Julia Andrews
Vermont House seat CHI-25 serving Westford and Milton
Martha Heath, Treasurer
Over the last many years, I’ve served my community in many different ways- running the Westford Food Shelf, being on our community’s Selectboard, sitting on the Board at the Westford Common Hall, and participating in a committee that arose from the VCRD Community Visit process. These experiences have allowed me to get to know so many of you, and I’d consider it an honor to represent you at the Statehouse.
I feel called to serve to help create better systems to help hardworking Vermonters live, work, and thrive in our state. We are facing an affordability crisis here and across the nation, but I don’t believe we can cut our way to prosperity. We need smart investments in housing, transportation, childcare, mental health, and other systems that allow Vermonters to stay in our state and contribute to our economy.
Issues
Housing: According to Zillow, the average home price in Milton and Westford now exceeds $400,000. Affordable housing is no longer an issue that just effects low-income Vermonters- it effects anyone looking to get into the housing market, and it effects employers who are recruiting employees that need a place to live. This is a systemic problem that requires multiple approaches to keep our communities livable.
Workforce Development: During the pandemic, Vermont’s total workforce dropped significantly, and for a wide range of reasons. Some parents had to be home with children who were schooling from home, many child care facilities were shuttered, and older workers or workers with underlying health conditions felt that working was not safe. We need to find ways to support a wide range of workforce development initiatives, including the expansion of high quality child care, job training programs, and ensuring that housing is available to support people who are coming to Vermont to work in high-need fields such as healthcare and tech.
Mental Health: We learned a lot about what is working and what is not through the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic really highlighted for me that our mental health system is in need of investment- not just in beds for acute care, but downstream- in communities and in schools- to give people the tools they need to avoid that kind of crisis in the future and to live healthy, rich lives.
In the Fourth of July parade
What People Are Saying
“I served with Julia on the Westford Selectboard - she has a wide perspective that is driven by a goal of improving our local communities in Vermont and she has a record of listening to community members to better understand and work to meet their needs, concerns, and interests. Julia worked to set up (and keep running) the food shelf in Westford 14 years ago, the Common Hall in Westford has benefitted from her collaboration and the Selectboard (and the greater community) certainly benefited from her intelligence, great communication skills and her drive to make our communities and Vermont work for Vermonters.”
Alison Hope, former Selectwoman, Westford
"Julia Andrews understands the needs of small business owners in Vermont, and what it takes to keep our businesses afloat, along with the drive, determination and motivation necessary to be successful. She too, is a woman-owned small business and knows that we require affordable, easy access to childcare, reliable high speed internet and access to business loans for minorities, in order to thrive and grow. Julia is a true listener, problem-solver and ready to work hard to make sure that all of our community members are represented. She’s had my vote since announcing her candidacy and I hope that you take the time to get to know her, and her platform, so that you too, will vote for her this coming November.”
Heather Armata, Broker/Owner, Cornerstone Real Estate Company
“Julia doesn't just have the best interests of our community and neighbors at heart ... she puts in the work. She helped start and run our local food shelf, served as an elected official, and is someone our community knows it can count on to show up.”
Lauren Curry, Westford