Son was victim of shooting homicide

GOP Chair Paul Dame continues to publish information about candidates who are working hard to either flip or retain a seat on the path to sustaining Gov. Scott’s veto. Below are three more candidates:

For Windsor County Senate candidate Dana Colson, reducing crime is personal. 

Colson was a typical Vermonter, just trying to get by with his wife and only son when tragedy struck.  His son, Austin, went missing.  Police found Austin’s body in a barn.  He had been shot multiple times and police ruled his death a homicide, the suspect was a previously convicted felon known for violence and drug abuse.  That was in 2018, and after efforts from Democrats to defund the police, crime and public safety have only gotten worse.  For Dana Colson the problems of our current criminal justice system aren’t just a bullet point on a campaign postcard – it has been a lived experience. 

Dana is running for the Windsor County Senate which has a vacant seat after one of the three Democrats representing the district retired earlier this year.  This vacancy presents a rare opportunity for Republicans to make inroads in a rural part of Vermont that has seen their senators becoming more like Chittenden County Progressives.

Dexter Lefavour is running to secure a spot in the vacant Washington Senate seat in order to restore constitutional government.  As a licensed Engineer, Dexter is trained to solve problems and design implementable solutions – something sorely missing from Montpelier.  One of the biggest problems Dexter wants to address is Vermont’s Health Care system.  More and more Vermonters are feeling like they are just cogs in an expanding wheel churning patients around, with too many bureaucrats getting between the patient and doctor.

The Washington County Senate seat include the new town of Stowe, but has seen the retirement of longtime activist Senator Pollina.  It wasn’t too long ago that Republicans held two of the three Senate seats in Washington County, and a candidate like Dexter just might be able to get it done for us this year.

Dexter is also an avid skier and snowboarder and even runs a small milling operation.  He, his wife Carol live in Middlesex, and have four kids, some at home, and some outside of the state.

Eva Ryan is a Constitutional Republican who is seeking to serve the people of the Windham-Windsor district which includes Chester, Grafton, Windham and Athens.  This seat was previously held by a Democrat who helped to sustain Governor Scott’s veto of the tax on home heating fuel after hearing from his constituents – so this is a critical and very winnable seat for fiscal conservatives.

Eva’s main priorities include supporting and fully funding our police departments with the resources they need to keep us safe; strengthening our economy by reducing taxes and other business costs; and ensuring a greater degree of government accountability and transparency.

Eva’s experiences as a single mom and mental health counselor give her an important perspective that is missing in Montpelier, and ensure that she will be fighting for the average Vermonter trying to just get by and overcome the challenges that especially face our more rural residents.