Ind. candidate hedges win on "veggie mobile" initiative

Author: Kelly Janis

As Vermonters head to the polls next Tuesday to select a representative of Vermont's at-large congressional district in the House, U.S. House candidate Jerry Trudell bristles with hope that perhaps he can blaze the way to a much better state of affairs. "I love Vermont and I love the people of Vermont," Trudell said, "and I know we can do much better."

Trudell is staging what he calls a "campaign of ideas," comprised of ideas that are unabashedly liberal in character. "The biggest issue," he said, "is survival." Trudell advocates for universal healthcare, explaining that "a single-payer system is a no-brainer." He proposes an incentive package for nurses to obtain teaching degrees, and equates minimum wage jobs at their current rate of pay to "slave labor." He accuses President Bush and his staffers of striving for the "permanent occupation of Iraq," and asserts that we must "give up our permanent military bases" as a prelude to "safe withdrawal."

The true depth of Trudell's passion is revealed in his transportation and biofuel initiative. He calls the goals proposed by current leaders to curb foreign dependency on oil "utterly meaningless" and "not very ambitious," noting that we as a nation "are not leaders in this area" relative to other powers worldwide. To this end, Trudell has molded his campaign around an innovative home-grown fuel initiative. He proposes the purchase of pre-owned minivans and buses for the establishment of a free transportation co-op, with the fleet's fuel produced solely in Vermont. The system, he said, would boost the economy, invigorate rural regions and divert money from "boondoggle projects" such as the beltway around Burlington. Trudell stressed that his background in mechanics furnishes him with the know-how to take informed strides in the matter, and said that his plan, which he intends to fund with his congressional salary, is "very feasible, very doable." He urges students to check out his personal "veggie mobile" on YouTube.com, and to e-mail him if they wish to take up his cause. "I am always interested in getting my message out," he said.

Where the substance of this message is concerned, Jerry Trudell prides himself on being a somewhat controversial innovator. "There are a lot of things that no one else is saying," he said, "that you're hearing for the first time from me."

Voicing these ideas has proved challenging as Vermont's congressional campaign has at times been an uphill battle for the independent candidates. "We have all been locked out of almost all of the debates," Trudell said. He believes that if he can answer the questions posed to him and answer them well, he deserves to be regarded on an even plane with Democratic and Republican contenders. However, he says, this has not been the case. Trudell is quick to cite a litany of television stations, political advocacy organizations, radio programs and publications, which he deems unjustly unsupportive of his campaign.

The Burlington Free Press is the latest institution to anger him. In a press release written by Trudell and five other independent candidates, they said that the newspaper was "unfair to democracy" in refusing independent candidates appropriate coverage and failing "to report the extremely unsafe operating conditions at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant," which, according to Trudell, "has one of the worst safety records in the country." He called on the paper to publish each independent candidate's position statement and air Vermont Yankee's safety record, and proceeded to picket the newspaper's office. The publication did not respond as Trudell had hoped it would.

An article in The Vermont Guardian sites the executive editor of The Burlington Free Press, Michael Townsend, as saying that the Free Press possesses a "liberal policy" where letters to the editor are concerned, and suggests that independent and minor-party candidates have always been welcome to pursue this avenue.

Trudell said that instead of addressing the real issue, The Burlington Free Press asserted Trudell's lack of coverage resulted from not properly submitting his biography and position statements for inclusion in the piece in question. Trudell, however, alleges that the request for a biography came well after the fact, the day after his picket, and had been precededby the personal delivery of a comprehensive press package.

Ultimately, Trudell realizes, such comeuppances are only a distraction from the real issue at hand, finding solutions to pressing problems. The most significant thing plaguing the government as it now stands, he says, "instead of problem solving, [the government is] running public relations machines." If elected, Trudell said this will cease to be the case. "I may not have any money," he said, "but I have a good mind."