NEWBURY, Vt. — Democrat Aly Richards has launched a campaign for governor of Vermont in her hometown of Newbury, putting her past experience in former Gov. Peter Shumlin’s administration and success pushing state investments in child care at the forefront of her campaign.
Richards, who formally announced her run on Monday at the Newbury Village Store with over 100 people in attendance, feels that in addition to child care, Vermont has become less affordable by many other measures.
She said she is entering the race ready to apply her skills to other problems the state is facing, starting with housing.
“I’m running for governor because I know how to solve problems and make forward progress; because I want Vermont to be a place where everyone can thrive,” Richards said Friday by phone. “I’ve spent the last decade working to solve a deep crisis that has dogged us forever.”
Between 2015 and 2025, Richards served as CEO of Let’s Grow Kids, a statewide organization that worked through fundraising and legislation to improve access to affordable and high-quality child care in Vermont. The results brought increased tuition assistance through Act 76, higher staff wages and more programs, according to the impact report.
“Through grit and determination, we beat the odds and we passed the most significant child care bill in the country,” she said.
Richards felt that improving child care was an essential first step in creating a better Vermont because it impacts other things that residents care about, which is why she helped support the passage of Act 166, the state’s universal pre-K law, during her time in Shumlin’s office. This 2014 legislation provided Vermont students access to publicly funded pre-K, and Richards went on to spend the next decade continuing in similar efforts.
“We need to be able to attract and retain young working families to the state,” said Richards.
Richards, 40, grew up in Newbury, which she described as a “typical, wonderful childhood in the Upper Valley.”
She graduated from Oxbow High School, where her father, Bruce Richards, was an AP English and history teacher, in 2004. Before that, she was appointed to the State Board of Education at 15 years old, and served as student council and class president at Oxbow.
Richards’ parents still live in her childhood home, which she visits often with her husband, James Pepper, and identical twin sons, Beau and Wesley, 7, from their current place of residence in Montpelier.
Richards earned a bachelor’s degree from Brown University and went on to work on the first Obama Campaign.
“What I found was that things in DC were broken already in 2008,” said Richards. “People who didn’t agree with each other didn’t work together anymore; didn’t even talk to each other anymore, and I know enough to know that’s not going to work.”
Richards returned to Vermont and started working for Shumlin, a Democrat, as his “policy person” in 2011, she said.
“I just went all around the state talking to Vermonters, all kinds of Vermonters from all walks of life and every corner of the state, on every policy issue,” said Richards.
This experience transformed her understanding of what it takes to be governor and the machinery of state government, she said.
A major concern of Richards is the fact that many people cannot afford to live in Vermont. She feels it’s time for a new approach, with a more concrete vision.
“Vermonters want a state that is growing, not shrinking. That’s investing in our communities, not squeezing them for every last penny,” said Richards.
Richards thinks there should be more of a plan when it comes to addressing health care, housing, infrastructure and declining public school enrollment.
“The dysfunction in Washington, it’s creeping in our communities. So the path we’re on is not sustainable, and the question is ‘What are we going to do about it?’ ” said Richards.
Republican Gov. Phil Scott is currently serving his fifth, two-year term in office. He has not launched a campaign for reelection, though the official deadline for major party candidates is May 28.
While Democrats firmly control the state’s Legislature, Scott has the highest approval rating, currently at 74%, of any governor in the U.S. based on polling by the Morning Consult. Earning nearly 72% of the gubernatorial vote for the 2024 race, Scott beat his Democratic opponent, Esther Charlestin, by a margin of over 50 points.
So far, only one other candidate has announced a bid for Vermont governor. Democrat Amanda Janoo, who also hails from the Upper Valley, launched her campaign last month in Strafford.
What Richards believes sets her apart from other candidates is a track record of results and not just ideas. When it came to investing in child care, Richards said she and her team understood the tradeoffs and listened to those impacted, such as early childhood educators and parents.
Richards wants to make similar investments to solve other pressing issues and bring an approach driven by data, research and public input.
If elected governor, Richards said her top issue would be the housing crisis. Increasing housing infrastructure and ensuring affordability will help decrease property taxes and health insurance premiums, she said, while also bringing more professionals to the state who could provide essential services, such as medical care and schooling.
The Vermont Housing Finance Agency set a target of adding 30,000 more houses in Vermont by 2030, but the state has not been meeting its annual goal of 8,200 per year, according to the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development.
“We’re not even close to on track to get there. So, the difference is focus on this priority, understand every barrier and eliminate them one by one,” said Richards.
Richards said she is interested in collaborating with Vermonters from all walks of life to act on their greatest concerns.
“I don’t care who you are, where you’re from, how long you’ve lived in Vermont, what party you are, I want to talk to you. I want to come together to solve problems,” said Richards. “I don’t care about politics; I care about results.”
The campaign had scheduled additional launch events at Barr Hill in Montpelier on Monday, April 6 at 5:30 p.m. and at Burlington Beer Company in Burlington on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. The campaign plans a statewide tour with events in all 14 counties this spring.
