To the editor: Murray should address Trump’s foreign policies that harm Vermont’s affordability
The Chester Telegraph | Sep 29, 2026 | Comments 6
Andrea Murray is running her campaign for state Senate for Windsor on affordability in Vermont. Rising prices of gas, diesel and probably heating fuel are affecting Vermonters.
They are caused by Trump and Netanyahu’s war on Iran, which has been going on for more than 200 days, and Trump’s policies on Russian President Putin’s criminal attack on Ukraine. Closing of the Strait of Hormuz, which was open before the Iran war, is a direct cause of rising oil prices.
Yet Trump is wrongly blaming solely Ukraine for this and is pressuring Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to stop sending drones onto Russia’s refineries. As we know, Ukraine is defending itself against the Russian invasion, which targets Ukrainian civilians. Disabling Russian oil production is a big part of this defense.
Does Ms. Murray believe that the Iran war is causing prices of gas and diesel to rise, affecting affordability nation-wide and in Vermont? How is she planning to make Vermont an affordable place to live without addressing Trump’s foreign policies? We can’t find any statements from Ms. Murray on either Trump’s war in Iran or on his support of Russia over Ukraine.
If she expects us to respect her views on “affordability” she, and any candidate asking for our votes, needs to address these two issues and to acknowledge their impact on Vermont’s economy.
Sincerely,
Svetlana and Kem Phillips
Cavendish
Filed Under: Commentary • Letters to the Editor
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Kem Phillips talks about facts and logic but then blames the president for the Ukraine war neglecting the FACT that Biden was president when he allowed Russia to invade. Then he tries yet again to spin the discussion away from the failings of the democrat majority legislature, somehow trying unsuccessfully to avoid the FACTS that Vermont is in the top 3 in homelessness, cost of living to wages, taxes, and least business friendly environment.
64% of working Vermonters ages 18 to 64 polled said that they are seriously considering leaving this state. I’m curious his LOGIC in blaming this away on Trump and the Iranian conflict.
Judy Stern candidate for representative North Springfield
There was a moment of hope when Mr. Lindberg said in his March 16, 2026th LTE “The humanitarian costs of war,” just days after our bombs hit Iran: “The 2026 midterms are upon us. We must demand that all candidates tell us where they stand on the humanitarian costs of war, so we can make informed decisions and hold them accountable.” The key word is “all.” That comment by Mr. Lindberg supported the point we made in our LTE. Sadly, he has changed his tune since, and he completely missed the point. Thus, his comment below is irrelevant.
Vermont Senators and Representatives really have no direct impact on National Politics. The direct impact they do have is working for their local towns and counties. Up until last session, the Democrats/Progressives had a supermajority which allowed them to pass legislation that has harmed Vermonters. I just paid my property taxes-ouch. Health and property insurance is out of control-mostly due to the regulations put out in Vermont only -ouch!
Last session was huge in putting the brakes on out of control spending and reeling back dangerous regulations, like those in Act 181, that hurt property owners.
Legislators had to actually sit down and work together on issues instead of rubber stamping the Democrats/Progressive agenda that has had a hold on Vermont for the last 30 years.
Change doesn’t happen overnight but I believe we are heading in the right direction. Vermont needs legislators that put Vermonts needs above their own personal agendas and the agendas of the Political powerhouses they are tied to.
Vote for Andrea Murray, Johnathan Gleason, Jack Williams for Windsor Senate and your local Reps Tom Charlton-Windham-Windsor, VL Coffin-Windsor-2, Kevin Winter-Rutland-Windsor,Stuart Coleman-Windham-Windsor-Bennington, Randy Gray-Windsor -3, Judith Stearns-Windsor-3, Bruce Post-Windsor-Orange1, Michael White-Windsor-Addison, and Richard King-Windsor County Sheriff! Vote November 3rd because your future depends on it!
In the last 30 years the authority and wisdom of the towns and citizens of Vermont has been usurped by majority progressive Democrats and even a few left leaning Republicans . The citizens who protest for “democracy” so fervently now cheered for handing over of democracy to big centralized government in Montpelier. ACT 60 in 1997 and Act 46 in 2015 and now Act 73 have destroyed local control(democracy over our education system. The end result of this is outrageously high property taxes, children that cannot read, write and do arithmetic and have nearly zero basic human survival skills. The majority of Vermont voters have done this to themselves despite the years of warnings from the few brave citizens who saw this coming. I believe things are boiling over now as working class Vermonters face losing their homes over unpayable property taxes. Poop is finally hitting the fan. The serious attack on property rights with Act 181 and the ever present threat of added fuel taxes continues to stoke the 🔥 fire.
Our obvious point is that Trump’s policies in Iran and Ukraine, names that do not appear in Mr. Stern’s comment, have caused the spike in gas prices we have seen recently (https://www.wcax.com/2026/09/18/diesel-prices-reach-all-time-high-squeezing-truckers-our-region/.) In fact, Mr. Stern has not addressed our arguments in any way, but, lacking facts and logic, simply reverts to his usual groundless attacks on Democrats. This has nothing to do with “fixing” national policies, it is simply recognizing a factor contributing to some of Vermont’s problems, a factor not acknowledged by Mr. Stern or Ms. Murray.
It is amusing that people want a candidate for the state senate to fix national issues while ignoring the actual problems within the state that the incumbents have created and fail to fix. Why do you think the letter writers ignore that Vermont is top three in property taxes, cost of living to wages, homelessness, health insurance cost, and least business friendly environment? Could it be that they know their candidates don’t care about those issues so they want to shift the blame to something they know is impossible for a state senator has no control over?
Don’t be distracted or fooled into believing the incumbents are doing their best for us, recognize that the only way Vermont improves is for moving in a new direction.
Keith Stern North Springfield