IRASBURG — Judith Jackson, a member of the Irasburg Planning Commission, announced on Thursday her candidacy for the Vermont House of Representatives to represent the citizens of Irasburg, Coventry, Newport Town, Newport City, and Troy.
Jackson, running as a Democrat, joins her neighbor and fellow Irasburg Ridge Alliance (IRA) organizer Dr. Ron Holland on the ballot for State Representative for the district of Orleans.
“I’ve seen the huge impact of policies and decisions made in Montpelier on almost every aspect of life in Vermont towns,” Jackson said. “With our Northeast Kingdom towns facing so many critical issues, from energy siting to education to our economy, it seemed like a good time to speak up.”
Before moving to Irasburg with her husband Peter Limon in 2010, Jackson spent most of her professional life as the communication director for Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory located near Chicago and dedicated to research in particle physics, the science of the fundamental nature of the universe.
“From the western suburbs of Chicago to the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont was quite a change,” Jackson said. “My work at Fermilab took me to countries all over the world. However, I grew up on a Vermont dairy farm, so moving to Irasburg felt like coming home. I do know from personal experience the effect of the price of milk on a farm family’s livelihood. Now I’d like to put my Vermont heritage and a lifetime of experience in communication to work on behalf of my neighbors in Orleans County. ”
Besides serving as the clerk of the Irasburg Planning Commission, Jackson is a trustee of Irasburg’s Leach Public Library and a founding member of the Irasburg Ridgeline Alliance, a citizens’ group dedicated to the responsible development of renewable energy and the preservation of Irasburg’s ridgelines.
She is the mother of three children, including her daughter Annie Jackson, who lives at Heartbeet Lifesharing in Hardwick.
