Democrats in Hartland, West Windsor and Windsor will choose to usher in a new era in the state house representing the three towns or welcome a blend of familiar and new faces in primary elections next week.
Incumbent John Bartholomew of Hartland faces a challenge from newcomers Dylan Morse, also of Hartland, and John Tansey of Windsor for the two seats representing the three towns. Voters will choose who lands the Democratic bids for the Windsor-1 district Tuesday.
Rep. Elizabeth Burrows D-Windsor is not seeking reelection, instead pursuing an open Senate seat representing Windsor County. No Republicans are running for the seats.
Affordability is one of the most pressing issues facing Vermont this election cycle as the cost-of-living continues to rise and funding sources outside of taxation, like federal allocations, continue to dwindle. Education is also top-of-mind for many voters, as school districts and legislators grapple with next steps in a statewide voluntary school consolidation plan set in motion by Act 73.
John Bartholomew: Create more tax categories
Bartholomew, of Hartland, was first elected to the Vermont House of Representatives in 2010. He was born in Philadelphia and moved to Hartland in 2005.
He believes voters in the district will benefit greatly from reelecting one Representative with experience instead of ushering in two brand new candidates. “It takes a long time to really understand how the legislature works and to have an influence,” Bartholomew, 71, said Monday.
A retired veterinarian and captain in the U.S. Public Health Service, Bartholomew currently serves as vice chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, Food Resiliency and Forestry. He is also a member of the House Rules Committee and a former member of the house committees on transportation and environment. Sustainability has been one of his “biggest passions” in the legislature.
On affordability, Bartholomew said the state should look into creating more property tax categories, including a higher tax bracket for the wealthiest Vermonters and taxes on second homes.
On education, while Bartholomew said he is pleased that the legislature did not move forward with forced school district consolidation, he is “not convinced that mergers at all are the right answer.”
Bartholomew was in office when Act 46 took effect in 2015 that resulted in the Windsor and West Windsor school districts merging and he “didn’t see any increase in educational outcomes, at least in my district, and I didn’t see any cost savings.”
He said a new funding formula under Act 73 is “very troubling” especially for towns like Hartland that pay high school tuition to other towns and have little control over education costs.
Dylan Morse: Keep and attract more residents
Morse, 23, believes a younger candidate will serve the district well.
He hopes to represent “working people like my family” in the district and address a “disconnect” between the government and rural working people in Windsor County.
Morse is a Hartland native who attended Hartford High School and moved back to the Upper Valley in May after attending college at George Mason University in Virginia. He served on the Hartford School Board while in high school and has worked as an intern at the state house in Montpelier and for Senator Peter Welch in Washington D.C. He is currently working with his father digging trenches for fiber internet installation.
He is keeping affordability top of mind in his campaign.
To address rising costs Vermont must “be in the business of keeping and attracting residents, and that starts with housing,” Morse said. The legislature should focus on modernizing Vermont’s housing stock.
As for education, Morse also said he is opposed to forced school consolidation and likes the idea of sharing resources among supervisory unions.
He is also concerned about the Act 73 education funding formula that allocates school funding based on student population and lowers caps on supplemental spending that come with steep penalties.
“I think that could be really devastating for Windsor County, especially, where education costs are so high,” Morse said. “I think there’s got to be a more collaborative way to reduce costs rather than simply ‘get under this level or face double taxation.'”
John Tansey: Find ways to bridge divide
Tansey, 63, is set to retire as executive director of the Frank J. Guarini Institute for International Education at Dartmouth Friday.
He was born and raised in Windsor and has lived there all his life, with the exception of time spent volunteering with the Peace Corps. Since returning to Windsor in 2000, Tansey has served on local school boards, economic development groups, the Windsor Selectboard, boards of trustees for Upper Valley hospitals and more.
He believes his “really rich cross sector experience” makes him a strong candidate and he is also focused on leading with “decency,” which he said has waned in society and politics in recent years.
“We shouldn’t tolerate hateful speech or hateful action,” Tansey said. “But, we should reinforce the need to engage responsibly and respecfully and find ways to bridge the divide.”
Like Morse, Tansey believes a key step in making Vermont more affordable lies in building more housing and jobs “in a responsible way that’s respective of Vermont’s beauty and working landscape.”
Like his counterparts, Tansey opposed forced school district consolidation and said voluntary consolidation is “the right approach for now.”
Though he said some change seems necessary to reduce education costs and improve outcomes, he is unconvinced that consolidation delivers those results and said local schools help build “community fabric.”
Voting in Vermont’s primary elections takes place on Tuesday, Aug. 11.
