Biography
I spent my early years in Vermont and New Hampshire, and then grew up on a farm in western New York, tending sheep and grapes and learning woodworking.
In 1991 Melissa and I found our home in Middletown Springs. We jumped feet first into the town, raising our two daughters in a large and active homeschooling community. We started the town newsletter, I served on the Fire Department and the Select board for many years, and we were among the key organizers of SolarFest, a renewable energy festival. For several decades I was a builder and an educator working with at-risk teens and college students.
Since 2020 I have been a Realtor with McChesney Real Estate in Pawlet. I was elected to the Legislature in 2014, and re-elected in 2016, 2018, and 2022 where I am Vice-Chair of the General and Housing Committee.
Candidate occupation
Realtor
Why are you running for office?
I believe in giving back to my community, and this is a job that I can do well. Vermont is firmly rooted in tradition which I share, but we can’t simply wish away the complex and problematic modern world. Our challenges are many and they are interwoven. I believe that I can help to navigate that path with my combination of experience, vision, practicality, and stubbornness.
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 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?
To grow our economy our greatest need is people to work and housing for them to live in. I have a long record of supporting working Vermonters and working to make services like health care and child care more affordable. I was a key driver of expanding broadband throughout the state enabling more people to live here and work remotely. I have also been a strong advocate for better wages to wean people off of state benefits.
What changes, if any, would you make to the way Vermont funds its schools?
The first objective is to simplify. I would also move away from the property tax as the base funding to an income tax. With the income sensitivity that 66% of Vermonters benefit from already we are essentially using an income tax but we achieve that through a complicated process rather than straight forward income tax. I would also greatly reduce the number of supervisory unions to reduce costs. We have set in motion establishing BOCES to deliver services, but I don’t believe this should be on top of our already top heavy administrative structure.
Is Vermont doing enough, too much or not enough to address climate change? Please explain.
Climate change is the fundamental driver of almost every issue facing us. Even as a small state with a small percentage of national carbon emissions I believe it is critical to reduce our output further. However the real focus will need to be adapting to climate change which will determine how and where we build roads, housing, businesses, and parks. It will determine whether we continue to be a destination for skiing, fall foliage, and maple syrup. It will determine what invasive species we cope with (ticks, Ash borers, West Nile virus, milfoil). It will demand responsive and creative agriculture. It will require more energy in the summer for cooling and possibly less in the winter. It will set new patterns for our lives.
Is Vermont doing enough, too much or not enough to regulate gun ownership? Please explain.
I have no problem with responsible gun ownership. I have several guns and learned responsible use both as a youth and through the Vermont hunter safety course, though I don’t hunt. The second amendment was written in a very different time and under very different conditions than we now face. Armed citizens (the “well regulated militia”) has been supplanted by the National Guard with fighter jets, combat units and heavy artillery.
Studies have repeatedly shown that more guns do not make us safer, In fact easy gun ownership makes us less safe. I do not want to ban gun ownership but I do favor strong controls such as red flag laws and registration including “ghost guns” made at home on 3D printers.
What would you do to help ease Vermont’s housing crisis?
As a member of the Housing Committee I actively support a wide variety of housing initiatives. However that state cannot and should not do this alone. We need to encourage the private sector, but regulatory reform alone is not enough. We also need to build, to renovate, and to innovate housing and I think we need to work more closely with private developers. Unfortunately, in this time of record homelessness we also need to devote significant resources to providing shelter for those most in need.
How would you address rising homelessness in Vermont?
The hotel voucher program as we know it was a response to the crisis of homelessness created by Covid -19. Whether homelessness was created by people losing their jobs, by extended family no longer able to take them in, or housing being sold out from under them as “covid refugees” flocked to Vermont doesn’t matter. What does matter is that record numbers of us do not have permanent housing.
That will have disastrous consequences for a whole generation or more. The voucher program as an emergency response was needed, but it was poorly managed and hideously expensive. Now the legislature is winding down the program as new housing comes on line, but that winding down creates very real pain and danger for families, for the elderly, for veterans who are disproportionatly homeless. The challenge is that we need to do both: provide temporary shelter and create new housing stock.
What would you do to increase access to health care services for Vermonters?
I am a long time advocate for single payer healthcare for many reasons. Given that VT cannot readily implement that on its own I think the Universal Primary Care is the best way to increase access to providers, cut costs, and reduce future medical needs.
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 Chesnut-Tangerman’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.
