Residents meet, question House candidates

Five Springfield candidates for the Windsor 3-2 State House District shared their thoughts on topics including taxes, the environment, economic development and marijuana at a Meet the Candidates night on Tuesday, Sept. 27 at the Hartness House Inn.


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Video: Meet the Candidates Night

(Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce video)

Video: Closing Statements

Residents meet, question House candidates By TORY JONES BONENFANT toryb@eagletimes.com Taking part in a community candidate forum on Tuesday, Sept. 27, from left, were Independent George McNaughton, Republicans Scott Frye and Dennis Pine, and Democrat incumbents Rep. Alice Emmons and Rep. Robert “Bob” Forguites. At left, standing, is moderator Larry Kraft. — TORY JONES BONENFANT Taking part in a community candidate forum on Tuesday, Sept. 27, from left, were Independent George McNaughton, Republicans Scott Frye and Dennis Pine, and Democrat incumbents Rep. Alice Emmons and Rep. Robert “Bob” Forguites. At left, standing, is moderator Larry Kraft. — TORY JONES BONENFANT SPRINGFIELD — Five Springfield candidates for the Windsor 3-2 State House District shared their thoughts on topics including taxes, the environment, economic development and marijuana at a Meet the Candidates night on Tuesday, Sept. 27 at the Hartness House Inn. All five announced candidates for the Springfield seat participated in the event. Democrat incumbents Rep. Alice Emmons and Rep. Robert “Bob” Forguites, who both hold a seat and are running for re-election, joined Republicans Scott Frye and Dennis Pine and Independent George McNaughton at the table for a Q-and-A session at the Hartness House ballroom. “I think we are very fortunate we’ve got five dedicated people to look after our concerns,” said Springfield resident Marion Stearns, who attended on Tuesday evening. The public forum, hosted by the Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce, offered a cozy setting in which about 35 members of the public listened and asked questions in the session moderated by Larry Kraft, a member of the SRCOC board. SRCOC Executive Director Caitlin Christiana also welcomed visitors to the event and asked questions. Frye, during candidate introductions, said that he was new to legislative duty, but wanted to serve his community. Pine said he signed up as a candidate when he was frustrated with “moving toward socialism,” and put his name on the ballot. McNaughton has had experience serving on various governing boards and committees, and currently serves on the Springfield Selectboard. After each candidate gave a brief biography and a statement on why they had chosen to run for a seat, audience asked questions that any candidate could choose to answer, with a two-minute response time limit. Questions varied from Christiana and audience members, and included queries on the candidate’s viewpoints and how they would vote on several current issues. One question was on what the incumbents would do to promote prosperity in Springfield. Answers ranged from Emmons’ suggestion on working with young families to keep them in the area, to Pine’s thoughts on letting businesses operate without government interference, to Frye’s exasperation with high taxes, and his suggestion that reducing taxes would help keep shoppers on the Vermont side of the river. McNaughton said that wages paid in Springfield are higher than in other nearby towns, but that the wages actually being received are lower, and that legislators could try to adjust the “hit” on the middle class. In response to a question on marijuana legislation, all the candidates weighed in. Forguites mentioned his recent votes on two bills in the House, one from the senate to legalize marijuana — which he voted against, saying that the House was “not ready” — and a second bill to decriminalize marijuana, for which he voted in favor, though it did not pass. “If you look at the polls, a good share of Vermont is in support of it,” he said. Emmons said she voted against the senate version because it was a “corporate version.” She said she had voted in favor of the second bill, which she said included growing two plants. That bill lost by seven votes, she said. Now, work is being done in the House and Senate, she said. “If we’re going to regulate marijuana, and legalize it, let’s do it the right way,” she said. Pine said that he would vote with what his constituents wanted, if elected. Frye said that he is still up in the air on medical marijuana, and he was not sure how the two-plants rule would be regulated, but that it would be a “great tax generator.” McNaughton called the leadership in Montpelier a “failure” this year on the issue, and said that legislators could have regulated marijuana like alcohol, with limited licenses. “The House leadership was in total disarray,” he said. He said decriminalization has the “worst results” because it increases supply without any benefits of regulation. He also said he is in favor of each community having the choice to opt out. Steve Geller, who identified himself as the executive director for Southeastern Vermont Community Action (SEVCA), asked the candidate panel where each would “draw the line” on where regulations should end in regard to government, jobs, monopolies and free enterprise. Answers from the candidates ranged from Frye’s discussion of the “mischaracterization” of a laissez-faire economy, to McNaughton’s statement that Vermonters have “duplicate permits” that favor oligarchic corporations, to Emmons spotlighting “big box stores” paying low wages as creating a gap, which “is the struggle.” Forguites mentioned recent legislation that is attempting to reduce the number of required permits for business, while Pine talked about choice in employment, and workers’ rights to protest and unionize. Environment, global warming, toxins to pollinators, carbon tax and natural resources also came up for discussion among the audience’s questions before the Q-and-A session closed at 8:30 p.m. All 150 seats in the chamber are up for election in 2016. As of the 2010 census, a total of 9,042 civilians reside within Vermont's Windsor-3-2 state house district, according to Ballotpedia, an encyclopedia of American politics. The Vermont general election is scheduled for Nov. 8. All polling locations in the state will open between 5 and 10 a.m., depending on the town, and all polls are scheduled to close at 7 p.m.