The print, online, and TV media are full of messages stating that Senator Chris Bray “voted to raise your taxes” and that the Affordable Heat Act sponsored by him will result in large increases in fuel bills.

These statements are false. Their sole purpose is to unseat Chris Bray from the Senate.

Property tax rates begin with local votes on school budgets. The legislature is required to fund whatever level of spending was approved by local voters. Senator Chris Bray and other legislators worked hard to reduce the potential impact on property taxes by finding other sources for educational funding.

And the Clean Heat Act does not cost anything—it established a series of studies to look at how we can control our fuel costs in the future. The claims that gas prices or home heating fuel prices will go up by many dollars are numbers pulled out of thin air. The purpose of these studies is to create a pricing structure that will stabilize fuel costs and keep them as low as possible.

Don’t be fooled by the fossil fuel industry’s attempts to derail the valuable environmental and climate work led Senator Chris Bray in the Vermont Senate. Vote to keep Chris Bray in his important leadership role.

Spencer Putnam

Weybridge