Does your candidate get a green, red, or yellow light from Health Choice Vermont?

By Guy Page

Vermonters can learn how their candidates for legislative, statewide, and federal office stand on medical and vaccine freedom from the results of a Health Choice Vermont 2022 General Election candidate survey. 

The survey categorizes all candidates as either “Fully Supports Health Freedom,” “Cautiously Supports Health Freedom,” or “Opposes Health Freedom.” Results were based on candidate voting records, statements, and responses to survey questions about medical freedom legislation likely to appear before the Vermont Legislature, as well as these three policy questions:

• Do you support legislation protecting against government vaccine mandates?

• Do you support legislation protecting individuals against private vaccine mandates?
• Do you plan to preserve parents’ rights to choose whether to vaccinate their children?

Some “fully supports” candidates green-lighted by Health Choice Vermont include Gerald Malloy (GOP – US Senate), Liam Madden (GOP – Congress), and Ericka Redic (GOP – Libertarian). Democrats Peter Welch (Senate) and Becca Balint (Congress) both get the red light “Opposes Health Freedom” label. 

However, the thumbs up – thumbs down doesn’t follow the party line. Neither is it limited to well-known candidates. Independents Mark Coester and Kerry Raher (both Senate) and Adam Ortiz (Congress) also get the green light. Secretary of State candidate Sarah Copeland-Hanzas and Addison County Sen. Chris Bray, both Democrats, get the “Cautiously Supports Health Freedom” yellow light. 

At least one Democratic incumbent lawmaker seeking re-election, Jim Masland of Thetford, gets the “Fully Supports Health Freedom” green light. Neither of his Republican competitors have a listed position on the survey. However, candidate Matt Stralka is listed as a Freedom Champion by Vermont Stands Up for his support of vaccine mandate freedom. 

Click here to view the 11-page survey. 

The survey also asks an open-ended question: “What does health freedom mean to you?” Health Freedom Vermont’s Election 2022 Voter Guide publishes several candidate responses, including this from Tom Kelly, Republican seeking the Vermont House seat for Barre: “Health Freedom means an individual’s right to choose medical interventions for themselves and minor children, including whether to take any medicines or don masks.”