Hello, Neighbors!
My name is Christopher Haessly and I'm running for State House to represent Downtown and the Old North End. I'm an Independent because I believe good ideas shouldn't depend on a party line.
I've lived in Burlington for more than twenty-five years, and I've been a renter the entire time.
I'm running because I believe that young people and working families deserve an opportunity to own their own home and earn a livable wage — and that neighbors struggling with mental health conditions and substance use disorder deserve access to treatment.
When I talk to the people who live and work in our community, it's clear that many folks are being left behind. Our bartenders, servers, cooks, dishwashers, housekeepers, retail associates, artists, musicians, healthcare workers, social workers, and trades people — pretty much anybody who rents and works hard for an hourly wage and tips — are sometimes forced to work two or three jobs just to pay for rent, groceries, and healthcare. Many of our neighbors live with one or more roommates because they cannot afford to live on their own.
We've seen entire neighborhoods of single-family homes get converted into off-campus dormitories for a university that refuses to house its students. We've seen young families and working people get priced out of Burlington because they cannot find an affordable starter home — a contributing factor to declining enrollment in our public schools. We've seen seniors and folks on fixed incomes getting crushed by rising property taxes that make it difficult for them to stay in their homes.
When I walk around downtown, I see people who are struggling every day, and it's clear to me that the people who are most in need of services are the least likely to receive them. Vermont has only a handful of treatment centers, and most don't accept Medicaid — which means the people most likely to need help are the least likely to be able to afford it. These folks deserve more than shelter — they deserve treatment delivered with compassion and dignity.
It's clear that current policies are not working. We need to ensure that housing remains affordable, that homeownership remains within reach of young people and working families, and that the state commits to increasing the number of treatment beds so that access to care isn't determined by what insurance you carry.
Vermont should be a place
where the people who work here
can afford to stay here.
Priorities for Chittenden‑16
Proven Leadership, Continued Service
Proven Leadership
Seven years as the Ward 2 School Commissioner on the Burlington School Board.
- Worked with community members from the Old North End to preserve our neighborhood schools
- Stood with our paraeducators, custodians, and food service workers to demand a livable wage
- Successfully advocated for the inclusion of gender identity and expression into school district policies as a protected class — before those provisions were enshrined into State Law
Continued Service
- Church Street Marketplace Commission — advocated for common sense approaches to community safety to ensure the safety of city residents and downtown workers
- Ward 3 Neighborhood Planning Assembly (NPA) — worked with community members to address traffic safety concerns and ensure our roads remain safe for pedestrians, cyclists, and neighborhood residents
Our voluntary individual contribution limit
I believe candidates for elected office should be evaluated on the basis of ideas and policy proposals — not how much money they can raise. That's why we are asking supporters to voluntarily limit individual campaign contributions to no more than $99.
Let's build an economy that works for working people.
If you believe that rents should be affordable, that young people and working families deserve to own their own home and earn a livable wage, that people struggling with mental health and substance use disorders deserve treatment, and that seniors shouldn't be priced out of their homes by rising property taxes,
I invite you to join our campaign.
Let's make Vermont a place we can ALL afford to call home.