Weathersfield
Democrat Annmarie Christensen, a longtime editor and journalist, is embarking on her first bid for the Legislature and facing Republican Stuart Lindberg, a worker in the home heating industry who ran in 2014 but lost by a slim margin to Huntley, a Cavendish Democrat.
Christensen said she vows to concentrate on the concerns of her constituents and will take the skills she learned through her journalism career and apply them to her time in office.
“I will listen to both sides of every issue and find common ground; I will represent everyone in my district, whether they voted for me or not,” said Christensen, 67, who previously served as news editor of the Valley News before overseeing publications for the Global Health Council and communications for a Dartmouth institute.
“From my years as being a reporter and editor, looking at things objectively is what I was trained to do,” she said.
Lindberg also pledges to hear out both sides and will push to increase accountability among his fellow legislators.
“I understand the proper role of government as defined by the Vermont Constitution,” said Lindberg, 48, who has worked for area public schools and served on school boards. “I will be a relentless advocate for the liberty and economic freedom of my fellow Vermonters.”
The two candidates for the Windsor-2 district, which represents Weathersfield and Cavendish, have similar views on some hot-button issues, but differences are apparent on gun control laws and how to proceed with state-run health care, among other topics.
Christensen and Lindberg both agree that Vermonters’ Second Amendment rights are important and should not be infringed upon.
Christensen, however, supports strengthening the background check system to prevent guns from falling into the hands of people who shouldn’t have them.
“I am not for taking guns away,” she said. “But I am for universal background checks.”
Lindberg, on the other hand, questions the wisdom of trying to fix a system that isn’t broken. “Vermont is one of the safest states and yet we have the most lenient gun laws,” he said. “That is absolutely a thing I don’t believe we should change.”
Lindberg called Vermont Health Connect, the state-run health care exchange program, an “unmitigated disaster.” Lindberg has firsthand experience with the system, as his children are enrolled.
He said he thinks the system, which has been riddled with technological difficulties, should be replaced, but slowly. Switching to another system — he suggested a system such as New Hampshire’s, which is on the federal exchange — is something he’d be open to, but it must be done carefully, he said.
“We have a number of people relying on (Vermont Health Connect) and we can’t let them dangle in the wind if we go to another system,” he said.
Christensen, too, said a new approach to health care would need to be done with caution. She, however, reserved judgment on whether Vermont Health Connect should be replaced until an independent study commissioned by the Legislature comes out.
“I need more facts before I make a decision,” said Christensen, who worked for the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. “You can’t jump from one failed system to another; it is expensive to do that.”
Both candidates said they are fiscally conservative. Christensen said she would oppose expanding the sales tax to more goods or services, and Lindberg said he believes Vermonters are “overtaxed.”
They both vowed to take a hard look at the budget and rein in spending where possible.
“I don’t spend money we don’t have,” Christensen said.
“You can’t spend more money than we are taking in,” Lindberg said.
They also agree that Act 46, the state’s school district merger law, doesn’t work for the people and schools in their district. Lindberg has served on the Cavendish Elementary School Board and the Two Rivers Supervisory Union Merger Board.
The initial thought was that Act 46 would save money, Lindberg said, but “it isn’t.”
“The entire premise of that bill is illogical,” he said. “I am for repealing it.”
Christensen called the act “rigid” and ineffective for those in Weathersfield and Cavendish. She said a law like Act 46, which could affect school choice enjoyed by Weathersfield, needs to be more flexible.
“It may work for some towns, but it isn’t working for more rural communities down here,” she said.
Asked about legalizing marijuana, Christensen said she supports small-scale recreational marijuana growth, such as allowing each Vermonter the opportunity to grow two plants for their own use. She said she wouldn’t want marijuana to become a “cash crop” for the state, nor would she want big tobacco companies to take over growing operations.
Lindberg said he supports marijuana for medicinal purposes but isn’t for legalizing recreational marijuana.
“The state should not be in the business of running marijuana lounges and setting itself up for a drug cartel,” he said.
Both said the state’s opioid crisis is a far bigger concern.
Opioids are part of the bigger picture and are “intertwined” with other issues pressing the state, Lindberg said.
“If someone can’t make their rent and they don’t have a good job, maybe medicating themselves on opioids is not such a bad alternative, if there is economic despair,” he said. “We have to look at all sides.”
Overall, he said, “We need to try to make repairs without adding to the damage.”
Christensen described the opioid epidemic as “twofold,” saying on one hand, “legal drugs” are getting into the hands of Vermonters through overprescribing, and on the other hand drugs are coming into the state illegally.
She proposes harsh sanctions for drug dealers and more resources for treatment centers.
“My focus will be on the opiate crisis that looms so large in our state,” Christensen said. “Seventy-six people died from opiate deaths last year in Vermont. These are people who we know either through our neighbors, our friends or, sadly, our families.”
Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com or 603-727-3248.