I have a 30 year long track record of being both a small business owner and a strong supporter of workers and of organized labor at the same time. Our interests are the same and we can work together, instead of being pitted against each other.

I have owned a business for 30 years, created and sustained jobs and provided a valuable service to many clients at a reasonable price. I know about the problems of small business and how our needs tend to be ignored by all levels of government.

I have also walked a picket line to support striking workers, worked for livable wage ordinances, supported the creation of a single payer health care system, supported the formation of a union at Fletcher Allen Hospital and supported their efforts to reduce the patient/staff ratio, spoken out in support of the Communications Workers of Verizon in opposing the sale to Fairpoint.

The 2010 Global Peace Index, which gauges ongoing domestic and international conflict, safety and security in society, and militarisation in 149 countries, was released this week. The US was ranked 85 of the 149 countries evaluated and while this is nothing to brag about I was pleased to see that we have been steadily improving since the first index in 2007.

This project views the world through a global lens and recognizes that the challenges we face are global. They include climate change, energy, ever decreasing biodiversity, full use of the fresh water on the planet, political stability, and overpopulation among others. In order to solve these problems globally there must be a level of cooperation, inclusiveness, social equity and respect.

I am entering the Democratic Primary for Washington County State Senate and expect to run in the general election under the banners of the Democratic and Progressive Parties. To unify voters, I will also reach out to the Working Families Party, Republicans and Independents.

Folks in Washington County have a good idea of who I am and where I stand and were very supportive in 2008. They gave me more votes than Jim Douglas in several communities and I finished first or second in every town but one.

Democrats, Progressives and others are supporting me, ready to work together to win. On the local level party labels aren't as important as personal contact, and with changes coming to the Senate, Washington County needs someone who can work with people of all parties and backgrounds.

Budgets, the local economy and health care top my agenda. We need to get beyond slogans and face reality. People are struggling. And, just slashing jobs and government isn't working.

Governor Douglas’s decision to veto the Current Use bill is very disappointing. It appears to be driven by his inflexible opposition to any idea he can label a “new tax.” In fact the bill passed by the House and Senate represents an excellent amendment to an existing tax and corrects a long-standing inequity in the use value appraisal program.

As a practicing real estate lawyer for 25 years, I had the opportunity to see exactly how the land use change tax (or “penalty”) works in practice. The most eye-popping example was a 1992 sale of a view lot in the Green Mountains. The developer who sold the lot had been amassing property for many years, buying up hill farms as their owners retired. As a result, the seller had hundreds of acres of forest and meadowland, all of which was rightfully enrolled in the current use tax program.

The Vermont State Labor Council, AFL-CIO is holding its 54th Convention this weekend at the Holiday Inn in South Burlington. Delegates from Vermont unions representing some 10,000 working members will be listening to and evaluating an array of political candidates for the US Senate, Congress, and all statewide offices from the three major parties.

This will include Progressive Party candidates: Martha Abbott, Candidate for Governor; Marj Power, Candidate for Lt. Governor; Charlotte Dennett, Candidate for Attorney General; as well as Anthony Pollina; and Rep. Susan Davis-Hatch speaking for the Working Vermonters legislative caucus.

We know that we have an aging population in Vermont. Some of the old time Vermonters that I know are a very proud group; asking for help goes well beyond what they had ever envisioned for themselves or wanted to do. But in these tough economic times many are finding themselves having to turn to state services and programs to help them to survive day to day. Yes, with the price of heating, gas, food, property taxes, and cuts to services and healthcare our elderly, poor and infirm have been hard hit.

How many times have you heard over the last two years that State Government is too big and needs to be downsized, and how downsizing can lead to efficiencies and savings without impacting services? I'm here to tell you that it is hogwash! And this is not taking pot-shots, it is based on information from constituents, the people we represent.

The National Institute on Money in State Politics recently released a study called "Third-Party Candidates Face Long Odds."

The two main conclusions I noticed will come as no surprise to followers of the VPP. First, that our political system is stacked to favor only two parties. Second, that the VPP is the most successful alternative to the two party system.

Nationally, candidates identifying themselves as Progressives, or as independents fared much better than candidates running under the Green or Libertarian banner. This supports our model for change, and our focus on state-level, and not federal-level, political change.

Other interesting conclusions are that the benefits of money and incumbency don't help third-party candidates to the same extent as their D and R counterparts. Incumbent Ds and Rs won over 90% of their races; incumbent third-party candidates just over half.