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Vermont Progressive Party
Chairperson	Martha Abbott
Senate leader	Tim Ashe
House leader	Sandy Haas
Founded	1999
Headquarters	73 Main Street, Suite 29, P.O. Box 281 Montpelier, VT 05601
Ideology	Progressivism Social democracy Democratic Socialism Populism[1]
Political position	Fiscal: Left Social: Left
International affiliation	None
Official colors	Red
Website
www.progressiveparty.org
Politics of the United States Political parties Elections

The Vermont Progressive Party is an American political party. It was founded in 1999 and is active only in the U.S. state of Vermont. In terms of the dominant two parties in the United States, it enjoys support from "traditional liberal" Democrats and working class Republicans.^[2]

History

The Vermont Progressive Party originated with the independent campaign of Bernie Sanders for mayor of Burlington, Vermont. Sanders, who was later elected to the United States House of Representatives,^[2] and subsequently to the United States Senate,^[3] never officially associated himself with the Progressive Party, although the Progressives were among his biggest supporters. A group of his supporters organized themselves as the Progressive Coalition to contest further elections.^[4]

The Coalition succeeded in electing several members, including Terry Bouricius, to the Vermont General Assembly, and, after establishing a stable political base, formally became the Progressive Party.^[5] While the party has traditionally focused on state races, in 2000 it nominated Ralph Nader for president and Winona LaDuke for vice-president.^[6] In the 2004 elections the party picked up three new seats; it now has six representatives in the Vermont House of Representatives,^[7] making it the only third party in the United States to have more than one state legislature seat, excluding states that allow electoral fusion (primarily New York), a process in which candidates can appear on the ballot as the nominee of more than one party.^{[citation needed]}

In the run up to the Senate election in 2006, there were pressures from numerous Democratic politicians to convince the Progressive Party not to run a candidate for Vermont's sole seat in the House in exchange for Democratic support for Bernie Sanders in the Senate race. The party's chairman, Anthony Pollina, told the press his party was not going to make deals. David Zuckerman, a Progressive Party member of the state House of Representatives and Chair of the House Agriculture committee, was planning to run for Vermont's House seat. However, in early 2006, Zuckerman canceled his bid for Congress, leaving the race open to Democrat Peter Welch, who won the election.

In the Burlington mayoral election on March 7, 2006, voters chose Progressive Bob Kiss, a three term member of the state House of Representatives, over opponents Hinda Miller (Democrat) and Kevin Curley (Republican). He was reelected to a second term in 2009.

Platform

Part of the Politics series on Socialism
Currents Marxist Socialism Scientific socialism · African socialism · Arab socialism Democratic socialism · Green socialism · Guild socialism Libertarian socialism · Market socialism Revolutionary socialism · Utopian socialism Communism Socialist anarchism Social democracy Titoism
Key topics and issues Types History Economics State Criticisms
People Henri de Saint-Simon · Robert Owen · Charles Fourier · Louis Blanc · Karl Marx · Friedrich Engels · Daniel De Leon · Eugene V. Debs · Ben Tillett · Vladimir Lenin · Rosa Luxemburg · Karl Liebknecht · Bertrand Russell · Leon Trotsky · Mao Zedong · William Morris · George Orwell · Doğu Perinçek · David Rockefeller
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Religious socialism Buddhist · Christian Islamic · Jewish left
Related topics Autogestion Class struggle · Democracy Dictatorship of the proletariat Egalitarianism · Equality of outcome Impossibilism · Internationalism Left-wing politics · Marxism · Mixed economy · Nationalization · Socialization of production · Planned economy Proletarian revolution Reformism · Socialism in One Country Socialist market economy · Technocracy · Trade union

The Progressive platform is made of 14 points.

• In terms of agriculture, their goal is to protect family farmers and their land in order to be capable of dealing with global climate change.
• On civil rights, the state and local government should have affirmative action programs for full and equal access to jobs, housing, education, and public accommodations. There should be a "zero tolerance" policy against any form of discrimination or harassment. The VPP is pro-gay rights, pro-choice, pro-Equal Rights Amendment, and wants to expand First Amendment rights in the workplace.
• In terms of the criminal justice system, it is anti-death penalty and it wants to focus on programs that keep people out of prison and from committing crimes in the first place.
• For the economy they want to promote unions, living wages, full employment, locally owned businesses, and other things such as a $7.50 minimum wage.
• Educational policies they support include mainstreaming special education children, changing which taxes fund schools, and increased funding for higher education.
• Environmentally, they want to undo the damage already done, prevent more from occurring (i.e. enforce the limits for pollution runoff), and protect Act 250 which allows citizen input into how land is developed.
• On families and children, the party calls for things such as affordable daycare, 12 weeks of maternity/paternity leave, and the ability of mothers to breastfeed in public.
• In terms of government reform, they advocate for financial disclosure of candidates, instant runoff voting, and proportional representation in the state legislature.
• They advocate that healthcare should be universal and affordable for all.
• They support affordable and public housing.
• They encourage the development of personal privacy standards that guarantee how personally identifiable information is collected and distributed.
• They support cutting taxes for most citizens, and awareness of the social impact of taxation.
• In terms of transportation they support fixing the roads that exist before building new ones, supporting mass transportation systems over roads, eliminating excessive trucking, the idea that cars are a public health threat, and the need to "protect the livability of Vermont communities."
• In terms of utilities they advocate for any restructuring to benefit citizens, and are against bailouts for utility companies. They promote local public power, renewables, efficiency, and conservation, and want to close the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant without selling it. They also want to strengthen the Certificate of Public Goods Process.

Elected officials

Vermont House of Representatives

• Mollie S. Burke
• Susan Hatch Davis
• Sarah Edwards
• Sandy Haas
• David Zuckerman

Vermont Senate

• Tim Ashe

Local government

• Mayor of Burlington Bob Kiss
• Burlington City Council
  • Marrisa Caldwell (Ward 3)
  • Emma Mulvaney-Stanak (Ward 3)
• Ward Clerk
  • Wendy Coe (Ward 2)
  • Julia Curry (Ward 3)

Sources

^ Burlington Free Press article "House committee OKs recognition of Progressives", February 19, 2005, page 5B.

External links

• Official website
• Article on the Vermont Progressive Party from The Progressive Populist

Vermont political parties Ballott Access Democratic • Progressive • Republican No-Ballot Access Green • Libertarian • Liberty Union • Socialist Political party strength in Vermont

Lists of State and local political parties in the United States State parties Alaska: Alaskan Independence · Republican Moderate Party of Alaska· Connecticut: Connecticut for Lieberman· Delaware: Blue Enigma Party · Independent Party of Delaware· Florida: Florida Whig Party· Maryland: Populist Party of Maryland· Montana: Constitution Party of Montana· Minnesota: Independence Party of Minnesota· New Jersey: New Jersey Conservative Party· New York: Independence · Conservative · Working Families · Liberal · Marijuana Reform · Right to Life· Oregon: Constitution Party of Oregon · Freedom Socialist· Rhode Island: Moderate Party· South Carolina: United Citizens· Utah: Personal Choice· Vermont: Liberty Union  · Vermont Progressive· Virginia: Independent Greens of Virginia· Washington: American Heritage · Freedom Socialist Local parties Charter Party (Cincinnati, Ohio) · Progressive Dane (Dane County, Madison, Wisconsin) · D.C. Statehood Green Party (Washington, DC)