In 2009, when 22-year-old Representative Kesha Ram (D-Chittenden) first tried to get her ID card at the State House, the administrators behind the desk told her the line was “only for legislators.” Though her soon-to-be colleagues, who were lined up with Ram, confirmed that she had, in fact, been elected to the legislature, Ram still had to sign more paperwork than normal to prove her rightful place.

After relating the story to her chairwoman, Representative Helen Head (D-South Burlington), Head asked Ram “Do you think it’s because you’re young, you’re a woman, or you’re a person of color?”

“All of the above,” answered Ram. “How do I separate these things?”

However, now 29 and in her fourth term, Ram says it’s a “blessing” to be young, female, and nonwhite because she can “find common ground” with and articulate the experience of so many Vermonters in her work at the State House.

Rep. Kesha Ram (D-Burlington) serves as clerk of the House Committee on Natural Resources and Energy. Photo: Ryan Mitofsky

Ram’s Work

Yet, what does it mean to act young, female, or as a person of color? What are the expectations of those who fit this description? And is it required, as a representative of the people, to exclusively address issues typically associated with that demographic?

Although Ram does attend to youth, gender, and diversity issues, it doesn’t limit her interests and work. Her education spans the environment, politics, and law, with degrees in natural resources planning and political science from the University of Vermont and the completion of a public law program at the American University in Washington, DC. Her political experience has broadened her knowledge base further; she has delved into housing, military affairs, finances, and technology.

As state representative she served for three years as the clerk for the General, Housing, and Military Affairs Committee and three years on the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over revenue generation for the state, as well as on the Joint Legislative Technology Committee. Currently, she is the clerk of the House Committee on Natural Resources and Energy and campaign chair of the House Democratic Caucus.

A legislator’s biggest successes, Ram says, are in making advances in civil rights and changes in the criminal code and funding meaningful legislation, the “heavy lifts” Ram calls them. Ram has accomplished all of it, sponsoring or cosponsoring 22 bills, which have become law since 2009—an impressive number for any legislator. These laws cover a wide range of issues, including penalties of up to life in prison for human trafficking, parole for minors, equal pay, genetically modified food labeling, and the adoption of the interstate compact on educational opportunity for military children. Other bills have covered tribal recognition of the Nulhegan band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation and the Elnu Abenaki tribes; a “complete streets” transportation policy that considers the needs of bicyclists, public transportation users, and pedestrians of all ages and abilities as well as motorists; and the criminalization of “revenge porn,” the public posting of intimate photos of others, often with names and addresses, without their consent.

Influences

Growing up in Los Angeles, Ram was precocious and highly politicized at an early age. Her “strong” Indian grandmother taught her to read and write at age two, unbeknownst to her parents. At three, Ram picked up a copy of the Los Angeles Times and read it aloud— stunning her parents. In fifth grade, when she felt the “huge injustice” of three boys and the absence of girls running for president of the student government of her elementary school, she ran and won. She recalls taking her role seriously and writing small speeches on note cards.

She attributes her passion for politics to her parents. Due to the Partition of India, her father’s family emigrated from India when he was very young, leaving behind their material wealth and struggling to make ends meet in the United States. A restaurateur—first of an Indian restaurant then an Irish pub—her “always properly dressed and well-spoken” father faced the “hardships of an immigrant business owner” says Ram. Ram remembers her father telling of his early years in Los Angeles when “he would frequently get pulled over by the police under the pretense of having a stolen vehicle or stolen license plates, which was never the case.” And, often people on the street shouted at him: “Go back to Mexico!”

He taught his children to “be proud, to give back, and always question: ‘Who is government supposed to serve? How could it be better? Who is left behind?’” At her father’s restaurant, Ram and her two siblings learned to create meals that could be handed out to the homeless in Santa Monica and witnessed her father initiating one of the first business recycling programs there.

Ram’s mother, of Jewish descent, whose parents immigrated through Ellis Island, also was a powerful influence. She was the president of the local food cooperative, a very political role in which she made executive business decisions, which Ram heard about frequently. She supplied Ram with many books about women in politics.

“By the time I reached elementary school, I had the very distinct sense that a lot of people had fought and died and lost a lot of opportunity for me to have a voice and for me to be where I am.” Ram wants to honor that legacy by using her voice as a leader and helping others become leaders.

Her work as legislator is also informed by the years she spent as legal advocate and, ultimately, director of the Legal Advocacy Program at Women Helping Battered Women, where she ushered victims through the court process. She saw human trafficking, revenge porn, and elder abuse firsthand, which made a lasting impression, motivating Ram to make substantial policy changes.

Also shaping her political service is Ram’s current role as the public engagement specialist working for Mayor Miro Weinberger in Burlington’s Community and Economic Development office. Her work with the city and its residents exercises her philosophy about which she is passionate: engage constituents on a personal level, provide channels so their voices can be heard, work on policy to directly address their needs, and then show them what government is doing to meet their needs. The endgame for Ram? Trust in government.

The Burlington population, Ram says, has many channels for political engagement and uses them effectively, less so on a state level. Ram points to studies that show that people who get involved in policy and politics tend to be wealthier, over the age of 35, community members for over 10 years, and lack barriers related to childcare, transportation, and basic work schedules. Much of the population is excluded de facto from the political debate.

In order to hear the unheard and gain trust, Rams says she spends all her “time and energy in reaching out and bringing them in ... finding them entry points into our world.” Recently, Ram took the mayor to a luncheon with Bhutanese elders at the senior center, and as part of the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, she took people with disabilities to Burlington’s North Beach to experience the recently added amenities that make the park more universally accessible. Ram also has a big presence on social media—Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram—as she believes her social media presence humanizes her and she can scan the posts to help her keep in touch with constituents’ concerns. However, she “couples” social media with being physically present, “knocking on doors” as much as possible.

“There’s no panacea, no blanket approach,” Ram says of the methods of engagement. “If you really want people’s feedback, you have to meet them where they’re at... meet them in person. In Vermont, it’s still possible.”

For Ram, the work of engagement inspires and motivates her. “Every day I am reminded that there are a lot of people who are passionate and want to make the world a better place and just want to be able to talk to their legislator about how to do that.”

Future Solutions, Future Heavy Lifts

The plight of those trying to work their way into the middle class presses on Ram. “After a certain level of benefit, 35 to 45 thousand dollars of income, people fall off a cliff. They don’t get as much access to childcare support, to property tax relief, until they reach about 75 to 80 thousand dollars... I hear from people all the time that... the second they hit that income threshold, one of them is just working to pay for childcare. It doesn’t feel like any quality of life. They are working multiple jobs; they aren’t getting any help from the state, and the tax bills and the other bills are just piling up without any relief. And that’s who we’re losing. That’s who needs help the most.”

The answer, Ram believes, is to make “slopes sexy,” to make property tax relief and unemployment insurance and Reach Up benefits taper off more gradually so that when a person does start working again or a family’s income begins to increase, all the benefits are not lost. A paid sick days bill, which just passed the House this past session, is a start, Ram says. Paid family leave?

“Yeah, yeah,” Ram nods furiously in agreement and then sighs. Ram, maybe, has too many other mountains to climb.

“We know this from all of our charts,” Ram says. “People fall off a cliff, and it’s much harder for them to grasp the first rung on the ladder. If we can create slope and bridges for people... It’s what the government should be doing to incentivize people to work ... their way into the middle class.” And also, Ram adds, it can allow families choice in raising their children: two working parents with affordable childcare or one stay-at-home parent, the other making enough to support the family financially. Good childcare and the freedom to make the choice best suited for each family concerns Ram.

Also to help family economics, Ram is finding money for first-time home buyers, through a system of tax credits and loans, and students who want to enroll in higher education but can’t afford it and don’t want to be saddled with loans after graduation.

Perhaps more sweeping, the natural resources committee—of which Ram is clerk—just finished a landmark bill creating standards to make Vermont’s energy 75 percent renewable by 2032. Uniting with President Obama’s call to make climate change relevant for low-income families and the unemployed and not a “gourmet issue,” Ram is hoping to create green energy jobs such as solar panel installation, implementing efficient and alternative energy in low-income housing, and helping low-income families to generate energy back onto the grid to reduce their bills.

It’s a challenge, Ram says, because so many Vermonters are renters and 8 percent live in mobile homes. There are many barriers to renewable or low-cost energy upgrades, such as solar-powered hot-water heaters. “A lot of our [energy] programs don’t do enough to touch [the lives of renters],” Ram says, “Most of the folks who are eligible are businesses and home owners.” If a landlord doesn’t want to participate, renters can’t do much.

Youth quality of life also presses on Ram’s conscience. How can Vermont attract and keep young workers and families? “So many young people want to live in a state where [marriage equality] ... women’s rights, LGBT rights, and the rights of individuals are secure enough that we can have real conversations about the economy and opportunity.” Yet, often younger people don’t have access to benefits. “If someone doesn’t have access to health insurance ... then that affects all of us. It affects our ability to be successful as a generation.”

The List

Ram keeps a list on her smart phone, “a list of all the issues I think would help Vermonters or Vermonters are telling me would help.” It looks like this:

• Next generation agenda
• Divestment from fossil fuels
• Indigenous people’s day
• Student loan rights
• Model for affordable or free higher education; pay back education loans based on income [similar to the Oregon model]
• Ability of new Americans to vote in local elections
• Social impact bonds for how we fund early childhood education and putting savings back into early childhood education for improvement
• Expand Medicaid to make sure young people don’t go without health insurance; fill holes in Obamacare
• Unemployment for survivors of domestic violence

The Ram list is long and growing. Yet it energizes Ram.

A long time ago when she was just starting her legislative career, Ram was called “a kitten with lipstick.” She hasn’t forgotten that remark, and it hasn’t stopped her.

“There will always be critics. There will always be naysayers. It’s really, really important to rise above that and stay focused on how you can help people.”

No doubt, Ram will.

Amy Brooks Thornton, a multimedia journalist and educator, is the founder and former director of Pacem School and Homeschool Center in Montpelier, VT.