Woodstock’s Tesha Buss running for state representative

The U.S. and Vermont flags in Bridgewater, Vermont. (Gareth Henderson File Photo)

Local entrepreneur Tesha Buss has announced her candidacy for the Vermont House. 

Buss, a Woodstock-based Democrat, is seeking the Windsor County-5 seat for state representative, serving Woodstock, Plymouth and Reading. She’s holding an official campaign announcement in Woodstock this Saturday.

“My Vermont businesses have been all about creating vibrant community,” Buss said in a campaign statement released this week. “I rise up to challenges. My experience has prepared me to step up to what we face now as Vermonters. I grew up in the service industry and now I am ready to serve Vermont.”

Charlie Kimbell, the incumbent state representative for Windsor County-5 and a fellow Democrat, is running for lieutenant governor. 

“Tesha has first hand experience of what it is like to run a business in Vermont, a perspective that is very important to have in the Statehouse when shaping policies,” Kimbell said in a statement. “And she has worked to solve local child care needs, a real priority for working people and the entire state.”

Buss opened two businesses in Plymouth during the 2008 recession — Good Commons, a retreat home; and The Good Bus. Using resources from Vermont’s Small Development Center and a grassroots marketing approach, Buss grew both businesses. She continues to welcome guests to Good Commons.

Buss is experienced at renovating and permitting businesses at the state and local level, according to this week’s statement. She led the Rainbow Playschool Renovation Project and has seen firsthand how much money can be saved in energy efficient building. Through her efforts, Buss enabled the creation of many new childcare spots for infants and toddlers serving the towns in the Windsor County-5 district, Woodstock, Plymouth and Reading. She was also instrumental in opening The Community Campus to serve K-6 students in the hybrid schooling days of the pandemic and as a summer and after-school program.

Buss entered public service in 2009, serving as an Okemo Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce board member and as the president of the Ludlow Rotary Club. She learned her business skills growing up on her family farm in Illinois. Her family’s other business, a tavern called The Buss Stop, is now employee-owned 38 years later. Following her passion for dance, she earned a BFA from Illinois Wesleyan University, moved to New York City, and performed for 15 years including in the Broadway production of Cats. Seven seasons at The Weston Playhouse brought her to Vermont. 

“I want to see Vermont grow into a state where our next generation can make a living wage and small businesses can thrive,” said Buss, a single mother to an 8-year old. “I think of my own daughter and if she chooses a path of entrepreneurship when she’s older, I want Vermont to be a place of opportunity.”

— Gareth Henderson

Further campaign information can be found at www.teshabuss.com or by calling 802-245-4746.