Vermont's governor candidates propose different ways to make housing and schools affordable: reducing barriers to construction, investing in community-owned housing and services, and changing how education is financed.
The Secretary of State's general-election list lists five names for the Nov. 3 ballot: Republican Phil Scott, Democratic/Progressive Amanda Janoo, Peace and Justice candidate June Goodband, independent Brian Judd, and Freedom and Unity candidate Dean Roy.
Scott: housing supply and the administration's record
This section draws on Scott's official government housing record. His official housing agenda emphasizes building, preserving and rehabilitating homes. It identifies the Community and Housing Infrastructure Program established under Act 69 in 2025 and state support for repairing rental and manufactured homes.
The infrastructure program uses tax increment financing, which channels a portion of future tax revenue associated with development toward project costs. Its financial risk depends on the project terms, revenue estimates and what happens if development falls short.
The page includes projections for homes expected by 2026. Those projections do not establish how many homes have since been completed.
Janoo: community schools and different housing taxes
Janoo's platform proposes protecting small and rural schools and expanding community schools that combine education with services such as childcare, primary care and adult learning. The model would use school buildings for more than classroom instruction.
Her housing agenda supports community land trusts, cooperatives and shared-equity ownership, which limits how much value an owner can retain at resale to preserve affordability. She proposes more favorable tax treatment for primary homes and certain local housing, with higher contributions from luxury second homes, commercial vacation rentals and large investors.
The platform does not provide the tax rates and implementation schedule needed to calculate a household's bill or the full cost of the additional school services.
Goodband: a different education tax base
Goodband's campaign platform calls for progressive taxation instead of homestead taxes to finance education. Progressive taxation places a larger burden on people with greater ability to pay. She also favors higher taxes on high incomes and buildings left vacant for much of the year.
She also supports cooperative housing, modest homes financed with no-interest mortgages and universal healthcare. The published platform does not provide a full revenue or transition budget.
Roy and Judd
Roy's campaign website supports a public health insurance option followed by universal healthcare, stronger worker protections, a gradually increased minimum wage and limits on personal wealth. His stated agenda also opposes automated license-plate readers and facial recognition. The site does not establish a detailed school-finance or housing funding plan for this comparison.
Judd, an independent, called for lower property taxes and business-startup fees in the Sept. 29 Town Meeting TV candidate forum. Answering a question about retaining young Vermonters, he connected high costs with young adults living with their parents and leaving the state. That answer did not provide a revenue replacement or a detailed school-funding proposal.
Six State Signal requested candidate interviews on Oct. 15, with responses requested by noon Eastern on Oct. 19. The requests ask candidates to explain the costs and funding behind their plans.