VERMONT GOES “DOOGIE HOWSER” ON GUBERNATORIAL ELECTION

Democrats have proven time and time again that they have absolutely no floor. For a party that has nowhere to go but either sideways or up, these clowns just keep digging deeper and deeper.

This is a party that thinks women can become men and vice versa. This is a party that threw the border gates wide open and allowed millions of illegals to pour in, and now instigates and fights against Constitutional law when ICE is upholding that law to remove them. This is the party that wants the hiring of individuals to be based on skin color instead of merit. This is the party that embraces so many absurdities that it is too time-consuming to mention them all.

The Democratic Party is now totally guided by the radical left. The radical left doesn’t have ideas; they have delusions, and the absurdity of those delusions has reached monumentally irresponsible proportions.

In Vermont, Democrats have driven property taxes sky high. As a result, not unlike other blue states, people are leaving the state, and in Vermont’s case, a lot of those saying good riddance are younger.

That said, Dean Roy is a 14-year-old high school freshman who has managed to get on the November ballot. Roy, who founded his own party – the Freedom and Unity Party – filed the paperwork, and is now officially on the November 3 ballot alongside running mate Charles D. Bass, who is seeking lieutenant governor.

Last year, while he was in eighth grade, Roy served as a legislative page at the Vermont Statehouse. He observed the processes, went home, and researched whether Vermont has a minimum age requirement to run for governor.

Much to his delight, it doesn’t.

Most states do.

Kansas added a 25-year-old minimum in 2018 after six teenagers tried to run. Still, Vermont’s legislature never set any age requirements. Roy used the information; instead of complaining, he went looking for sunglasses.

Did I mention that this kid is 14 years old? The Vermont legislature must be very busy indeed. This sounds like a cute story, but when you break it down, there isn’t much cute about it.

The fact that a 14-year-old could end up on the ballot of any state’s gubernatorial race, or any race for that matter, is actually absurd. This says a lot about how ineffective the Democrats are. In reality, setting an age limit is simple housekeeping, yet somehow it fell through the cracks of their poorly run political system.

That said, their inefficiency could prove to be eye-opening. Here is a 14-year-old kid who has a clearer, more grounded view of the state’s issues than those in charge do.

For his part, Roy’s “platform” consists of pointing out what the Democrats have failed at. Democrats have saddled working families in the state with the burden of high property taxes, which I’m sure he has heard his parents discuss. Vermont has one of the highest property tax rates in the United States, with an average effective rate of 1.86 percent and projected increases of approximately 7 to 12 percent for 2026. Property taxes are paid at the local level, with rates varying by town and divided into education and municipal portions. Residents can claim a property tax credit of up to $8,000 for their primary residence.

Despite high tax rates, funds intended for classroom improvements rarely reach their targets or do so only to a limited extent. This situation also contributes to an unaffordable housing market for young buyers, who often leave the state in search of better opportunities.

According to Roy, “We seriously need new young people in Vermont, because our population is aging out. We are a dying state.”

He’s right, and the Democrats are the undertakers. Under the Democrats’ control, Vermont property taxes have spiked.

The numbers reveal a story that Democrats in Montpelier would prefer to avoid discussing. 

Representative Emilie Kornheiser (D-Brattleboro), who chairs Vermont’s House Ways and Means Committee, has spent years overseeing a school funding system that is so flawed that the legislature drained $118 million from a one-time surplus just to limit the average property tax increase to 1.1 percent for a single year. 

This decision provided only twelve months of relief. The tax department then projected a 12 percent increase if no further monetary intervention is provided.

The root issue was never resolved because Democratic leadership continually applied temporary fixes using funds that would not be available in the following year. Governor Phil Scott, recognized as the most popular governor in the country according to Morning Consult, presented a range of options to tackle the structural problem. However, the Democrats did not consider any of these proposals.

Their approach to addressing the housing crisis was also ineffective: a new 11.75 percent income tax bracket, nearly $900 million in additional spending over a decade, and regulations that Scott claimed made it harder, not easier, to actually build homes.

The outcome is a population that is among the oldest and grows slowly, with young Vermonters leaving due to unaffordability.

A fact that a 14-year-old looked at and said the thing Democrats in Montpelier won’t say.

“I know it sounds crazy, a 14-year-old running for governor, but honestly, look at the people in charge right now. They’ve been doing this forever, and things still aren’t working.”

It’s ironic that Roy can’t vote for himself in November – Vermont requires voters to be 18, but candidates not so much.

Roy’s history teacher, James Carpenter, said plainly: “He blends that youthful optimism with some pragmatism that few kids have. There’s no gimmick behind this.”

Roy knows he’s not going to win, but that’s not what he’s looking to accomplish. “I don’t expect necessarily to win. What I do expect is to start the movement.”

The youngest governor in American history was Stevens Mason, who took office in Michigan in 1835 at the age of 24. Too bad Roy has no shot at winning; he has more common sense than the liberals in charge.

Vermont is circling the drain because Democrats have been at the helm – the housing costs, the shrinking population, the bloated school bureaucracy – none of it mattered to them as long as they remained in power; that’s all Democrats ever care about.

Roy analyzed everything, founded his own party, and got on the ballot, presenting his views more plainly than any consultant-approved candidate ever could.

“What I’m aiming for is that these career politicians look at me and they say, ‘Oh my God, he actually has a chance to disrupt things.'”

That would be nice, but Democrats never learn. The carrot they chase is power, and once they have it, even those who voted for them become nothing more than collateral damage.

Roy, at 14 years old, has shown more initiative than those who have been in power for decades. He won’t win, but that didn’t stop him from setting a precedent. Hopefully, the voters will see him as a beacon of what could be and will vote the Democrats who are destroying their state out of office.