On August 10, 2026 — the night before Vermont’s primary election — groups of Vermonters will gather in private homes across the state. They are members of Rural Vermont Rising, the organization that grew from a handful of landowners fighting Act 181 to more than 16,000 members in under six months. In Addison County, the host is Rob North, a serving Vermont state representative. Similar meetings are being held in counties across the state the same night. The notice said it plainly: “NOT a potluck. Just bring your brains.”
Twenty days before those meetings, the candidates running to be Vermont’s next governor have yet to acknowledge that they are happening.
On June 16, 2026, Governor Phil Scott signed S.325 — the partial repeal of Act 181. He framed it as a housing policy failure. Not a land rights question. Not a question of who gets to make decisions about property families have worked for generations. A housing policy failure.
That framing is now the official record.
The Democratic candidates running to replace him have offered no framing at all.
This series sent identical three-question inquiries on Act 181 to every announced candidate for governor and lieutenant governor on April 11, 2026. The questions were direct: Do you support Act 181 as written? Do you support S.325? How would you address the representational gap in the process that produced the law?
As of July 22, 2026 — 102 days later — not one gubernatorial candidate has responded in writing. Among the lieutenant governor candidates, only Esther Charlestin responded — on April 15, 2026. She stated that Act 181 “is not landing fairly for many rural communities” and that farmers, foresters, and long-time landowners are being “disproportionately burdened.” On S.325 she said “getting it right matters more than rushing it.” On the representational gap she wrote: “When the people most affected by a policy aren’t meaningfully represented in shaping it, trust breaks down — and the policy is weaker for it.” She is the only candidate across either race who answered the questions on the record.
In the weeks since, both gubernatorial candidates have appeared at forums, given interviews, posted on social media, and made their closing arguments to Democratic primary voters. Amanda Janoo appeared at a housing forum hosted by Let’s Build Homes — the coalition this series documented in Part XIV as funded by Arnold Ventures, fiscally sponsored by VHFA, and explicitly engaged in Act 250 tier-mapping. She thanked them publicly on her campaign Facebook page. She did not mention Act 181.
Aly Richards has made housing the centerpiece of her campaign. She has the Vermont Building and Construction Trades Council endorsement. She has not mentioned Act 181.
On July 21, 2026, Vermont Public hosted a live debate between the three Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor — Molly Gray, Esther Charlestin, and Ryan McLaren. The debate ran 57 minutes. Housing was a central topic. All three candidates will, if elected, preside over the Vermont Senate — the body that passed S.325. Act 181 was not mentioned once.
A new WCAX poll released July 21 shows Scott leading Janoo 44% to 33% and Richards 43% to 35% — both candidates closing ground with three weeks to go. The poll asked about healthcare, housing, and education. It did not ask about Act 181.
Rural Vermont Rising organized 16,000 members. It built local chapters. It named August 11 as its political target from the beginning. It is meeting before the primary in homes across Vermont.
The movement has also drawn sitting legislators. Vermont State Rep. Gina Galfetti and Vermont Senate Minority Leader Scott Beck have both attended RVR chapter meetings, confirmed by direct written communications to this series. Beck serves on the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Energy — the committee with direct jurisdiction over the issues Act 181 raised.
The candidates running in that primary have not addressed the movement, its concerns, or the law that produced it.
Meanwhile, the work continues on the ground — without them.
S.325 repealed the Road Rule and Tier 3. It did not repeal the requirement that every regional planning commission redraw its land use maps by the end of 2026. That process is happening right now.
The Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission has released a 210-page draft plan assigning new Future Land Use categories to land across all 30 towns in its region. On July 16, TRORC held an informational session in Fairlee. Planning commission and selectboard members from Topsham, Vershire, Fairlee, Bradford, and Corinth filled the room beyond capacity. A mid-meeting walkout punctuated the event. When an audience member asked TRORC Chief Planner Kevin Geiger whether the mandatory rules are “merely aspirational,” Geiger said yes — the maps are “theoretically viable and technically feasible,” but enforcement is improbable. When someone asked “Can we say no to TRORC and these changes?” — Geiger left that hanging.
Michelle Massa, chair of the Vershire Planning Commission, wrote in the July 22, 2026 Journal Opinion: “Act 181 does not require this mandatory language; only TRORC included this as mandatory, as opposed to offering guidance, which is what they are statutorily allowed to do. It is a choice TRORC made.”
The public comment deadline for TRORC’s draft plan is August 10, 2026. Formal hearings run through July 31 in Bethel, Bradford, White River Junction, and Woodstock.
August 11 is the primary.
The candidates are still silent.
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