WEATHERSFIELD — Voters in Windsor District 2 will resolve in November who will symbolize them within the Vermont Home of Representatives.
On the poll to symbolize the Higher Valley city of Weathersfield, in addition to Cavendish, Vt. and Baltimore, Vt. are Democratic incumbent John Arrison, a 71-year-old Weathersfield resident, and impartial Stu Lindberg, a 54-year-old from Cavendish.
The 2 candidates provide voters differing views on abortion, faculty selection and the way greatest to deal with inflation and rising vitality prices.
Lindberg, a former member of the Cavendish Selectboard and Cavendish City Elementary Faculty Board, mentioned he opposes Article 22, a measure on Vermont’s poll this election season that, if handed, would amend the Vermont Structure to guard Vermonters’ reproductive rights.
He mentioned that the state at the moment has legal guidelines that permit abortion and defend individuals’s entry to contraceptives, so he doesn’t see a necessity for Article 22, which he mentioned is “out of step with mainstream America, intentionally obscure and undemocratic.”
“Does ‘private reproductive autonomy’ entail human cloning or surrogacy trafficking? These are cultural conversations that we needs to be having as a society in our state,” he mentioned. “Article 22 would stop these vital dialogues by completely tying the arms of legislators and voters.”
Arrison, a Weathersfield Selectboard member of 16 years, has a special place.
In a telephone interview he mentioned, “I feel it’s unlucky that the federal government turned concerned in a private choice in any respect” in reference to the Supreme Courtroom choice to overturn Roe v. Wade this previous June. Now that the federal government is concerned, he mentioned, “I assist Article 22.”
The 2 candidates additionally differ of their views on faculty selection and the way far tax {dollars} ought to go to observe college students ought to dad and mom discover their public faculty inadequate.
Lindberg mentioned he helps faculty selection, no less than partially as a result of he labored for six years on the Pine Ridge Faculty in Williston. His firsthand expertise taught him “the significance of permitting dad and mom to search out and place their kids within the best-suited and most applicable surroundings that meets their distinctive wants. Taxpayer {dollars} ought to observe each youngster to the perfect faculty obtainable to her or him, no matter whether or not it’s a public or personal establishment or a house education association.”
Arrison, who has served on the Home Schooling Committee, feels that “it’s whenever you begin sending taxpayer cash to non secular faculties, it turns into problematic.”
In the meantime, to curb inflation, Lindberg mentioned that he opposes suggestions made by the Vermont Local weather Council to boost carbon taxes and charges on house heating fuels.
“We are able to stop growing gasoline costs for these requirements on Vermonters who’re already struggling to make ends meet,” he mentioned. “If elected, I might be a stable no vote on any proposed taxes/charges that will artificially elevate the worth of vitality on Vermonters.”
Arrison additionally mentioned he would give attention to serving to low-income Vermonters and oppose tax raises as COVID-19 pandemic-era funds expire.
“The approaching session goes to be quite a bit totally different than the earlier session, in that within the earlier session we have been making an attempt to determine spend cash, within the coming session a lot of the federal cash could have been earmarked already, it’s going to be quite a bit harder to totally fund” packages that help low-income Vermonters with heating and vitality prices, he mentioned. “Any program it’s important to discover the funding, and I don’t assume there’s any urge for food for elevating taxes.”
The 2 candidates have differing views on addressing local weather change. Lindberg, a member of the Cavendish Volunteer Fireplace Division, mentioned the state already has carried out the groundwork to assist the surroundings.
“Vermont is the cleanest state, and our whole vitality consumption is the bottom of any state within the nation,” he mentioned.
He mentioned he would somewhat prioritize different points equivalent to “workforce depletion, an acute scarcity within the rental market (…) record-high prices of motorcar and residential heating fuels (…) middle-class and fixed-income households falling into poverty, staggering charges of drug overdose deaths, and a pointy enhance in violent crime.”
For his half, Arrison mentioned he wish to study how the state is making ready to maneuver away from fossil fuels.
“I’ve some critical considerations that we will not be placing sufficient emphasis on whether or not the electrical grid can assist the route we’re headed,” he mentioned.
Voting for Weathersfield voters will happen on Nov. 8 from 8 a.m. – 7 p.m., Martin Memorial Corridor, 5259 US Route 5, in Ascutney.
Vermont permits same-day registration. All registered voters ought to have obtained a mail-in poll.
Laura Koes may be reached at laurakoesjournalism@gmail.com.