Leanne's #1 goal is to help create a healthy, happy and sustainable Vermont that meets the needs of families and working-class people. She is committed to showing up for rural communities, protecting our local schools, supporting housing and business-friendly opportunities, and growing our economy to make Vermont more affordable for everyone.
You can track bills that Leanne has sponsored HERE.
You can track Leanne's voting record HERE.
Key Priorities
Environmental Stewardship
From her first biennium in office, Leanne has been a committed advocate for protecting Vermont's lakes and natural resources. She supported legislation to safeguard the state's smaller lakes from the impacts of wake boats, whose large wakes can damage sensitive aquatic ecosystems, erode shorelines, and create unsafe conditions for swimmers, paddlers, anglers, and wildlife. In addition to sponsoring legislation that would have given municipalities greater authority to regulate wakesports on small lakes and ponds, she testified before the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation in support of updated rules that now limit wakesports to larger bodies of water better suited to accommodate them. She continues to advocate for stronger water quality monitoring, science-based environmental policy, and additional protections to ensure Vermont's lakes and waterways remain healthy and accessible for future generations.
Climate Change Response
Climate change is already affecting Vermont, from flooding that damages roads and farms to rising energy costs that strain family budgets. Leanne focuses on practical, locally driven solutions that strengthen communities while protecting the places Vermonters rely on and value. Her efforts have included facilitating testimony from local municipal leaders to the House about the impacts of recent flooding in their communities and the resources and adjustments most needed, particularly in cases where critical FEMA reimbursements were denied. She supports policies that protect natural resources, improve resilience to extreme weather, and build a future in which Vermont’s economy, working lands, and rural communities can thrive together. Leanne believes responding to climate change is not only about environmental protection, but also about keeping communities safe, supporting local businesses and farmers, and ensuring future generations inherit a Vermont that is strong and resilient.
Support for Public Education
Leanne has been a public school teacher for more than a decade. She strongly supports public education and is committed to ensuring that rural schools can provide equitable, meaningful opportunities for students at a cost Vermonters can afford. As a member of the House Committee on Education, Leanne works with state agencies and executive leadership to rethink education funding and governance structures in ways that support consistent quality standards across Vermont schools. She believes local communities should have a strong voice in how their children are educated and that teachers deserve continued support from legislators in carrying out the essential work of preparing Vermont’s future citizens. Throughout her first biennium, Leanne worked to shape critical legislation related to school district consolidation, helping to revise harmful policy that would have required mandatory school mergers. She played a key role in drafting and advancing changes that rolled back mandatory mergers, giving districts the ability to engage instead in thoughtful, locally driven decision-making about whether to pursue strategic mergers or maintain independence, based on their own community needs. Leanne believes that when we invest in public schools, we are investing in the future of Vermont itself: in our classrooms, in our communities, and in the children who will carry our state forward.
Access to Housing
Leanne believes housing is a human right, and that every Vermonter should have access to an affordable place to live in their own community. She supports reducing unnecessary regulatory barriers that slow housing construction and drive up costs, including streamlining permitting processes and making essential approvals like wastewater permits more efficient and affordable. She supports expanding housing supply by strengthening accessory dwelling unit policies and removing barriers to building multifamily homes, so more housing can be built where it is needed most. Vermont is in a housing crisis that demands urgency and practical solutions, with an immediate focus on making it possible for working families to afford homes in the communities where they are building their lives. Homeownership should not be out of reach for young people growing up in Vermont or for those contributing to our economy. When more families can afford to live here, our schools, businesses, and communities all grow stronger.
General Affordability
Leanne knows that Vermonters are feeling the pressure of rising property taxes at a pace that many can no longer afford, alongside growing costs of living including healthcare, energy, childcare, and groceries. She is committed to keeping more money in the pockets of working and middle-class families while ensuring Vermont has a fair and stable revenue system. She believes the tax system should be more equitable, including ensuring that the wealthiest Vermonters—those earning over $500,000—contribute their fair share so that working families are not overburdened or left carrying too much of the load. She supports responsible revenue solutions that reduce pressure on those already struggling, alongside careful efforts to identify waste and inefficiency in state spending. On healthcare, Leanne supports moving toward universal coverage and believes Vermont should lead on practical cost-saving reforms, including reference-based pricing for medical services and stronger prescription drug cost controls. She also supports expanding access to childcare assistance so more Vermont families can work, save, and build stability. Vermonters should not just be surviving—they should have the opportunity to thrive.
Equity, Inclusion and Bodily Autonomy for All People
All Vermonters should be able to live safely, openly, and with dignity and opportunity, without fear—no matter their race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, or background. That includes the freedom to make personal decisions about their own bodies, access reproductive healthcare, and live without discrimination in schools, in workplaces, and in public life. Those rights are not guaranteed everywhere, and they are increasingly under pressure at the national level. Attempts to restrict reproductive freedom, roll back diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in public institutions, and expand aggressive immigration enforcement have real consequences for families and communities. Leanne supports protecting reproductive rights, defending LGBTQ+ equality, and preserving D.E.I. programs in education and public service because they help ensure fair access and opportunity. On the House Education Committee, Leanne worked to help write laws keeping ICE enforcement out of Vermont schools so children can access education without fear, including provisions that prevent schools from collecting or disclosing students’ immigration status to federal immigration authorities. She believes government should not exclude or silence people, but instead actively work to correct barriers that have long prevented equal participation. In Vermont and beyond, she will stand with efforts that expand civil rights, strengthen accountability, and make sure every person has a fair chance to live with dignity and opportunity, without fear.
