Ian Diamondstone on Housing, Education, and Prison Reform in Windham-4
As the campaign for the Windham-4 House seat moves forward, Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party candidate Ian Diamondstone is pushing a platform centered on rural survival, vocational education, and a complete overhaul of Vermont’s prison spending.
Operating an international organic spice company while working as a single parent and a caretaker for his mother, Diamondstone draws directly from his own past struggles. He recalled relying on food stamps, fuel assistance, and the WIC Food Program while juggling multiple jobs to save his home.
“Despite all that, I am still a privileged white man,” Diamondstone said, as reported by the Brattleboro Reformer. “I recognize that. So, what are all the people who aren’t as privileged as me going through? Those with hearing impairments, those living in their cars, people just getting out of prison, people who can’t survive because of rent and parking costs and having to live on $15 an hour.”
Protesting at the Immigration Data Center
Representing rural populations forms a core pillar of Diamondstone’s legislative vision. Through his work with the non-partisan coalition Rural Vermont Rising, he participated in a high-profile protest at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement data center in Williston. The coalition camped on the facility’s doorstep, effectively shutting down operations for a week.
Diamondstone defended immigrant laborers, stating they are essential to keeping the state’s economy functional rather than stealing local jobs. At the same time, he criticized the Vermont State House for neglecting rural communities, pointing to the closure of small community schoolhouses, restrictive forestry regulations, and inadequate support for small businesses.
To revitalize rural economies, Diamondstone champions vocational education, entrepreneur apprenticeships, and subsidies for small-scale local ventures such as honey production, farming, and craft weaving.
Questioning High Costs of State Detention
Another major focus of Diamondstone’s campaign is the Vermont prison system. Highlighting that approximately 1,600 people remain incarcerated in the state—with roughly a third held without trial and another thirty percent having already served their minimum sentences—he questioned the immense financial cost of detention.
“Most of these people are drug addicts or have mental illnesses,” Diamondstone noted. “We could house them, we could get them rehab, medical care, legal help, mental health assistance and get them back to functioning members of society. So why are we spending so much to keep them in there? Because it’s a big business.”
He argued that reallocating funds currently spent housing inmates at upwards of $100,000 to $134,000 annually could significantly narrow gaps in the public education system. Diamondstone raised concerns over corporate involvement in local development, pointing to affordable housing projects that utilize out-of-state contractors rather than local tradespeople.
As he campaigns across Windham-4 against a backdrop of school consolidation and rising living costs, Diamondstone maintains that sweeping changes are necessary to support working Vermonters, preserve the environment, and empower small enterprises.
