Democratic gubernatorial candidate Esther Charlestin speaks at a Vermont Democratic Party function in Burlington on Friday, October 4, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerOn a recent Friday evening, Esther Charlestin made a quiet entrance at the Burlington Beer Company’s Flynn Avenue taproom, where the Vermont Democratic Party was throwing its fall fundraiser. She lingered at the back of the room until Addie Lentzner, leader of the Vermont Student Anti-Racism Network, spotted her and waved. Charlestin walked across the room, gave Lentzner a big hug and started chatting with a small group at Lentzner’s table.As people slowly migrated toward her, the consultant, educator and Democratic nominee for governor greeted them warmly.A first-generation Haitian American, Charlestin is the first Black woman to win a major party nomination for governor of Vermont. But her grassroots campaign has been as understated as her entrance to the fundraiser that evening.READ MORE The 34-year-old newcomer to state politics is aware that taking on Gov. Phil Scott, the incumbent Republican who is completing his fourth term, in Vermont’s general election this November is no small task. The two most recent Democratic nominees garnered less than 30% of the vote against Scott, who consistently polls as one of the most popular governors in the country. “The comparison is like David and Goliath,” said Charlestin, who co-chairs the Vermont Commission on Women and runs a consulting business. But, she continued, “I believe it’s important for our democracy for us not to be afraid of giants.”The Middlebury resident announced her candidacy in January and easily secured the Democratic nomination for governor in the August primary, beating Peter Duval, a former Underhill Selectboard member who had previously run statewide as a Republican. Charlestin, who also has the endorsement of the Vermont Progressive Party, has criticized Scott’s leadership style, his tense relationship with the Democrat-controlled Legislature and his tendency to veto legislation, suggesting he should have worked more collaboratively with lawmakers. “For a head of state, I expect more. I expect for our leader to show up, to have those hard conversations and figure out a middle ground to make it work,” said Charlestin, who is making the case that she’d bring a more inclusive leadership style that takes into account diverse voices. “He’s been leading for the last eight years and there are some serious gaps,” she said. “And for us not to say anything, I didn’t think it was okay.”A different kind of experience Though Charlestin has far less political experience than her opponent, she has made the case that her life experiences would make her a better leader.The first-time statewide candidate argues that Scott has lacked clear vision, particularly in the areas of housing, education and climate change. “I am running because the working families of Vermont deserve a Governor who is proactive, who is collaborative, and who has lived the experiences that challenge them everyday,” she wrote in a candidate statement on her website.During their first debate last week, hosted by VTDigger, Charlestin agreed with Scott on several issues facing the state but said that Vermont was not in a better place than it was when he took office eight years ago, citing the cost of property taxes, health care and housing.Charlestin moved to Vermont in 2019 seeking a better education for her two children. Two years later, she won a seat on the Middlebury Selectboard. She was reelected in 2022, securing the highest number of votes, but stepped down a year into the three-year term. Her lease had expired, Charlestin said, and she became briefly unhoused when she was unable to find another apartment.  Pointing to that experience and to the fact that she’s long been a renter, Charlestin said she knows firsthand how the ongoing housing crisis affects people in Vermont and would make housing access a priority as governor. Esther Charlestin announced her candidacy for governor of Vermont at the Statehouse in Montpelier on January 5, 2024. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerShe argues that Scott hasn’t tackled the crisis aggressively enough, and she has taken particular aim at his approach to the emergency housing program, which provided unhoused people with motel shelter. The program vastly expanded during the Covid-19 pandemic, and lawmakers and the governor have since sought to scale it back, resulting in many losing their shelter. Charlestin has said she would use a “Housing First” model to end homelessness, which prioritizes providing permanent housing, along with support services, to unhoused people. She has also pledged to work with municipal leaders to reduce regulatory barriers to building new housing, explore raising taxes on second homes and short-term rentals and enact “just cause” eviction protections for tenants in the towns that have passed it.Jason Maulucci, Scott’s campaign manager, noted that the governor had in January proposed a tripartisan package to streamline housing development and make it more affordable. But, according to Maulucci, the Legislature instead focused on a conservation bill that created more red tape.Scott “is committed to doing the work, but he needs more willing partners in Montpelier,” Maulucci said in a written statement.Charlestin worked as the assistant director of community standards at Middlebury College before becoming the first dean of climate and culture at Middlebury Union Middle School in August 2022. She resigned less than a year into the job, explaining in an op-ed that she’d experienced racism at the school and that the district had failed to support her. Charlestin then started her own consultancy company, Conversation Compass, which works with individuals and institutions on areas such as personal and strategic development and diversity, equity, inclusion work.Pointing to her more than a decade of education experience, Charlestin said she believes in the importance of supporting public schools and providing quality education for all children. But right now, she said, paying for education through property taxes is “unsustainable,” there are too many staff vacancies, and the dollars allotted to school districts do not directly seem to impact classroom learning. When pressed during the VTDigger debate about what she would propose as an alternative funding model, she suggested wealthy Vermonters could be taxed more, though she did not explain how. Charlestin said Scott has failed to address these issues. Esther Charlestin answers questions after winning the Democratic Party nomination for governor in Burlington on Primary Day, Tuesday, August 13, 2024. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerShe’s also argued that the Republican governor has failed to create a robust emergency fund and recovery plan that could be immediately deployed in the event of catastrophic flooding, particularly for marginalized populations that tend to be the hardest hit. As governor, she said, she would work to better create climate-resistant communities. She has pledged to increase watershed resilience by restoring wetlands, promoting sustainable land use, better managing stormwater runoff and improving dam safety. She would support the Climate Superfund Act, enforce accountability measures for polluters, require utilities to purchase more renewable energy, and find new ways to invest in sustainable development.“She’s got a terrific life story, she’s really bright and she knows the education issues quite well,” said former Gov. Howard Dean, who briefly considered running for the office again himself this year and who later endorsed Charlestin. “Of course she’s got a steep learning curve, but I like her and she is somebody I’m proud to vote for.”‘A historic moment’Although outspoken about the discrimination she faced last year, Charlestin hasn’t positioned her race at the forefront of her candidacy. She is, however, excited that her campaign has coincided with Vice President Kamala Harris’ bid for the presidency and said she feels the time is right for both of them given the racial reckoning the country has faced.“There’s a hunger for change. It’s not as clear, but I think, slowly but surely, people are catching on,” she said.Vermont is different today, Charlestin said, from the place she moved to in 2019. There are conversations happening now that weren’t happening then, she said, and the demographics are changing. “I think people are still at the place where they can’t believe a Black woman would have the audacity to run for governor in a predominantly white space. And so while I meet with folks, I address that,” she said. “With Kamala I think it’s a tiny bit more palatable now. The praise she’s getting now… She ran for president a few years ago, and people didn’t even look to her.”Rev. Mark Hughes, executive director of the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance, said it is historic because Vermont has never had a Black woman nominated by a major political party for governor, just as the U.S. has never had a Black woman nominee for president.“It’s monumental to think about having these two things happen at the same time,” he said.He is disheartened, however, that Charlestin’s run hasn’t been elevated in Vermont to the level of prominence he believes it deserves. “This is a historic moment that’s not being acknowledged,” he said. “It takes a lot of effort to not pay attention to this and to choose to focus on something else.”Democratic gubernatorial candidate Esther Charlestin speaks at a party function in Burlington on Friday, October 4, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger‘I like you, but I won’t give you any money’While she’s juggling her company, family and running a grassroots campaign, Charlestin knows that unseating Scott takes a lot more than that.It takes capital. And while Charlestin’s historic candidacy has generated excitement, that hasn’t translated to significant donations. Her latest campaign finance report indicates she had raised only about $34,500 by the start of October, mostly through small donations, as opposed to Scott, who had raised more than $252,000 by then. “I’m learning how to be creative because I do not have unlimited resources,” she said. She has been busy showing up to events organized by the party, as well as to community events and debates.While family remains her priority, Charlestin said she is doing what she does best as an educator and consultant — connecting with people one-on-one. Charlestin said she’s encountered an issue that is common to Black women running for office in the United States: a lack of financial backing.“People say, ‘I like you, but I won’t give you any money,’” she said.Charlestin is also making do without the kind of support that candidates typically receive from the Vermont Democratic Party — such as access to the party’s voter data, which costs money.Jim Dandeneau, the party’s executive director, described Charlestin as “a really, really solid person who’s got a hopefully bright future in Vermont politics,” and said the party has been helping her with policy work, debate prep and communications.“She’s got the full backing and the support of the VDP. It’s just we have limited resources with this cycle, you know, not a lot of high-profile action at the top of the ticket, so it’s less visible than it has been in the past. We’re really focusing on having individual conversations and not on splashy mass media vibes right now,” he said.The Vermont Progressive Party has also endorsed Charlestin and is inviting her to events. “I’ve seen her in a room with people. She’s absolutely captivating. I think she has a great message. She speaks to the issues people care about in the state,” said Josh Wronski, the party’s executive director. Even so, Wronski observed, it seems like traditional Democratic donors have been holding back and that she has garnered less support from the Democratic Party than prior gubernatorial candidates.Brenda Siegel, the 2022 Democratic nominee for governor, drew in $187,801 that year in contributions; Zuckerman, who challenged Scott in 2020, raised $701,852, and Christine Hallquist, the 2018 Democratic nominee, garnered $591,488, according to state campaign finance records.When Dean announced in May that he would not challenge Scott, the former governor said he believed such a matchup “would have been a $2 million race on each side, easily.” The last truly competitive race Scott faced — running against Democrat Sue Minter for an open seat in 2016 — cost more than $13 million, when factoring in outside spending by such groups as the Democratic Governors Association and Republican Governors Association. Charlestin said she isn’t discouraged by a lack of name recognition and campaign funds. “I use what I have. I’ve never had money. Everything I have today, I have worked incredibly hard for,” she said.For those who don’t think she can succeed, Charlestin said she has always been underestimated. “As a kid, I was told I would always be a C student, right? I was told I wouldn’t go to college. I was told, oh, so many things, the list can go on and on,” she said. “And if I believed the limits that people put on me, I wouldn’t be here today.”READ MORE Charlestin’s backers acknowledge the challenge facing their chosen candidate but they say her candidacy is putting needed pressure on the Republican governor. “This is a governor who has, I think, not been challenged in the ways he needs to be challenged and held accountable for his approach to governing,” said Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, expressing frustration with Scott’s frequent vetoes and what she referred to as his “obstructionist” approach at the Statehouse.“We’ve long needed smart, capable people, especially women, to be able to challenge his leadership and not let him simply walk to reelection every cycle,” she continued.“She has the skills. She has the experience,” Mulvaney-Stanak said. “I just hope people see that regardless of the outcome of the election, this is a historic moment for Vermont to see a strong, capable Black woman put herself out as a candidate.”Read the story on VTDigger here:  ‘Like David and Goliath’: Esther Charlestin’s bid to bring down Gov. Phil Scott.