Brattleboro Reformer

State Senate race 
By Patrick Armstrong
October 25, 2002

The four candidates for the two vacant state Senate seats reached out to another portion of their prospective constituency Thursday night.

Republican candidates Mike Hebert of Vernon and Norman Wright of Westminster joined Democratic candidates Rod Gander of Brattleboro and Jeannette White of Putney for the second half of the forum.

Each candidate had a chance to express their views on a variety of issues ranging from sprawl to the state budget. One question asked by moderator Mike Harty was how the candidates would vote if the races for governor and lieutenant governor are decided upon in the Legislature, which will happen if none of the candidates in those races receives more than 50 percent of the votes, and how they would avoid allowing the Legislature to make the decision in the future.

"I will vote for the person who receives the most votes throughout the state," said Gander, adding that he was concerned about the secret balloting mandated if the races are sent to the Legislature. "I think the person with the plurality will be elected."

Gander said he would support an instant runoff voting system between the top two candidates in order to avoid having the Legislature decide the outcome of those races. White also said she would support instant runoff voting, and would vote in the Legislature for the candidate who "gets the most popular votes."

Wright, however, pointed out that the Legislature has had over 20 votes for governor and lieutenant governor over the past two centuries, and that he saw no reason to change that system.

"I would vote for the person who gets the most votes statewide if it's a clear majority," added Wright. "If it's not a majority, I would look at the person who got the most votes in Windham County, if it's a clear majority. If it's neither, I'll make up my own mind."

Hebert also indicated that he wasn't in favor of changing the Constitution. "I will vote for what the people of Windham County want -- the candidate who gets the plurality in Windham County," he added.

Among the other questions Harty asked were those about sprawl and the jobs created by it, versus preservation of the environment and jobs created through that process.

Gander said he felt strong efforts to revitalize downtown areas were the best way to go for communities. "The kind of sprawl I'm talking about doesn't produce the kind of jobs you want," he said.

White also said she was in favor of strengthening downtown areas for economic vitality, and that she was opposed to sprawl.

"The environment and the economy are not at odds," she added. "If we protect the environment, we can have the kind of economy we want."

Wright said that revitalizing downtown areas was part of a variety of solutions, but also indicated that sprawl could be helpful in small amounts.

"I think we have to address sprawl, but I think we have to address it in a different way," he said, adding that the most important thing was for communities to have plans to control growth.

Hebert proposed a variety of solutions, including having businesses move into existing vacant buildings rather than building new ones and attracting people to downtown areas.

"I don't believe that sprawl is a tool to create jobs, because the jobs it creates, outside of those building the buildings, are low-paying, service jobs," Hebert added. "We need to have intelligent development. We have to be creative."