HARTFORD — The six Democrats competing for three Senate seats from Windsor County explained how they’d address core issues in Vermont during a forum Monday. After the August primary eletion, only three will make it onto the November ballot.
The candidates:
• Ben Brickner has been on the Pomfret Selectboard for five years and is the current chair.
• State Rep. Elizabeth Burrows of West Windsor has been in the Legislature for six years.
• Heather Chase, of Chester, was a state representative from 2023 to 2025, has been a registered nurse for 43 years and serves on the Vermont Economic Progress Council.
• Chris Dube of Hartford served over 32 years in the town fire department, and is president of Professional Firefighters of Vermont.
• Incumbents Becca White and Joe Major are seeking reelection. Alison Clarkson, after 22 years in the Legislature, has opted not to run.
White is the youngest state senator, finishing her fourth year after two terms in the House. Major was elected to the Hartford Selectboard eight years ago and is wrapping up his first term in the state Senate.
The six candidates responded to 11 questions, in 90 seconds each, proposing solutions to statewide concerns.
Housing
Major pointed out that the former Windsor prison sits dormant but costs $250,000 per year to maintain. Developing it could help provide affordable housing and bring in revenue.
White thinks an affordable housing trust subsidy program, such as what she used, would draw more young people to Vermont.
For Burrows, housing solutions need to start at a small community level and work their way up.
Dube said he has seen the homelessness problem firsthand as a first responder, and considers the vacant prison a possible opportunity to provide housing for people in need.
Education and child care
Dube said New Mexico has adopted universal child care, and Vermont could follow in those footsteps.
Chase said she wants more transparency in budgeting for education, and called for a report on Act 76, which created a near-universal child care and early childhood education system in Vermont.
“It’s been implemented for two years now, and so I would want to look at that and then see where we can tweak it to spread it out,” Chase said.
Brickner pointed out that schools often provide social services beyond the level of funding they have.
“If we are going to have schools that do that, we need to recognize that that’s going to cost more than simply providing a good education,” Brickner said.
Health care
Brickner said a universal primary health-care system would pay off in the long run through its prevention efforts, particularly because of Vermont’s high-risk pool.
White suggested cutting executive salaries and investing in a program in which Vermont pays the cost difference to switch from Medicare to Medicaid.
“That’s not just your pocketbook; that’s people deciding to go to the hospital or get their prescription,” said White.
Chase said nurses need more support, and with better opportunities in health care education and affordable housing, care could be more accessible, she said.
Burrows said investing in rural health care and offering clinics where needed are a must. She favors a universal primary care system and capping health insurance premiums based on a household’s annual income.
Energy
Gov. Scott vetoed a bill that would have regulated data centers. Burrows noted Scott was originally supported the bill but shot it down after it underwent iterations. She suggests reworking the idea to get it passed.
Dube said AI and data centers are inevitable. He wants companies to mitigate their environmental and financial damage.
White doesn’t think Vermont needs to accept a future with data centers. She favored S205, which would have banned data center for five years in Vermont, but time expired for considering the bill.
Major said two floods and drought in the past few years devastated farmers. He believes farmers need state support to combat climate change.
“Using renewable energy, not using fossil fuels, will absolutely not only help farmers, but would help lower cost of food, help universal school meals,” Major said.
All six candidates favor incentives for renewable energy, such as solar power.
The forum ended before all the questions submitted by audience members could be considered.
What audience members thought
Joan Vogel of Hartford said that, while a six-candidate forum can’t respond to every issue, she was pleased to hear from the candidates. Vogel likes the two incumbents, and for her it’s about choosing a third person.
“There’s no one I didn’t like,” Vogel said.
She wanted to hear more about federal concerns, and worries about transgender rights and inclusivity under President Trump.
Jesse Pollard of Hartford said he was relieved to hear White’s comments about district heating and transportation, and liked Burrow’s thoughts on progressive tax reform.
June Goodband, a Springfield resident running for governor in the Peace and Justice Party, wished the candidates had spoken about corporate impacts on the cost of living.
The organizations that sponsored the forum and provided questions were Let’s Grow Kids Action Network; Planned Parenthood Vermont Action Fund; Rights And Democracy; Vermont Conservation Voters, VPIRG; Vermont Chapter of the Sierra Club; Vermont NEA; and ACLU Vermont.
