As a father, business owner, and (outside of eight years following college) lifelong Vermont resident, I have had a vested interest in the well-being of Vermont and its communities for a long time. I have spent the past 23 years building the business I founded and the past eight raising my daughter, Elena, with my wife, Judy. We have been WEC members in East Montpelier since 2018. My interests in energy, technology, permanence, and equity align well with the board’s mission.

Strong advocacy and a willingness to compromise are frequently essential ingredients to progress. Some of our biggest challenges today, including reducing pollution and emissions while simultaneously expanding electrical capacity, require patience, pragmatism, and execution. They also often lack simple binary yes/no answers. I thrive on fleshing out long-term reality from the noise. We need to make informed decisions so that unintended negative consequences are avoided whenever possible.

As a business owner in Vermont, I am aware of the many challenges and hurdles facing service providers like WEC. I have a keen interest and qualified experience in finance, budgeting, planning, risk management, the environment, organizational assessment, and electricity-based transportation and HVAC. My goal is to help position WEC to navigate and create as successful a future as possible. This means providing all members with ample, reliable, clean electricity affordably while maintaining the integrity, sustainability, and compliance expected by regulators and members alike.

WEC is at a disadvantage to larger utilities when it comes to lobbying and leveraging economies of scale. We must be willing to learn from others while innovating and making calculated investments of our own. Simultaneously, we need to maintain awareness of how the pursuit of perfection can easily be the enemy of fulfilling the very good. The past should be respected, but it is important to be dynamic and proactive; WEC needs to be a future facing organization.

As a productive and committed member of the WEC Board, I will work hard and advocate for the members as a whole. I look forward to continuing to learn about the complexities that drive the greater electrical grid, proposing well-vetted ideas, and contributing to the team that helps make it all work. I am grateful for the opportunity to earn your vote.

I can be reached at 802-595-3828 or isb900@gmail.com. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to discuss energy in general or WEC in particular.

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An East Montpelier resident, Olivia Campbell Andersen founded and operates Anderbell Acres, a solar-powered organic berry and flower farm and special events venue, where she lives with her husband and daughter, 31 hens, and Rebel Great Pyr. Olivia also leads U.S. public policy and market development for ABB E-mobility, the world’s largest EV charging technology manufacturer. Prior to joining ABB, Olivia’s advanced Vermonters access to renewable electricity, heating (wood, heat pumps, geothermal), energy resilience (battery storage), and electric transportation choices as Executive Director of Renewable Energy Vermont. Focusing on sustainability and environmental issues at all levels of government, her career also includes service with former Congressional Leader Steny Hoyer, the Department of Natural Resources, and the National Wildlife Federation. Olivia earned degrees from Vermont Law School and Gettysburg College. She and her family are members of the Old Meeting House where she serves on the spiritual life committee and teaches children’s Sunday school. She also teaches hot yoga at Green Mountain Community Fitness and sings with the Montpelier Community Gospel Choir.

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I have been a resident of Vershire, Vermont for thirty years where my career has been dedicated to science education. In my volunteer work, I serve as an EMT
and firefighter, a wilderness search and rescue responder, a Justice of the
Peace and member of the Board of Civil Authority, and a past member of a school board.

I now operate a home weatherization firm dedicated to helping customers use energy more effectively. My goal is to increase comfort and reduce costs and carbon emissions, whatever energy source (petroleum, biomass, electricity) my customers choose to use.

I wish to be a member of the WEC Board to help carry our Co-op into the next era. I believe that Co-op members should be producing and consuming more electricity. Electrical energy is proving to be the most reliable, environmentally friendly, and cost-efficient source of energy. We need policies that diversify and distribute our electrical production (such as solar and wind) while encouraging the transition to efficient electrical power for heat and transportation.

The challenges we face are numerous: meeting the demand of increased electrical use; maintaining our power lines in the face of increasingly destructive storms and forest threats like the Emerald Ash Borer; increasing our grid’s capacity to accommodate solar and wind power; all while delivering great service at an affordable price.

We will need to combine the right incentives and rate structures with the Co-op’s clout in persuading the Vermont Public Utility Commission to craft policies that serve our members in this decade and the next.

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I have lived on East Hill in Plainfield for more than 50 years. I am married to Jayne Israel. We have three children and five grandchildren. I enjoy hiking, skiing, gardening, golf, and hanging out with my
grandchildren. My email address is richardirubin@gmail.com.

I was born and raised outside of Boston. I attended Harvard College, and law school at the University of Pennsylvania. I have practiced law in Barre for 40 years. My law firm is Rubin, Kidney, Myer & Vincent. Our firm is also the public defender for Washington County. My practice has involved representing people with all kinds of legal problems. Mainly, I am a trial lawyer.

I have served as a WEC Director for 20 years. I was first elected after being appointed to complete the term of a Board member who had resigned. In the community, I was a member of the Twinfield School Board for five years, helped establish the original food co-op in Plainfield, and served on the board of Vermont Legal Aid. I have also been active in various legal organizations and am now a member of the board of the Vermont Association for Justice. Many years ago, I was involved with my brother, Mathew Rubin, in creating the Wrightsville hydroelectric facility and the Winooski 8 hydroelectric plant in East Montpelier.

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