WHITINGHAM — John Lyddy wants to bring a different perspective and a bigger focus on the economy to the Legislature.
“I would have rather stayed retired but I think things are at the point where we have to make some changes, a change of direction, and I think I can propose some common sense solutions to do that,” he said.
Lyddy, who lives in Whitingham, is running for the Windham-6 seat being vacated by John Gannon. His name will appear on the Republican ballot for the primary election in August.
Lyddy ran unsuccessfully for the Vermont Senate in 2020. He said a couple of Republican candidates jumped in at the last minute “just to try to challenge as many people as we can.”
Now, he’s running for representative in part because he believes the Democratic supermajority is affecting the way that legislation is being presented and passed.
“Anything that the Democratic supermajority wants they get simply because they can, and that’s not a good thing,” he said. “It stifles debate. So my feeling is get a few more Republicans in there and at least we will have to debate the issues.”
Lyddy said that currently businesses and families are struggling.
“We’re going to have to start taking the pressure off of both of those groups,” he said. “We lost several small businesses in this area. That’s not a good thing.”
Families are getting slammed with inflation and recession is looming, Lyddy said, calling it “a double whammy.” He recounted a time in the early 1980s when the economy was getting “destroyed” and worries that’s happening now.
Such circumstances can lead people to start losing hope, he said, particularly concerned about young families.
“And we’ve got to start changing that,” he said. “We got to debate that a bit more.”
Lyddy has served on the board and worked at Twice Blessed thrift store in Dover. He and his wife recently retired and traveled half the country in an RV, meeting a lot of people on their trip.
“It restored my faith in human nature,” Lyddy said.
His last job was with the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Previously, he worked as a machinist at G.S. Precision in Brattleboro. Earlier, he was in marketing and research in Washington, D.C., where at one point, he had his own consulting business.
Having employed between 80 and 100 people at his business, he said, “I know what it means to meet a payroll.”
Lyddy has been involved with the Windham County Republican Committee. He also started working with the state committee again, like he did in 2020.
In 2006, Lyddy organized in New Hampshire for gubernatorial candidate Jim Coburn and in Vermont for Rich Tarrant who ran against U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Part of Lyddy’s research and marketing involved fundraising and politics.
“So I understand the way politics works pretty well,” he said.
His campaign plan involves holding events, visiting groups and going door to door. Gatherings will be in each of the Windham-6 towns — Halifax, Whitingham and Wilmington. He said he wants to hear what people want to see happen in the Statehouse.
“I think there are a lot of people hurting who would like to see things change a bit,” he said. “I think small businesses would like to see things change a bit, too, take some of the pressure off of them.”
Tristan Roberts of Halifax also is running for the seat. His name will appear on the Democratic ballot for the August primary.
