In the small towns of Vermont's Rutland-Bennington district, Jessica Van Oort has spent the last four years turning frustration into action—first through fixing a heating problem that was draining town coffers, then through a different kind of infrastructure project that has transformed how her neighbors connect to the world. Now she's running for State Representative, betting that the same practical approach that brought geothermal heat and broadband to Pawlet can work at the state house.
Van Oort's entry into politics wasn't planned. In 2020, she stepped forward to serve on the Pawlet Planning Commission and later the Selectboard, driven by what she heard at kitchen tables and town meetings. People were exhausted by rising costs, fearful about their freedoms, and frustrated by the slow pace of change. "I'm stepping up because I want to help," she said when announcing her candidacy on Thursday. "I first got involved in local government in 2020, and it was hard and scary then, too, but I was able to accomplish some practical things to improve people's lives."
The practical things tell the story of who Van Oort is. When the town of Pawlet faced soaring heating bills at its town hall and library, she led the effort to secure a substantial grant that funded a switch to geothermal heating and cooling—a move that will save taxpayer dollars while creating work for local well drillers. She streamlined the town's zoning code to make it easier for residents to build on their own property. But perhaps her most visible legacy is broadband. For years, Pawlet was divided into what she calls "digital winners and losers," with high-speed internet available in some neighborhoods but not others. As a small business owner whose own company depends entirely on reliable uploads to her website, Van Oort understood the stakes. She helped bring wifi hotspots and high-speed internet to the underserved parts of town. "Rural broadband is just as big a deal today as rural electrification was in the past," she said.
Beyond the town office, Van Oort has been quietly building community infrastructure of another kind. She helped establish the Pawlet Community Garden last year, where neighbors can grow vegetables and donate surplus produce to the local food pantry. Organic gardening was part of her childhood—her mother taught her, and she was a 4H gardener who brought vegetables to the county fair—but she spent years as a renter with no access to the soil. "I want everyone to be able to experience getting their hands in the dirt and eating fresh vegetables," she explained.
For state representative, Van Oort is running without a platform of sweeping promises. Instead, she's clear about listening. The Rutland-Bennington district includes Rupert, Wells, Tinmouth, and Middletown Springs alongside Pawlet. Her stated priorities are straightforward: ensuring constituents can afford food, housing, healthcare, and education, while protecting their rights and freedoms. She acknowledges that she can't predict what crises the legislature will face next year, but she's ready to work on them with the same persistence and eye for detail that got geothermal heat installed and broadband running through her town.
Van Oort works alongside her wife Ruth, an artist and potter, in a shared barn shop. When she isn't managing the website, books, and taxes for her craft business, or tending the community garden, she's listening to her neighbors. "There's work to do and needs to address," she said. "It's hard work, and it takes persistence, practicality, and an eye for details. I'm willing to step up and do that work."