7 seek Windsor County Senate seats

The seven candidates who hope to represent Windsor County in the Vermont Senate differ on everything from gun control to marijuana legalization, but perhaps the most far-reaching contrast is how to approach the thorny question of managing the state budget.

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7 Seek Windsor County Senate Seats Alison Clarkson Dick McCormack Alice Nitka Mark Donka Randy Gray Jack Williams Scott Woodward By Matt Hongoltz-Hetling Valley News Staff Writer Saturday, October 15, 2016 Print ELECTIONS VERMONT SENATE WINDSOR COUNTY ALISON CLARKSON RANDY GRAY ALICE NITKA DICK MCCORMACK SCOTT WOODWARD MARK DONKA JACK WILLIAMS Woodstock — The seven candidates who hope to represent Windsor County in the Vermont Senate differ on everything from gun control to marijuana legalization, but perhaps the most far-reaching contrast is how to approach the thorny question of managing the state budget — how much to raise, what to spend it on, and what cuts might be made to state government and services. “We’re spending more every year than we bring in. We’ve used up our rainy day funds. We increased taxes and fees $600 to $700 million in six years. It’s not sustainable.” That’s a good summary of the Republican point of view of strengthening the economy by lowering taxes to bring in more businesses, vocalized in this case by one of the candidates, Hartford Republican Mark Donka, 59, who works as a police officer in Woodstock. But there’s another point of view — that taxes can’t be cut without facing severe consequences from the scaling back of social services. “We are reducing things at our peril,” said state Rep. Alison Clarkson, 61, a Democratic lawmaker who has represented Woodstock in the Vermont House and now hopes to step up to the Senate. “We are inadequately funding opiate treatment and referral. We know that. Are we going to reduce it further?” Two incumbents — Democrats Dick McCormack, 69, of Bethel, and Alice Nitka, 71, of Ludlow, — are running to defend their seats in the three-seat district. Democrats put up Clarkson to fill the third seat, which was long held by Senate President Pro Tempore John Campbell, D-Quechee, who has left the Senate to become executive director of the Vermont Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs. The Democrats ran unopposed in 2014, but this year Republicans have a full slate of challengers in Donka, Springfield salesman Randy Gray and civil engineer Jack Williams, of Perkinsville. The last Republicans to represent Windsor County in the state Senate were the late Ruth Harvie, of Chester, in the 1995-96 session, and John Carroll, of Norwich, in the 1993-94 session. The seventh candidate is information consultant Scott Woodward, of Pomfret, who ran for a Vermont House seat in 2014 as a Republican, but now, at 48, has left that party and is running as an independent. Woodward said he would work to find savings in state government, and question expenditures rather than accept numbers as presented. “It’s more about the approach than targeting specific programs,” he said. “The Legislature should try as hard as possible to prevent adding new taxes. But I’m not afraid to spend money if what it is spent on is worthwhile.” He cited one example — a $4 million investment in energy efficiencies was approved, he said, but energy costs in one of the target agencies, the Department of Buildings and Grounds Services, have continued to climb. “It’s like the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing,” he said. “By my calculations, we could save a million a year by accounting for investments that have already been made.” Donka, a former Hartford selectman, agreed that a rigorous review would bring cost-saving opportunities to light. “Something has to be done,” he said. “It just can’t continue.” Clarkson offered a vocal defense of Vermont’s budget process, citing Appropriation Committee procedures designed to safeguard against wasteful spending. “I’m tired of hearing that we are spending too much money. It’s not like it’s just doled out,” she said. “It is scrutinized and they are duking it out at the end over a thousand dollars here or there. They are looking at every dollar.” She spoke about specific programs that are being underfunded. “In the judicial system we are down judges,” he said. “Our access to justice is challenged every time we choose not to fill a vacancy. That’s something that’s important to Vermont.” Though he couldn’t identify specific cuts, Gray said his business experience has taught him that “you could easily cut 5 percent by being more efficient.” Gray said agencies should be scrutinized for possibly top-heavy management teams. He favors reduced taxes on Social Security income and benefits for veterans. Gray and Williams both cited battling welfare fraud as an area of possible cost savings. Nitka has been the vice chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee for the past two budgets. “They were very, very difficult budgets to do,” she said. “But we wound up getting a balanced budget before we left.” She said the state is always working to find efficiencies, citing the Department of Environmental Conservation, where staff members are now cross-trained to fill in for each other, reducing payroll costs. Williams favors lowering business taxes in an effort to bring in more businesses and expand the tax base, ideally creating a positive cycle that would allow for continued lowering of property and retail taxes. McCormack said that, in the abstract, he supports efforts to stimulate the economy by making Vermont more attractive to businesses, but the principle often comes up against hard practicalities. “There is no disagreement that the lower the taxes, the better,” he said. “That said, there is a public interest. While exercising self-restraint, the government also has to have the will to act to protect the public interest. That means taxing enough to pay for the expense of protecting the public interest.” One example, he said, is “we have to provide our kids with a decent education.” Marijuana Williams, 67, has put in 26 years as an engineering technician at the Vermont Agency of Transportation. Prior to that, he spent 20 years in the military, and he said he identifies strongly with his local Baptist church. Last year, he drove to Montpelier to voice his opposition to the legalization of marijuana, and that interaction with legislators led to his current bid. He described his stance against legalization as “non-negotiable,” and favors harsh penalties for those who sell marijuana. “People say ‘It’s coming. We need to find a way to deal with it,’ ” he said. “I’m saying we need to stop it.” The issue has split lawmakers, but not along party lines. Nitka, who voted against legalization last year, and Donka, a 19-year member of Hartford’s police force, are both against the idea. “I don’t believe it should be sold at farmstands,” said Nitka, who said her focus is keeping it out of the hands of children. “That wouldn’t be good for our state.” Gray favors increased access to medical marijuana and industrial hemp, but he’s still not sure about recreational use. “I’d really want voters to give me more input on what they want done,” he said. McCormack and Clarkson favor legalization — McCormack voted in favor of it during the last session — as does Woodward. Woodward said he identifies with a model of “the New England Republican that no longer really exists.” He considers himself to be “fiscally conservative,” and differs with Democrats on whether problems such as a need for child care services can be reasonably afforded by the state. But he also identifies himself as “socially liberal,” which puts him at odds with Republicans. “I’ve always been pro-choice,” he said. “And there’s very little room left in the Republican party for anyone to hold pro-choice positions.” Education This year, lawmakers are expected to revisit Act 46, a 2015 education reform law that seeks to curb rising education costs by pushing districts to consolidate into larger, more cost-effective units over the next couple of years. The law has come under fire from school districts such as those in Hartland, Weathersfield and West Windsor, where residents would have to give up school choice in order to merge into a single district with Windsor, which operates a high school. Clarkson said the bigger picture is Act 46’s potential to bend the curve on rising education costs. “What I’m hearing is, everyone likes the status quo and they don’t want to pay for the status quo,” she said. Clarkson agreed the school choice issue needs to be resolved, but stopped short of saying she thinks it’s important to preserve school choice. “School choice is a reality at the moment,” she said. “It’s a reality. It’s one way we have solved the problem of not every community having a high school.” Other candidates agreed that something needs to be done to address the school choice issue, but they differed on how far changes should go. Nitka said the law needs only a tweak, to ensure school choice is not threatened. McCormack said Act 46 needs a major overhaul, and that one of the key components of the bill — forced consolidation — should be removed. But Woodward said a major overhaul of Act 46 “is not appropriate right now, because too much is in play.” Woodward said he was “agnostic” about school choice, but that the state needs to take an unambiguous and united stand on the issue. Donka, Gray and Williams all oppose the law because of the threat to local control. “If I’m elected I will move to have it repealed,” said Gray. “I’m that against it.” Gray, 46, grew up in Springfield and works in sales and office administration in Royalton. He said there hasn’t been enough choice on the ballot in recent election cycles, and that he chose this year to mount a campaign because “I’m in a financial position now where I can take the hit.” Gun Control Gun control is another issue that Democrats split on. Nitka said Vermont shouldn’t enact gun control laws that put it out of step with other states. “I’m willing to look at everything, but the fact is that we’ve done a lot already,” she said, citing recently approved laws that have made it more difficult for felons and people with mental illness to obtain firearms. “If there’s going to be any change, I think Vermont should not be going it alone.” The political victory fund of the National Rifle Association endorses Nitka in the race and issued “A” grades to the three Republican challengers. McCormack and Clarkson are graded “F,” while Woodward is not graded. Clarkson, who spent four years on the House Judiciary Committee and eight on the Ways and Means Committee, supports a safe storage bill; such laws would help reduce the number of teenage suicides and domestic violence deaths, she said. “If we can affect the health and safety, particularly of women, I think it’s incumbent upon us to do so,” she said. Woodward and McCormack also support universal background checks. “A careful reading of the Second Amendment should demonstrate that reasonable regulation is not an infringement,” McCormack said. “I think background checks and safe storage are reasonable.” Donka and Gray disagreed. “Vermont is the safest state in the nation,” Donka said. “We don’t have an issue. Why are we passing laws for a non-issue?” “I am pro-2A (the Second Amendment), period,” Gray said. “I’d leave it alone.” Williams said Vermont gun laws are where they should be, though he supports enforcement of background checks at gun shows. “I still don’t like them, but in this day and age, we have them, and it’s working OK,” he said. Health Care On health care, Williams and Gray said Vermont Health Connect, the state exchange, should be abolished altogether. “The deductibles are ridiculous,” said Gray. “The customer service, quite frankly, sucks. I think we need to take a different route.” Gray and Woodward would like to maintain a fundamentally free market, but force providers and pharmaceutical companies to have more transparency about their costs. “I understand there’s profit, but in the end, health care is a public good, and I don’t think hospitals and providers should be able to guard the pricing mechanism from the public view simply for the sake of making a profit,” Woodward said. Williams, Woodward, and Donka all said the key to reducing health care costs is through increased competition among providers and insurance companies. Woodward also said a major obstacle to state government reining in health care entities is a simple lack of understanding. “It’s so complex that we as a state, as a government, really don’t hold them accountable to the degree that we need to in order to reduce health care costs,” he said. Indeed, confusion is a component of much discussion surrounding the proposal by Gov. Peter Shumlin’s administration to expand an all-payer system for Medicare and Medicaid recipients. In the new system, more providers would be paid based on their patient populations instead of the volume of services provided, as happens under the still-predominant fee-for-service system. Nitka, Clarkson, Gray and McCormack all said they need to learn more about it before developing a strong opinion. “Often politicians speak in euphemisms, and if a politician says ‘I have doubts,’ that’s a polite way of saying ‘I’m against it.’ Well, I’m not against all-payer, but I do have doubts. I have questions,” said McCormack. Woodward was skeptical of all-payer, and said proponents have not fully appreciated certain obstacles, including shifting costs to the private sector. Williams and Donka, who cited Shumlin’s failed promise to move Vermont to a single-payer system, are opposed to the idea. “I don’t believe all-payer is going to work,” Donka said. “It’s another guinea pig that the governor is trying to push through, and we all know how the last program he tried to push through worked. It didn’t.” The candidates will meet next on Thursday, at 7 p.m., at a forum in the Ludlow Town Hall Auditorium. Event organizers say all seven candidates have indicated they will participate.