By Virginia Dean, Standard Correspondent
HARTLAND – Local resident Zach Ralph has just announced his candidacy for the office of House of Representatives in the Windsor-1 district that includes Hartland, Windsor and West Windsor.
A 2006 Woodstock Union High School graduate, Ralph has decided to run for office because of his love of his community and the people who reside there, he told the Standard this week.
“I will work for our people to create change to ensure a strong, independent, and prosperous future while also maintaining the culture and identity of our communities,” said Ralph. “I believe in a Vermont way which is when independent minds come together for common solutions.”
Ralph will be running against incumbents Paul Belaski (D-Windsor-1) and John L. Bartholomew (D-Windsor-1). The primaries in August will determine who the two candidates for the Democratic party will be on the general election ballot in November.
Active in politics and community affairs since his graduation from Loyola University in Maryland in 2012 where he majored in political science and French, Ralph has had a long-time dream of becoming a politician.
“I’ve wanted to run for office since I worked for the Vermont Public Interest Group in 2008 to build grassroots support for our current comprehensive energy plan,” said Ralph.
No stranger to environmental issues in the Upper Valley community as a member of Sustainable Woodstock, Ralph believes that the environment is “something neither to be exploited nor ignored.”
“We impact the health and well being of our ecosystem, and it also impacts on our society,” said Ralph. “Healthy ecosystems can support higher populations and a wider diversity of plants and animals. We must create policies that balance our needs to protect and conserve our environment with our societal needs. Through practices like renewable harvesting of wood products and regenerative farming practice, we can conserve and protect our lands while also supporting and increasing economic opportunities.”
These prospects are based in a fair market capitalist system where the government does not subsidize, support, or bail out any particular industry over another, Ralph noted.
“The largest amount of welfare dollars in our country go to support the most affluent and powerful industries in the world,” said Ralph. “These subsidies must end, and industries must be able to compete, survive, and make profits based on their business practices, models, and products.”
Ralph is an advocate of such values as individual freedom (“people should be able to make their own decisions out of their best interests”), moderation (“not a system for the few or the many, but all”), non-violence (“violence is divisive”), equality (“we all deserve the same opportunities free from political, economic and social constructs”), experience (“incomparable to academic or theoretical understanding”), and love (“the true force of change”).
If elected, Ralph would implement a policy of limited governmental interference.
“Government should intervene in the regulation of businesses when they are causing harm to the public good or not taking into account the full cost of the business,” said Ralph. “Examples of this include causing health problems, injuries or death, unsustainable use of our natural resources, destruction of our environment, abuse of employees, and unfair marketing toward youth and individuals who cannot make informed decisions for themselves.”
Ralph believes in workers’ rights that ensure the continued success and longevity of any business or industry, taxes as a way to collectively share costs (including the controversial carbon tax), and collective, and universal human rights.
“We’ve been living in a male-dominated patriarchal society in the west for the last several thousand years,” said Ralph. “This structure of power has marginalized everyone who is not a white male and made them subservient to a system dominated by a western male culture. While most men are good and well intentioned, this type of system leaves others vulnerable to abuses by powerful men who don’t put equal value on others’ lives.”
Ralph recognizes the new skills students must have to survive in the 21st century and aims to support teachers in their adjustment to a rapidly changing information technology, as he said.
“I will work with our teachers to create the best education for our youth that moves away from teaching kids to join the work force toward a system that encourages critical thinking and innovation,” said Ralph.
An activist and an organizer, Ralph can be reached on his website, http://zachariahralph.com or email Vote@zachariahralph.
In addition to being a member of Sustainable Woodstock, Ralph is currently a member of the Hartland Conservation Committee, Energy Committee, and an Executive Committee members on the Sierra Club Upper Valley Group.
“Together, we will build environmental, economic, and democratic resiliency,” said Ralph.