Jarrod Sammis
{{Short description|American politician (born 1989/1990)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| office = Member of the
Vermont House of Representatives
for Rutland-3
| termstart = January 4, 2023
| termend = January 8, 2025
| predecessor = Robert Helm
| successor = Chris Brown
| birth_date = {{Birth based on age as of date|32|2022|11|2}}
| birth_place = Middlebury, Vermont, U.S.
| alma_mater = Castleton State College (BS)
| party = {{ubl|Libertarian (since 2023)|Republican (until 2023)}}
}}
Jarrod E. Sammis (born 1989 or 1990) is an American politician who served in the Vermont House of Representatives from 2023 to 2025, representing the Rutland-3 district, which includes Castleton. Initially elected as a member of the Republican Party, he switched to the Libertarian Party in May 2023.
Early life
Jarrod Sammis was born in 1989 or 1990{{Cite web |last= |date=2022-11-02 |title=Droege and Sammis compete for Castleton House seat |url=https://mountaintimes.info/droege-and-sammis-compete-for-castleton-house-seat/ |access-date=2023-05-11 |website=The Mountain Times |language=en-US}} in Middlebury, Vermont, and he grew up in Ticonderoga, New York. His family has resided in the region for several centuries.{{Cite web |title=Representative Jarrod Sammis |url=https://legislature.vermont.gov/people/single/2024/37402 |access-date=2023-05-11 |website=Vermont General Assembly}}{{Cite web |last=Yaw |first=Shaundra Bartlett |date=January 8, 2023 |title=Sammis goes to Montpelier |url=https://suncommunitynews.com/news/100713/sammis-goes-to-montpelier/ |access-date=2023-05-11 |website=Sun Community News |language=en}} After attending from Fair Haven Union High School, he moved to Castleton, Vermont, where began attending Castleton State College (now Castleton University) in 2009. Sammis graduated from Castleton State College in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in communication and public relations. He works as a realtor and marketing coordinator at his family's real estate company, Century 21 Adirondacks.{{cite news |last1=Whitcomb Jr. |first1=Keith |title=Two running for Rutland-3 seat |page= |pages=A1, A5 |work=Rutland Herald |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/rutland-daily-herald-two-running-for-rut/124237932/ |access-date=11 May 2023}}
Political career
Sammis ran for the Vermont House of Representatives as a member of the Republican Party in the 2022 election, running in the Rutland-3 district, which contains Castleton.{{Cite news |last=Bellomo |first=Pearl |date=2022-09-21 |title=Sammis hopes to represent new district |url=http://www.castletonspartan.com/2022/09/21/sammis-hopes-to-represent-new-district/ |access-date=2023-05-11 |website=Castleton Spartan |language=en-US}} He was recruited by Robert Helm, the district's retiring representative.{{Cite web |last=Dritschilo |first=Gordon |date=May 3, 2023 |title=Sammis makes party switch official |url=https://www.rutlandherald.com/news/local/sammis-makes-party-switch-official/article_761e2d22-f09e-54c0-8e44-db2d91079169.html |access-date=2023-05-11 |website=Rutland Herald |language=en}} A self-identified libertarian who had previously been a volunteer for Gary Johnson's 2016 presidential campaign, Sammis campaigned on three key issues: protecting Vermont's education system by sequestering the education budget to "protect it from being siphoned from other programs", improving substance abuse and mental health programs, and preserving civil liberties, including LGBTQ rights. He also favored "reducing the tax burden to make Vermont more affordable", and was opposed to a proposed carbon tax. Sammis's opponent was Democratic nominee Mary Droege, a lecturer at Castleton University and the chair of the Castleton Democratic Committee, who campaigned primarily on environmental issues. During the campaign, several deleted YouTube videos published by Sammis resurfaced when archived copies were posted to a blog; in the videos, he "question[ed] the legitimacy of Joe Biden's 2020 election win and joked about shooting communists".{{Cite web |last=Weinstein |first=Ethan |date=2022-10-23 |title=Castleton House candidate's online past draws criticism from Democrats |url=https://vtdigger.org/2022/10/23/castleton-house-candidates-online-past-draws-criticism-from-democrats/ |access-date=2023-05-11 |website=VTDigger |language=en-US}} He later declined to attend a candidate forum because he wasn't sent the questions prior to the event.{{Cite news |last=Whitcomb Jr. |first=Keith |date=October 15, 2022 |title=Sammis declines CU forum invite |pages=A1, A5 |work=Rutland Herald |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/rutland-daily-herald-sammis-declines-cu/124237980/ |access-date=May 10, 2023}} Sammis was elected to the state house, receiving 835 votes to Droege's 793, a margin of 43 votes.{{Cite news |last=Whitcomb Jr. |first=Keith |date=November 9, 2022 |title=House races favor incumbents |pages=A5 |work=Rutland Herald |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/rutland-daily-herald-house-races-favor-i/124238009/ |access-date=May 10, 2023}}
=Political positions=
During his tenure, Sammis voted against the Affordable Heat Act, a bill which regulates the importation of fossil heating fuels into Vermont in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.{{Cite web |last=Giles |first=Abagael |date=2023-04-21 |title=Vermont House finalizes its version of the 'Affordable Heat Act' |url=https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2023-04-21/vermont-house-finalizes-its-version-of-the-affordable-heat-act |access-date=2023-05-11 |website=Vermont Public |language=en}} He also opposed the merger of Castleton University, Northern Vermont University, and Vermont Technical College into a single university, Vermont State University.{{Cite web |last=Munkelwitz |first=Rebecca |date=2022-11-03 |title=Parwinder Grewal Settles In as the First President of Vermont State University |url=https://www.northernvermont.edu/parwinder-grewal-settles-in-as-the-first-president-of-vermont-state-university/ |access-date=2023-05-11 |website=Northern Vermont University |language=en}} According to the Vermont Daily Chronicle, he has also been a "strong defender of Libraries of the Vermont State College System, and has worked to keep herbicides out of Lake Bomoseen".{{Cite web |last=Page |first=Guy |date=2023-05-03 |title=Vermont House Rep. goes Libertarian |url=https://vermontdailychronicle.com/vermont-house-rep-goes-libertarian/ |access-date=2023-05-11 |website=Vermont Daily Chronicle |language=en-US}} He is a member of the House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development.
During the press conference for this party switch, Sammis stated his intention of introducing a bill which would "forbid the Vermont National Guard from being deployed overseas without a formal federal declaration of war".
=Party switch=
At a press conference on May 3, 2023, Sammis announced he was officially switching to the Libertarian Party, becoming the only Libertarian state legislator in the country, and the first Libertarian member of the Vermont Legislature since Neil Randall, who was elected to the state house as a Libertarian in 1998 and left the party in 2000. Sammis claimed that he ran a joint Republican-Libertarian fusion ticket, though this was not listed on the ballot. Sammis's switch was supported by high-ranking members of the Libertarian Party of Vermont and the Libertarian National Committee. He also distanced himself from the Mises Caucus, a prominent group within the Libertarian Party. The switch was criticized by state Republican officials, particularly Helm, who stated "[Sammis] doesn’t seem to want to abide by any rules of the House or any of that, from what other legislators tell me. People call me and tell me, 'Why’d you send me this guy?'"
References
{{reflist}}
{{Vermont House of Representatives}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sammis, Jarrod}}
Category:Date of birth missing (living people)
Category:Politicians from Middlebury, Vermont
Category:People from Castleton, Vermont
Category:People from Ticonderoga, New York
Category:American real estate brokers
Category:American marketing businesspeople
Category:Republican Party members of the Vermont House of Representatives
Category:21st-century members of the Vermont General Assembly
Category:Libertarian Party (United States) officeholders