Today I had lunch with a former candidate for governor. I’m not naming names because I respect this person’s privacy. Should they decide to run for office again — and I hope they do — it will be their announcement, their timing, their moment.

Any suggestion that anti-Israeli protests over what can only be called the genocide of Palestinians fails to understand the historical depths of the situation.

I will not be seeking re-election as one of the Lamoille-Washington House district’s two representatives for the next term, which begins in 2025. This decision was not easy, and I have rethought this through several times to ensure it was the right one.

On May 11 at about 2 a.m., Vermont’s General Assembly officially adjourned and brought the 2023-2024 biennium to a close. The last week was a whirlwind stretch to the end filled with ups, downs and last-minute amendments. It has been an honor to serve Cambridge and Waterville and as a member of the House Committee on Government Operations and Military Affairs.

The second half of the legislative biennium wrapped up Saturday morning, May 11, around 2 a.m. I am honored and humbled by the support and input from the community and the trust given to me to serve as your representative in Montpelier. I especially want to recognize my wife, Amy, for her support and understanding. It would be hard to do this work without her picking up the loose ends.

This is not the column I planned on issuing, which requires something of an apology to the amazing librarians at the Craftsbury Public Library — truly, all libraries in network — who secured a copy of The National Bureau of Economic Research’s working paper titled, thoroughly as journal articles usually are, “Adaptation and The Mortality Effects of Temperature Across U.S. Climate Regions.”

“No one’s the winner in this” was the comment from Dick Sears, the longtime senator from Bennington this week as the Senate took up the confirmation of Zoie Saunders for Vermont Secretary of Education.

It’s been a difficult time across Vermont for schools and property taxes. Quite a few school budgets have been voted down, including the Elmore-Morristown Unified Union School District and the district that includes my hometown of Worcester. I urge Elmore-Morristown Unified Union voters to support the budget that is up for a vote this month, the third attempt this year.

Democrat Leanne Harple, former Glover Selectboard member, has announced her campaign for Vermont representative for Orleans-4, serving the towns of Albany, Craftsbury, Glover and Greensboro.

If you can’t stand the heat, you may want to get out of the kitchen, but given today’s climate you might want to skip politics as well. And if you’re quite serious, you should probably consider taking up residence on another planet, one not including the Republican Party.

In 1969, an 18-year-old Vermont hayseed from South Dorset left home to go to college, the only member of his family to ever do so. Although only 45 minutes away, Castleton State College was another universe.

That’s it. The truth is unavoidable. I’m officially old. Truly, I am not ageist, nor do I have anything against aging. Who wouldn’t prefer it to the alternative? I don’t know about you, but I feel like I’m still a kid inside or at least in my 20s.

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