After five years, one of our own, who is comfortable with the idea of Vermont independence, is running for statewide office. West Glover website designer and political activist Sam Young has announced his candidacy for governor of Vermont.
I first met Sam back in 2003 at one of the early meetings of the Second Vermont Republic at the Bread & Puppet Theater in Glover. My initial attraction to him stemmed from the fact that the twinkle in his eye seemed to spell T-R-O-U-B-L-E. And I was right. Sam is very bright, very articulate, very charismatic, very radical, and very Internet savvy. He reminds me, in more ways that one, of a cross between James Dean and Paul Newman.
Sam is among a couple of dozen or so Northeast Kingdom political activists who graduated from Lake Region High School in Orleans and came under the very positive influence of Sutton writer and former high school teacher Garret Keizer. Many of these activists hang out at the Lake Parker Country Store and the Parker Pie Company in West Glover. The Lake Parker Store, owned by Sam’s cousin Phil Young, was the site of several early meetings of the Second Vermont Republic.
Sam designed the original SVR website in January 2004 and served as its webmaster for over two years. He currently works for the Glover based, state-of-the-art web design group NEK Information Associates. NEK is now SVR’s webmaster.
Sam plans to incorporate his Internet experience into his gubernatorial campaign which he describes as “Interactive Democracy.” The idea is to encourage voters, particularly younger voters, to enter into a dialogue with him through the Internet which will help shape his views and policy positions on a wide variety of issues ranging from the economy, participatory democracy, local control, energy, and the environment. Among the early positions which he has staked out are return of the Vermont National Guard, phasing out of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, and inauguration of direct air service between Burlington and Europe. (If Vermont were to become independent, this latter alternative would be important.)
Sam has embraced the state’s motto “Freedom and Unity” as his own as well as its bigger-than-life folk hero Ethan Allen who is quoted at the top of his website’s home page.
Through sophisticated modern technology and his strong appreciation for Vermont’s “independent spirit and sense of community,” Sam hopes to inject new life into Vermont’s gubernatorial campaign.
Communications specialist Nicole Colston, who teaches at UVM and works with the debate team there, is Sam’s able campaign manager.
Those wishing to contribute to Sam’s campaign should send their checks made payable to “Sam Young for Vermont” to P.O. Box 10, W. Glover, VT 05875 or contribute online through his website www.samyoungforvermont.com.
Thomas H. Naylor
June 15, 2008