McLaren is the right choice for Lt. Gov.

To the Editor:
I’m supporting Ryan McLaren because he is an authentic candidate, with the real knowledge, experience, and leadership to make a difference. Ryan is not the chosen or appointed candidate of party establishment. He is the real deal. He is one of us. His job is not running for higher office, but making Vermont better.
He is committed to challenging the “party loyalty above all else” and “don’t change anything” ethos in Montpelier.
The affordability crisis is not an appealing buzzword or hot talking point for Ryan. It is as real for him as it is for any of us, because he experienced it growing up as a working-class kid. Housing. Health care. Property taxes. Medical bills. Good paying jobs. Just as one example, he has put forward concrete proposals for dealing with the housing crisis, such as his YIMBY (Yes In My Back Yard) tax credit plan.
Like so many young people who are flooding out of Vermont for job opportunities and affordable housing elsewhere, Ryan could have left Vermont and sought his fortunes elsewhere. But he stayed in Vermont, not to run for office, not for a political career, but to work hard to make Vermont a better place for all of us.
Ryan doesn’t just talk the talk. He is a Vermont public school kid from a very modest environment who has scrapped his way forward through both hard work and public service. AmeriCorps volunteer. School board service. Youth and high school coaching. Service in state government. And, as an aide to Sen. Welch, he has dug creatively and deeply into the details of federal and state policies and programs and delivered real value ($) for Vermont. He accomplished this record through hard work and dedication. He didn’t choose a career path as a politician, and he wasn’t catapulted to the front of the line by a political party.
The August 11 primary is our chance to make a change in Vermont leadership. Please join me in voting for Ryan on or before August 11 at your local polling place.
Walter Judge
Burlington