most challenging issues. However, there was push back on the tax on incomes over $500,000 that would have created the revenue for this ambitious bill. The Senate was reluctant to take this route but instead made smaller investments that are reflected in H. 687 and the FY25 budget. The amount of these investments is about $95m with perhaps an additional $55 m in unobligated ARPA funding for affordable housing.
I supported the Senate scaled-down version because that was what could pass. If elected I hope we can find the will and wherewithal to support the scale of investments as proposed in H. 829, necessary to address the issue in a comprehensive way. Hopefully we can make progress next year.
How would you address rising homelessness in Vermont?
My remarks about H. 829 in the preceding question mean that we need to support housing at every level, from first-time homebuyers, to missing middle, to improving existing housing, to creating low-income affordable housing, to creating more shelters and shelter beds so that everyone can move up the ladder.
The problem is getting worse, particularly in communities like mine, Brattleboro, where there are scores of homeless people on the streets, creating problems for citizens and businesses. Those of us lucky enough to have housing feel helpless. It’s hard to separate out the causes of homelessness. Is it related to drugs, domestic violence, or poverty. I believe that the only way to address this is through targeted investments and wrap around services. That takes money. Where to get the money is the issue. We can’t ban people sleeping outside, as some communities are trying to do. This is a moral issue, and one we need to tackle.
What would you do to increase access to health care services for Vermonters?
I think it is criminal that we don’t have universal health care in a country as wealthy as the United States. That said, we nibble around the edges. We passed some good legislation this session. H.766 will eliminate the need for primary care providers to seek “prior authorization” for treatment. Primary care provides the most preventative and least costly form of care in our healthcare system, and waiting for approval can mean that conditions worsen and become more costly. We also increased eligibility for the Medicare savings program. This means that in the transition from Medicaid to Medicare at age 65 more than 10,000 Vermonters will now see an increase in their Social Security checks of almost $175 per month.
Going forward I would support universal primary care as a step towards greater access. I would also like to see comprehensive coverage for dental, vision, and hearing.
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 Burke’s financial disclosure here.
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