Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship
Joanna Grossman is no stranger to politics in Vermont.
A former campaign manager, Grossman ran 17 campaigns in five years. When people asked her if she’d ever consider running for office, she said she’d tell them, “‘I’m never running, that’s crazy.’”
But on March 8, the Burlington resident decided to throw her hat into the ring and run for one of the Vermont Senate seats in the Chittenden-Southeast district.
The current holders of the three available seats are Sens. Thomas Chittenden (D), Virginia Lyons (D) and Kesha Ram Hinsdale (D). In the 2024 election, Ram Hinsdale received 25.1% of the vote, Chittenden received 28.8% and Lyons got 31.8%. All candidates are expected to run again.
In a recent interview with Community News Service, Grossman said she got to know the other seat holders when she served as chair of the Chittenden County Democrats. But what differs her from these candidates, she said, is that she’s an organizer by nature who is keen on building relationships across the district.
“I’ve been a community organizer in the county for years now, and I love that role,” she said.
The Chittenden-Southeast district is home to 11 towns, including Williston, Jericho, Charlotte and parts of Burlington.
Grossman spent most of her career in government technology, building geographic information systems. Following this position, she conducted digital organizing work for the grassroots organization Indivisible. It was here she got into campaigning and opened her own digital agency.
Grossman said she always thought she’d be behind the scenes of campaigns, but two instances made her think differently.
Last spring, the state legislature lost 26 Democrats in the combined caucus. Grossman felt that this shift caused Act 73, an education transformation bill, to be forced through the state house.
“It was a lot of Democrats who did that, and it was really hard to watch,” she said. “In Burlington, we take more public input on how we change a park than was taken for developing Act 73… It was not okay with me.”
At the same time, Grossman was hired by independent bookseller Phoenix Books to fight an Amazon delivery facility being proposed in Essex and won the campaign. She said the whole process opened her eyes to how at-risk small businesses were.
If she successfully fills one of the seats, Grossman said she’d focus on legislation that supports those businesses while sustaining Vermont’s economic independence.
Grossman followed bills during this year’s legislative session, two of which were S.280 and S.316.
S.280 would have created a second homeowner property tax, while S.316 aimed to prohibit credit card fees for tax or gratuity. Neither bill met the crossover deadline.
Grossman said S.316 in particular was a great example of what the state could be doing for small businesses.
“I am hearing pretty loud and clear that folks need change,” Grossman said. “And the status quo isn’t cutting.”
Another piece of her agenda is to make Vermont affordable for younger residents. Grossman said despite the state government creating shield laws and health care protection programs, younger generation Vermonters can’t afford to live in the state.
“We fought so hard for these rights and protections, but they’re not going to be any good to our kids if they can’t afford to stay here,” she said. “We are failing the next generation of Vermonters.”
The Senate seat, Grossman said, would give her the opportunity to look inward at the county and build partnerships and bridges to help solve its problems.
“We can’t really expect any one town to solve affordable housing or healthcare, but they’re all coming up with little creative things that could help each other,” she said. “We can really pool our resources and listen, learn and leverage our resources.”
She and former Grand Isle Sen. Andy Julow started the podcast “There’s No ‘A’ in Creemee,” which taught Grossman the art of listening. The duo discusses “all things Vermont politics, culture and beyond,” according to the tagline.
On the podcast, they’ve tackled polarizing subjects in government, like climate change, affordability and education reform. The podcasters have interviewed Vermont’s leading voices, including former Vermont governor Howard Dean.
Grossman said the podcast would not be a platform for her campaign, but she intends to keep it running as her race for the seat goes on. And although listeners may hear her talk about her long days campaigning, she said the process itself has been inspiring and heartwarming.
“I just feel so incredibly grateful to do this,” she said. People “really want to know someone is listening and wants to fight for them.”