Candidate for the Vermont State House of Representatives

Patrick Murray for Vermont House: Chittenden 8-2

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Essex Selectperson, EWSD School Board, Justice of the Peace

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Patrick Murray for Vermont House of Representatives
(Chittenden 8-2 Campaign Announcement)



When I first explored the idea of giving back to the community that I live in, I wasn't sure how to go about it. I wasn't sure what form it would even take. I had been co-producing a yearly Halloween event for charity, and the thing that surprised me the most wasn't the satisfaction of seeing our stories come to life. It was the joy in seeing the money that we all made having an impact on people's lives right here in Vermont. The first time we chose a signature charity was Women Helping Battered Women (Now Steps to End Domestic Violence) and I distinctly remember calculating money, going to their webpage to see what we had earned could do and getting tears in my eyes because we were going to be part of keeping the shelter open. That moment was when I knew that I could be doing so much more than I had been. As a survivor of domestic violence, I know firsthand the devastation that it can have on children and parents and for so long it never occurred to me that I could make an impact on kids who like me in my teens were living in fear and just needed someplace to feel safe if even for a night.

I've come a long way since then but the core of why I seek to serve the public hasn't changed; I want to help people. With that in my heart, I'm excited to announce my campaign for the Vermont State legislature, running in the Chittenden 8-2 (Essex Junction) district. In the five years I have served consecutively on first the Prudential Committee and then the fully unified Essex Westford School Board. During that time I have spent two years as a member of the Regional Advisory Board for our local technical centers (Burlington Tech and CTE) and have seen first hand how incredibly important these programs are for the kids in our community, and how valuable they'll be for a future where college is growing more and more expensive for working-class families. I've spent countless hours being a voice for the School Board, particularly working through transportation issues and advocating from the very beginning for equitable busing access for all students in the district which culminating in the introduction of bus routes for the first time in the Junction this year.

In addition to my work on the school board, I was elected to my first term as Selectperson here in Essex last spring. I intend on seeing through the passage of a merger vote during the Fall, which has been the focus of work for our municipality since before my election. We need to be one united Essex to tackle the problems of the future in the most efficient way possible. Anything else does our community a huge disservice. As town, we have the ability to be leading Vermont with from issues as diverse as climate change to encouraging new and unique business ideas.
As your State Representative, I would focus on aggressive action against climate change. I am aware of Vermont's size and scope when it comes to the rest of the nation, however, we have always swung well above our weight class when it comes to leading by example. We must continue to do this when it comes to leaving a sustainable world for our children and grandchildren. Our educational system throughout the state is capable of providing world-class education, and I'd like to bring what I've learned locally to bear in helping all the children in the state. I'm so proud of the teachers that we have employed and the leaders that want to do right by our kids. Over the years though, there have been too many ideas that lacked implementation and follow-through. We have incredible tech centers that can provide high paying, reliable jobs to students right out of high school that kids are discouraged from attending. We have all the right tools at our fingertips, but someone with the experience I have on school boards needs to able to say 'We need a plan to fix this, and that plan needs dedicated follow-through and resources to do it right.' The state needs new revenue streams that aren't taxpayer burdens, and to that end I very much support a taxed and regulated market on cannabis products. Lastly, the state needs a comprehensive plan to deliver reliable broadband access to every single home. High-speed connectivity is the electricity of my generation and with over fifteen years of experience in the telecom repair industry, I won't be just another politician who talks about it. I have the background to know what it'll take to get it done.

In the coming months, I hope to talk more about myself, my youth growing up in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont and my adulthood here in Essex and Chittenden county. I also want to hear from all of you, my neighbors, about the important things in your life and how together we can make it better. Thank you for reading.

Patrick Murray
Essex Selectperson
Essex Westford Schoolboard

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8/5/2020

VSEA Endorsement!

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I'm very honored and humbled to received an endorsement from the Vermont State Employees Association. I spent time briefly in the IBEW when I worked for a summer at Verizon and it was an experience that stuck with me. Unions are the backbone of working America, and especially today when it seems that large corporations have all the advantages when dealing with their employees and wages have been left so far behind inflation it's Unions that help to close that gap. Please check out more at https://www.vsea.org/vsea-announces-primary-election-endorsements/

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8/1/2020

Moms Demand Action - Gunsense Candidate Distinction

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TW: Domestic Violence and long post, but Important.
I am at once extremely proud and also hesitant today to talk about my latest campaign announcement because it also very much crosses into my personal life. I've been selected by the group Moms Demand Action, a group formed after the Sandy Hook shooting as one of their Gun Sense Candidates. I join other politicians Vermonters can vote for this year like Joe Biden, Tim Ashe, Rebecca Holcombe, David Zuckerman, Brenda Seigel and TJ Donovan. Multiple candidates in a race can receive this distinction to be clear but for me this is extremely powerful and personal for reasons I'm about to share. I share this story after also speaking with my family to make sure they were also comfortable and aware that I was going to be talking about our early childhood back when I started my campaign.
When I was a boy around 12 years old my stepfather (who has since passed away) had a drinking problem. It was a difficult time for our family, money was tight and so he would work on fishing trips hours away from Vermont and try to be home when he could on the weekends. My mother also had to work and at the time she was doing evenings as a restaurant hostess while I was home watching my younger brother and sisters. Obviously this was a hard time for everyone but when alcohol gets involved, bad situations can become so much worse. My stepfather owned several guns and there was one evening in particular when he was supposed to be returning from a fishing trip. Instead of his coming straight home though, I got a frantic call from my mother begging me to go into their bedroom, find his guns and hide them. He was in a rage at being away, likely jealous and completely drunk so he had stopped by my Mother's workplace first to confront her before she made that call home to me only when he got into his truck to come to the house. She was going to try to get home as soon as she could.
I was terrified. But this wasn't the first time I'd seen my stepfather angry and drunk. With my brother's help we got my sisters (Sleeping at the time) into the beds in our room, raced to grab his firearms and stash them the best we could. Time was short though and some of my memories of this night are impossibly vivid. I remember seeing the headlights coming down the driveway and, wanting to pretend we were already asleep to avoid any confrontation I shoved his handgun between my mattress and the wall before pulling the covers over my sister and me who thankfully had remained asleep. We were in the dark in our room when we started hearing the sounds, and I don't know if it was after a few minutes or 30 but I do remember the sounds. My stepfather tossing his bedroom. He was ransacking drawers, pushing over clothing cabinets, flipping the mattress. He was looking for the gun that was two feet from my head. My mother had been -so- right to call home ahead of his arrival. I don't know what would have happened if he'd been able to find them that night.
He came into our room next. After searching everywhere else he turned on the lights to the room my brother and I shared and came in and we pretended to be asleep. I was afraid to open my eyes but I could feel him standing over us, watching for what felt like forever. I had to force myself to breathe deeply and regularly to not give it away. If the covers got moved or he forced us up then he could have seen the handle of his gun there, stashed in a rush to simply get it anyplace he wouldn't find it. It worked though. The lights got flipped off and after a few more minutes I heard the front doors open again and his truck start up and take off. This was possibly the only chance we'd get and so in a Vermont winter, with my 6 year old sister in my arms the four of us kids fled the house without coats, barely with shoes on because we just knew we needed to get -out-. We needed to get to a neighbor; To anywhere else and we couldn't walk along the road at risk of being seen so we pushed into the waist deep drifts because who knew what would happen if we stayed?
I grew up in the Northeast Kingdom where that same stepfather took me hunting and where there can be respect around guns and firearms. But I have -survived- the instances where it's about more than that. We know having a history of domestic violence must mean taking action to reduce someone's ability to do harm. My stepfather, later in life and after I was out of the house became a much better man. A good man. Caring. Loving. But even before he passed away I could never bring myself to ask him if he regretted the past, or if he even remember a night that's formed a core part of who I am. I'm sharing this now, with my friends and family and the public because as a candidate for office when I take a stand on reducing gun violence and suicide I will point to this and say 'Now you know why.' and I think anyone wanting to vote for me deserves to know.

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7/8/2020

Why I've not solicited donations in the primary.

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We live in difficult times, filled with upheaval and uncertainty. This wasn't exactly the environment I had expected to be running a political campaign in but this is also a moment to enact real, lasting change. Our voices are critical to making sure we see lasting change in the world. For me, that started advocating for expanding technical education and removing the stigma associated with it. It is the push to bring modern, high speed broadband throughout the state at a time when it is more vital than ever before. Over the last few weeks, it is clear as well that it means being a loud, persuasive voice for racial justice and equity.

We (White, 30-50 year olds) have 'listened' for years. I have been part of conferences and programs and lectures around equity and inclusion in Vermont for so long and still as messages of support are put up around our state in days we see them vandalized. These are the acts of a coward, afraid to be seen in the light of day but it is also more proof that the time for - only- listening by people like myself is past. Whoever commits these acts feels comfortable enough being a racist in Vermont to vandalize the road in front of the Statehouse. We must speak. We must take action; Loud, impossible to ignore action. Action that makes us ask uncomfortable, awkward questions because without doing so, nothing really changes.

Over the last few months of COVID-19 I have struggled with around the idea of political fundraising. I have seen the lines of cars at food drop-offs and been ashamed at the thought of daring to ask anyone for money to print road signs or bumper stickers because even a few dollars can go towards people that really need it. What I ask instead is, instead of donating to my campaign, if you're seeing this post, please donate to either a local Essex food bank (Aunt Dot's, Heavenly Pantry, Essex-Underhill) or consider visiting the following list of PoC businesses in Vermont to show your support. (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PcQDWbEZtrXqIYGwNP-3iUuacAoifdSSR2PyQnZPsIY/edit?fbclid=IwAR2dHTQypi3m296CnNTpCKrHt12SErwTTXOSyQRlhkQjarD1uU7am1H3A8A#gid=214907488) This is how we can make a difference and if you agree with my message, consider voting for me in the Democratic primary for Chittenden 8-2 on August 11th, 2020 and follow my political page here:
https://www.facebook.com/patrick.murray.vt

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    Patrick is currently running for the Vermont State House of Representatives.

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