Alison Despathy for Vermont House
Caledonia - Washington District
Danville - Peacham - Cabot
REAL Solutions that will serve Vermont
Alison Despathy
for Vermont House Representative
My Story
Alison Despathy - Independent Candidate for
Caledonia-Washington House Representative
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Promoting Real Solutions that Respect and Serve Vermont's residents and our state
My name is Alison Despathy and I have lived in Danville, VT since 2001. I am currently an Independent Candidate for Caledonia- Washington House Representative, which includes the towns of Danville, Cabot and Peacham. It would be an honor to serve you and work to the best of my ability to find the best solutions for Vermont.
My husband and I built our home here and I am so very grateful for our home and community. I have three children whom we homeschool, and it has been a joy to be able to see them grow and have so many adventures with them along the way. My oldest son went to Danville High School and just graduated this past year. He had a great supportive, experience there and our family is grateful for the opportunities and guidance the school provided him. My intention in running for House Representative is to work hard to create constructive legislation that serves the people, environment and economy of our state. My promise is to ensure that the rights, diverse perspectives and individual world views can be supported and respected as we move forward as a community during the best and worst of times.
I have an undergraduate degree from University of New Hampshire where I studied ethnobotany and the relationships between humans and our environments by focusing my studies on plant biology and cultural anthropology. I have always been extremely committed to the health of humans and our environments and building healthy relationships with nature. I completed my Masters of Science degree in Human Nutrition at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut. I have a nutrition practice in St. Johnsbury and have taught nutrition and health and wellness classes within the Vermont State College System for over 20 years. I am incredibly passionate about health, food, nature, farming and gardening. These are all integral to personal health responsibility and lifestyles that contribute to an individual's ability to thrive. I strongly believe that all people should have access to information, resources and support to best help themselves and their families.
I am an avid gardener, hiker and find joy and peace being outside in nature. I strongly believe Vermont has the potential to become fully sustainable by harnessing the ingenuity and work ethic of Vermonters who are already implementing best practices such as permaculture and sustainable farming, animal husbandry, and silviculture. There are many viable opportunities to make a real difference for our social fabric, economy, environment the health of Vermonters. The rediscovery and implementation of the endless applications of hemp for not only health but to improve soil, as animal feed, clothing, fuel and building materials will have a positive impact on Vermont. There is also the Northern Vermont University (NVU) initiative to reinvigorate the forest product industry in Northern Vermont and New Hampshire. Working within our communities and our state we could create a truly independent, sustainable system that would benefit all Vermonters and become a model for other states to emulate. Real solutions that serve Vermont and provide opportunities for all Vermonters and especially our young people deserve energy and focus. There is so much more we can do to make a difference here.
I also have a strong interest in and respect for history, including medical history. I spent a lot of time in Valley Forge when I was young, and it has been this influencing factor that has allowed me to gain a deep understanding of the gift that we have been offered in this country. According to our Constitution and Bill of Rights, we as individuals have liberties guaranteed to each and every one of us in this country that are untouchable and are innate. This was truly revolutionary. This was the real revolution -this perspective that humans have rights granted to them by a power higher than the state or any other human being. This was the intention, the design, the plan in order to prevent any situation that may arise from ever interfering with our rights and civil liberties and our ability to exercise these rights. Regardless of our Founding Fathers faults and the fact that they were working within a framework of their time, they were able to create a document which guaranteed individual liberties and freedoms that were to be held up and defended by our elected government officials as well as our courts of law. This was their gift to us, to all American citizens.
It is these rights, these guaranteed rights of each individual that I am fully committed to working to protect and secure so that liberty for all and our free society can survive and be enjoyed by our children and our descendants. These civil liberties that I will promise to defend include all of our Constitutional rights including- free speech, property rights, parental rights, body autonomy and the right to make personal, private medical decisions -free of coercion and discrimination-, hunting and gun rights, and justice and equal opportunity for all.
If elected, it is these rights that I fully promise at all times to uphold and protect, to secure and fortify as we move forward so that there is space for all of the unique world views that we hold. I believe in limited government and that the role of the government is to protect and ensure that these rights are upheld for each individual. Without these rights, true freedom does not exist and the fabric and foundation of what makes our country so unique and a shining light for so many would be destroyed. We have been offered a gift, the most precious gift in history and the question is can we hold onto this gift, this common ground, through the many trials that will arise for humanity along the way. It is my intention to work hard to ensure this is the case.
I have never been involved in politics before. I had never been interested in politics because I am very private and would often cringe or quietly walk away when the conversation headed that way. I never felt it was important or right to try and change someone's mind to your way of thinking. To me, it always came down to the fact that every individual is so unique and has their own thoughts, perspectives and experiences that influence who they are and what they believe. And fortunately, because we live in a free society, there is room and respect for all of these unique individual perspectives and approaches to life. My personal belief has been that we are so fortunate to live in a country where we have the opportunity to choose and create our own path, whatever that may be, and that despite our differences in world views, life experiences and belief systems we can comfortably live here and know that our choices will be respected and more so are protected by law. It is this situation and opportunity that I am committed to keeping alive for all Vermont residents, both present and future. If elected, as I work my hardest to solve problems and create viable answers and real solutions that actually serve and are not destructive, I will always ensure that individual rights and civil liberties are not compromised in the process, they are the cornerstone of our country and freedom. My goal is to keep humanity, compassion and respect for our differences at the forefront of our thoughts and actions as we work together to find solutions for our state. It would be an honor to serve you, if given the opportunity.
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