CHELSEA — The six candidates running for the two-seat Orange 1 Vermont House district largely agree that Vermont needs to continue to be careful in addressing the coronavirus pandemic, though they differ slightly in their views about how far the state should reopen for business.
But they diverge sharply in how the Legislature should confront another global issue facing the state: climate change.
The two incumbents, state Reps. Carl Demrow, D-Corinth, who has served one term, and Rodney Graham, R-Williamstown, who has served three terms, embody that disagreement. Demrow, 55, voted in favor of the Global Warming Solutions Act, and voted for the successful override of Gov. Phil Scott’s veto of the climate change legislation. Graham, 56, cast no votes in both cases.
“We’ll have a statewide plan on how we meet our carbon emissions reduction targets,” said Demrow, who has worked as a teacher, in nonprofit management and is currently in construction. “I think that’s what we need.”
Graham, who operates his family’s century-old farm, said that whatever action the state takes to reduce carbon emissions, lawmakers need to ensure than no additional taxes or fees affect people living on fixed incomes. “We need to make sure they’re protected.”
He also echoed a concern voiced by Scott, who said that the unelected, 23-member Climate Council that the new law establishes, would have too much authority to act on its own. Demrow and other candidates said the Legislature would have a say in drafting new laws to enact the council’s plans.
How the law is read is in dispute. One section of the law says that the council “shall” create a “climate action plan” and that the state Agency of Natural Resources “shall” draft rules to implement it. But another part of the council’s charge says that it “shall recommend necessary legislation to the General Assembly” in areas that involve taxation and land use.
Kate MacLean, a Chelsea resident running as a Democrat, said she would “absolutely” have voted for the Global Warming Solutions Act. “The effects of climate change on rural Vermont are hitting people very acutely,” she said, pointing to this year’s lengthy drought. MacLean, 36, and her husband operate Longest Acres Farm and she is a member of the Chelsea Selectboard.
She is concerned about what future measures to address climate change will look like. “I worry about that disproportionately penalizing rural Vermonters,” she said.
Rama Schneider, 63, of Williamstown, is running as an independent, as he did in 2016. He ran in 2000 as a member of the Vermont Grassroots Party. Both previous campaigns were unsuccessful. He has had a varied career, including Army service, and was on the Williamstown School Board from 2009 to 2018.
He said he didn’t know how he’d have voted on the global warming bill, but said he was glad the Legislature overrode Scott’s veto. “It’s weak in the sense that it’s still dependent on the Legislature and the governor to do things,” he said of the new law. But, “it gives Jane and John Doe out on the streets a direct avenue to make the government pay attention.” The law allows citizens to sue the state if it doesn’t meet the law’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction requirements.
Former state Rep. Susan Hatch Davis, of Washington, fell short in the Democratic primary and is running as a Progressive . She had served the district for 10 years before losing re-election in 2016 by a whisker-thin margin. Davis, 67, also is a longtime state employee, a manager of network services.
She supports the global warming law, but sees it in a different light. “I think we also need to understand that there may be limited progress on climate change unless we also make progress on social and economic justice,” she said. People might want solar power at their homes, but even people who have decent jobs are living paycheck to paycheck, she said.
Samantha Lefebvre, of Orange, is at 25 the youngest of the candidates. She is an LNA at UVM Medical Center in Burlington and she and her husband own a bread delivery business. She is running as a Republican and said she would have voted against the global warming bill.
“There are no solutions actually besides burdening Vermonters with more regulations and taxes,” Lefebvre said.
Lefebvre was the lone candidate who said the state could do more to reopen its economy, particularly restaurants and entertainment venues. But all the candidates said the state should continue to take a cautious approach to the coronavirus.
Asked why they chose to run, the three candidates with legislative experience, Davis, Demrow and Graham, said they wanted to be present to help the Legislature get through the next budget year, which will likely require a combination of spending cuts and revenue increases to keep the budget balanced. Davis said she didn’t want to see austerity measures or deep cuts to services, and Graham said he didn’t want to see the state raise taxes. Demrow said his top issue, if he’s re-elected, is improving the equity of how the state funds its schools.
MacLean said her desire to run stemmed from her experience on the Chelsea Select board.
Lefebvre wants to encourage small business. And Schneider said he chose to run as a way to make himself useful.
The district represents the six towns of Chelsea, Vershire, Corinth, Washington, Williamstown and Orange.
Alex Hanson can be reached at ahanson@vnews.com or 603-727-3207.
