Vermont State-wide Candidates Respond to F-35 Questionnaire
Voting rights include the right of voters to know the positions of the candidates on the issues. Thank you to the 4 state-wide candidates who responded, affirming this fundamental voting right.
At every opportunity question the 14 others who did not respond! The voters have a right to know what each candidate will do if elected, either to continue or to abolish the 115-decibel F-35 training in densely populated Vermont cities.
Here are the six yes/no questions and the answers and comments provided by the candidates who did respond. Scroll down to see the list of non-responders.
1. Do you think the routine F-35 training flights should continue or should they stop from the runway at Burlington airport, in Vermont's most densely populated cities, where the US Air Force said 2,963 affordable homes and 6,663 people are blasted with the 115-decibel noise hundreds of times a month? Continue F-35 flights in cities ___ Stop F-35 flights in cities ___
Candidates for US Congress
Sianay Clifford: Stop F-35 flights in cities. <together@sianayclifford.com>
Liam Madden: Stop F-35 flights in cities. <liam@rebirthdemocracy.com> The Air Force can find other less densely populated locations for their training.
Kesha Ram Hinsdale: Stop F-35 flights in cities. <info@keshaforvermont.com>
Candidates for US Senate
Isaac Evans-Franz: Stop F-35 flights in cities. <Isaac@isaacforvermont.com>
2. Are you concerned that the Air Force said that low income and minority populations in Vermont are "disproportionately impacted" by the F-35? Yes ___ No ___
Candidates for US Congress
Sianay Clifford: Yes
Liam Madden: Yes
Kesha Ram Hinsdale: Yes
Candidates for US Senate
Isaac Evans-Franz: Yes
3. Do you think action is needed to protect the health and safety of the public from the F-35 in cities? Yes ___ No ___
Candidates for US Congress
Sianay Clifford: Yes
Liam Madden: Yes
Kesha Ram Hinsdale: Yes
Candidates for US Senate
Isaac Evans-Franz: Yes
4. Are you concerned that each F-35 burns 22 gallons of fuel per minute, accelerating global warming? Yes ___ No ___
Candidates for US Congress
Sianay Clifford: Yes
Liam Madden: Yes
Kesha Ram Hinsdale: Yes
Candidates for US Senate
Isaac Evans-Franz: Yes
5. If elected, will you speak and act to terminate the state's F-35 training operations in any densely populated area? Yes ___ No ___
Candidates for US Congress
Sianay Clifford: Yes
Liam Madden: Yes
Kesha Ram Hinsdale: Yes
Candidates for US Senate
Isaac Evans-Franz: Yes
6. During your election campaign will you speak out and campaign in favor of halting F-35 training flights from the BTV airport? Yes ___ No ___
Candidates for US Congress
Sianay Clifford: Yes
Liam Madden: Yes. It will not be a central issue for me, but where it is germane, and when asked I will honestly speak that I am in favor of moving the training area.
Kesha Ram Hinsdale: Yes
Candidates for US Senate
Isaac Evans-Franz: Yes
Please provide any further comments on the F-35 issue:
Sianay Clifford: The residents of the communities most impacted have made it abundantly clear with their ballot votes, municipal forums, formal complaints, news commentary, and daily conversations their opposition to F-35 training flights. I remain particularly concerned about the mental health impacts for our most vulnerable communities, especially children and our neighbors who have resettled in Vermont after being displaced by war. I stand in solidarity with these communities, and my responses are informed by their experiences - not lobbyists or big checks.
Isaac Evans-Franz: As a human rights and antiwar activist, and a long-time organizer for democratic representation, I believe that government must respond to the needs and demands of the people. That means that our congressional delegation should be advocating for the removal of F-35s from our state. At this time of military escalation, and tensions with Russia, the United States should be doing everything it can to first and foremost protect civilians. That means that military targets such as F-35s should be removed from densely populated areas.
Vermonters have a right to hear one another, to sleep at night, to enjoy the natural beauty of our state. These rights don’t apply just to some people, but to everyone -- including people who live near the airport. This is a matter of democracy and environmental justice. The members of Vermont's congressional delegation are not the ones dealing with the deafening noise of the jets. They are not the ones paying the price. Bringing the F-35 fighter jets to a densely populated part of Vermont was a mistake, as evidenced by the preliminary environmental impact study.
I urge my fellow candidates for U.S. Senate to join me in standing up for our fellow Vermonters and calling for a relocation of the fighter jet training sessions. There are other places, less densely populated, that are safer places for the National Guard to train with these fighter jets. Our friends and neighbors in Winooski, South Burlington and the surrounding area should not be the sacrificial lambs for our government’s military exercises. With an overwhelming majority of votes against the F-35s, the people most affected by the noise have spoken: the F-35s must go. I understand that removing the F-35 training flights from Vermont will have minimal impact of Vermonters' job security and rather will result in restored tranquility for our residents.
Kesha Ram Hinsdale: Without a massive investment in quality of life and environmental health measures, the impact on surrounding communities is too great to permanently base F-35s at BTV Airport.
Candidates who did not respond to the F-35 Questionnaire
The following candidates did not respond to the F-35 questionnaire despite repeated requests:
US Congress non-responders
Becca Balint <info@beccabalint.com>
Molly Gray <info@mollyforvermont.com>
Ericka Redic for Congress <contact@erickaredic.com>
Louis Meyers LOUISMEYERS1@gmail.com
US Senate non-responders
Peter Welch <hello@welchforvermont.com>
Christina Nolan <info@christinanolanforussenate.com>
Justin Tuthill <Info@Tuthillforcongress.com>
Niki Thran <drniki2022@gmail.com>
Vermont Governor non-responders
Phil Scott <phil@philscott.org>
Brenda Siegel <info@brendaforvermont.com>
Vermont Lt. Governor non-responders
David Zuckerman <info@zuckermanforvt.com>
Kitty Toll <kittytoll@live.com>
Patricia Preston <info@patriciaforvermont.com>
Charlie Kimbell <info@charlieforvermont.com>
Voting rights violated
Voting rights are human rights. And voting rights include the right of voters to know the positions of the candidates on the issues. The four who responded affirmed your voting rights.
Mass suffering on steroids
The 115-decibel F-35 is a weapon of mass suffering in densely populated Vermont cities, especially for children. The learning and cognitive development of children are impaired. Noise at that level increases the risk of heart disease. Training in cities makes tens of the thousands of Vermonters into human shields for the F-35.
F-35 training in cities violates DoD regulations
Training with the F-35 in cities flagrantly violates all five of the Department of Defense fundamental military regulations: “Distinction,” and “military necessity” and “proportionality” and “unnecessary suffering” and “honor.” You cannot demand respect for the laws of war by other countries while violating those very same rules right here in Vermont. Training with the 115-decibel F-35 in cities also violates US and Vermont laws, constitutional rights, and human rights.
F-35 training in cities can be stopped now
The US Constitution and US law gives the states authority over the training of their own national guards. So Vermont state-wide officials have full authority to call for and order a halt to Vermont Air National Guard F-35 training in Vermont cities.
What you can do
Raise the F-35 question at all candidate public appearances. Don’t let candidates succeed in hiding their views.
Write or call your public servants and local news media:
Call or email your favorite local news media reporter
Governor Phil Scott 802-828-3333 Chief of Staff <Jason.Gibbs@vermont.gov>
Vermont National Guard's Complaint Line: 802-660-5379 (Note: the Vermont Guard told a reporter that it received over 1400 noise complaints. But the Guard won’t release what people said).
Instead or in addition, submit your report & complaint to the online F-35 Fall 2021-Winter 2022 Report & Complaint Form: https://tinyurl.com/5d89ckj9
See all the graphs and in-your-own words statements on the F-35 Spring-Summer 2021 Report & Complaint Form (513 responses): https://tinyurl.com/3svacfvx.
See links to the graphs and in-your-own words statements on all four versions of the F-35 Report & Complaint Form since Spring 2020, with a total of 1670 responses from 658 different people.
Senator Patrick Leahy 800-642-3193 Chief of Staff <john_tracy@leahy.senate.gov>
Senator Bernie Sanders 800-339-9834 <Senator@sanders.senate.gov>
Congressman Peter Welch 888-605-7270 Chief of Staff <patrick.satalin@mail.house.gov>
Burlington City Council <citycouncil@burlingtonvt.gov>
Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger <mayor@burlingtonvt.gov>
Winooski Mayor Kristine Lott <klott@winooskivt.org>
S. Burlington City Council Chair Helen Riehle <hriehle@sburl.com>
Williston Selectboard Chair Terry Macaig <macaig@msn.com>
VT Senate President Becca Balint <bbalint@leg.state.vt.us>
VT House Speaker Jill Krowinski <jkrowinski@leg.state.vt.us>
Attorney General TJ Donavan <DonovanTJ@gmail.com>
States Attorney Sarah George <Sarah.fair.george@gmail.com>
Vermont’s Federal Prosecutor <usavt.contactus1@usdoj.gov>
Adjutant General Brig Gen Gregory C Knight <gregory.c.knight.mil@mail.mil>
Major J Scott Detweiler <john.s.detweiler.mil@mail.mil>
Wing Commander Col David Shevchik david.w.shevchik@mail.mil
Vermont National Guard Inspector General Lt. Col. Edward J Soychak <edward.soychak@us.af.mil>
US Air Force Inspector General Lt. Col. Pamela D. Koppelmann <pamela.d.koppelmann.mil@mail.mil>
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall <Frank.Kendall@us.af.mil>