I met Ruth Hardy one Saturday morning this summer at the town recycling shed in Ripton. She had driven up Route 125 that morning, knowing that the residents of Ripton would be bringing in their recycling and visiting with neighbors, and she knew it was a good time to become acquainted with the citizenry of our little mountain town. This does not happen in Ripton — that a candidate for state office arrives on recycling day to meet the locals.
So, I was immediately impressed with her down-to-earth practicality and earnest friendliness, not to mention her willingness to be up early on a summer Saturday in search of votes, getting her face and name fixed in peoples’ minds.
What Ruth understands and talks about are the real needs of the real people of our county: universal primary health care; affordable, accessible early childhood education and daycare; a livable wage for all workers; paid family leave; women’s reproductive rights; gender equity (politically and economically); economic equity in access to higher education. I almost could not believe that I was finally meeting a candidate for state office who was actually in touch with the real lives of real Vermonters.
As I talked to others who have known Ruth Hardy, I heard that she is a strong, assertive, determined woman who will not be pushed around or marginalized within the male-dominated Vermont Senate or within the Democratic Party. I find her candidacy so encouraging that I had to write this letter to let others in Addison County know: If you have lost faith in the ability of those elected to the Statehouse to do anything for us once they get there, Ruth might just be the one we have hoped for. Vote for Ruth Hardy. Support her candidacy. Let’s see what she can get done in Montpelier.
Millard Cox
Ripton