 Good evening and welcome to the state representative Washington 6 candidates forum This program is part of a series being presented by the bridge in Orchid media to help voters Get to know their candidates better Washington 6 includes the towns of callous Marshfield in Plainfield This is a one-seat district the current incumbent shows not to run for reelection So it is an open seat All eligible candidates were invited to participate Participate not just those representing a major party. I Am Keith ghostland. I am one of the co-hosts of the Orchid media show all things LGBTQ and I will be tonight's moderator My condolences to start a Reminder please vote all Registered voters should have received a ballot in the mail Please read the instructions carefully and remember to sign and date your ballot If you have not received a ballot, please contact your local town clerk Now to review the format for tonight. Yes, it's that time. Make sure your snacks are ready and adjust the recliner Here we go This is a forum not a debate Candidates will not be asking questions of each other However, if you are watching this live, you may call into Orchid media at 802 224 9901 if you have a question Somebody will write it down put down your first name Town of residence and then provide it to me to ask as time allows Each candidate is going to be given up to two minutes for an introductory statement They will also be offered one minute for a closing statement at the conclusion of tonight's forum. I Will alternate questions between the candidates though so that one candidate is not always answering first The order of questions has been randomly assigned and the candidates were not Provided with copies of the questions in advance Each candidate will be given up to a minute and a half for their response There was a timer in the studio to keep track and if there's an indication I may ask for a brief follow-up. I Will continue to ask questions back and forth and I have five pages Until we run out of time So and the questions came from a request on front porch forums for community input Input from the staff of both the bridge in Orchid media and some of my own questions So that's hopefully enough of me so let's meet tonight's participants and Introducing in the order in which you appear on the ballot. This is Tina Golan running as a Republican and Who resides in the town of Calis? correct and This is Mark Mahaly Democrat Who also resides in the town of Calis so welcome? Thank you So Tina if you would like to start with your two-minute opening remark Thank you, Keith Hello, my name is Tina Golan my pronouns are she her And I have noticed over the past few elections in Washington County the lack of a Republican or conservative choice or In fact a lack of a woman choice candidate. I am your conservative choice and Vermont voice I Stand for the working class who don't always have a voice because they're too busy working We are currently experiencing a housing crisis Housing is not a Republican issue. It is not a Democrat issue. It is an American issue Society needs to ensure a roof over everyone's head Housing is a basic need My platform is basically housing and conservation Common sense solutions Constitutional rights Common ground and core values And I would like to address veteran friendly programs. I believe that cooperation Compromise in collaboration Are all required to make the policies to benefit all parties. I Will work across the party lines to adjust policies when necessary My background is I am a fifth generation New Englander I grew up in Plainfield and attended Twin Field Then we moved to Calis to attend U32. I graduated from Keen State College with a BA in environmental journalism And then I moved back to Calis in 2001 to be next to my family. Thank you Mark your opening statement will thank you Keith and thanks to Orca for Hosting this and thank you Tina for sharing the This platform for this election to fill the seat now occupied by Janet Ansell Who is retiring at the end of this term leaving very large shoes to fill Since stepping down. Oh, I'm Mark Mahaly. I live in East Calis with my wife Chris who's a children's book author We have three children and four grandchildren and another on the way I love rural Vermont because of its amazing wonderful people and its unique landscape and I used to be the Dean of Vermont Law School and since stepping down I have just devoted my time to local issues. I'm the vice chair of the Calis Select Board and I'm deeply involved in the effort to revitalize the East Calis store and also to Strengthen the dam at Curtis Pond. So the pond continues to exist These are areas where groups of local volunteers were able to make really great things happen by leveraging state and federal funds And it's that effort and its success that has made me really thinks hard about running for this office and in that effort I've spent months knocking on doors listening to the voters of our three towns and The issues are obvious housing is out of reach for normal people the cost of propane and oil Has gotten to the point where a lot of people are telling me they they really don't know whether they're going to be able to heat their houses So these problems require attention and resources from the state government We can't do them by ourselves and for that we need to have effective consistent strong thoughtful Representation in Montpelier. So the financial decisions in Montpelier and The laws made there serve our purposes. Thank you so Tina the first question is to you and This is an easy one What do you believe is the most important issue facing your district? And if you're elected to the Vermont House, how will you use that role to improve? life in your district Affordable housing is the main issue that I will address at the state level Basically, we have collected as real tours for the past 20 years a transfer tax. It's called a sales tax That you pay when you buy a house. So we've collected thousands of dollars per transaction and All of that money was earmarked originally to go towards affordable housing, which was never built so we need to accommodate for the growing population in central Vermont and What I will do is make sure that I hold these state legislators and Policymakers accountable for where the money has gone because I have gone to the state and asked where did this money go? And it's gone to the general fund. So where is the money being spent on affordable housing is the issue that I'm trying to resolve Thank you and a 30-second follow-up If you were elected How will you maintain open communication with the constituents in your district? as a realtor my phone is on every day 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and you can call me anytime with your issues and I will bring them and address them For middle-class low-income class. They need to be heard and addressed Thank You Tina. So mark. I think the big issue is rural economic Revitalization, I mean rural Vermont is in trouble like a lot of rural America things have to change so that people can afford to live here and to heat their homes and Find decent child care here. Child care is kind of the base of economic development so and then and to be able to send their kids to a local school a local primary school where The kids learn Who their neighbors are and and are safe so? Specifically I think we have to leverage state and federal dollars to work on child care and to help Reduce the price of housing to work with local districts to build more housing in village centers We have to build them in village centers. We don't want to grow subdivisions in our beautiful agricultural areas and to Replace find ways to assist people to weatherize their homes and replace With the enormous amount of money that we spend on oil in Vermont with renewable resources And the 30-second follow-up of how would you maintain to open? You know the legislature meets four days a week and the fifth day a week Will be in I will be in the district and I think the best way to do it is with coffees Well, actually I'm a tea person, but coffees so to speak in each of the three towns You know just announce I'm going to be at such and such a place come see me I think that's one way to do it and to see to meet with the The select boards All right. Thank you So the next question we're going to start with you mark Elections security and integrity has been an active discussion both nationally and here in Vermont Do you believe the legislature should make changes to Vermont selection process? And if so what changes would you support? I? Do think we have very good election laws here compared to a lot of other states But that's a pretty low bar I do there think there are things we could do One of the things we can do is make it easier to vote right now We're trying to do that we register people when they apply for driver's license They can check a box and register But I think we can reach out more and find additional ways to sort of make registration almost automatic We have same-day registration, but I think we have to make it even easier The other thing I think we have to do is to create a voter pamphlet Other states it's not all of them But some of them you get this little phone book in the mail when you get your ballot and it lists each Candidate and a statement by that candidate and maybe even an opportunity for people who support the candidate to be listed And if there are issues on the ballot, which we don't have that much that as well But I think I think a pamphlet a voter pamphlet would be a really great thing. I Think those two things other than of course, I think we should be teaching civics starting in first grade Really really civics has become important and we have to push it Thank you Tina question Election security and integrity has been an active discussion both nationally and here in Vermont Do you believe the legislature should make changes to Vermont's election process? And if so, what changes would you support? I? believe that we should have oversight at the election Where when you put your ballot in there should be people overseeing the process and We should definitely have Mail-in voting That is Across the board that works really well for people to mail in their ballots in other states You can do that so easily and it's much more easy to vote in other states but the Thing is again with the working class. I believe that they don't get a chance to vote sometimes because they're working and Election day happens to be on a weekday and this is also an issue with town meeting on a weekday Maybe there should be voting on a Saturday or a Sunday I'm not sure what would help the turnout But basically I feel that the younger generation does not vote enough and we need to get out there and Help students understand their rights because I've been voting since I was 18 years old every election and That's my right, so I believe that we need to instill that in the younger generation and make them Get up and vote Thank you, and thank you for being an active voter here in Vermont So Tina the next question we are going to start with you In response to the growing debate Surrounding reproductive rights the Vermont legislature completed the process to create Proposition 5 amendment 22 that would add reproductive freedom protections into the Vermont Constitution Do you support this amendment? Yes, I am pro-choice Obviously as a woman I believe it's the woman's choice But I also believe that it's between the conversation between the woman and her doctor that is of most importance And that the state doesn't have a right to tell a woman what to do with her body or when Thank you Mark we're completely in agreement on this issue. I support prop 22 I don't think this is about whether one thinks that abortion is a good thing or not Because if one doesn't want to if a woman doesn't want to carry a child to term She can choose to have the abortion if she does thinks that it's wrong to have the abortion She doesn't have to the real issue is should we use the power of the state to tell women what they can do with their Bodies or in the case of sterilization it could be men as well, and I think the answer is absolutely not Now current law in Vermont pretty much protects that right But I think that enshrining in the Constitution makes it more permanent more protected and most in a way really important in right now Tells the other states where we stand and this is really important I do think we're going to have some work to do to protect people who travel to Vermont in order to terminate pregnancy and to protect our Healthcare providers from efforts from out of state to reach into Vermont and penalize them That's going to take some work on the legislature's part. All right. Thank you So the next question we're going to start with mark But I feel as though I'm giving you both an easy opening here because it's Housing is becoming a critical issue in Vermont How should Vermont approach the issue of housing looking both at the need for affordable and accessible Housing and the potential conflict of development versus environmental concerns So starting with you mark. Okay, so we both said it's a crisis and everybody knows that It's pretty complicated. It's not going to be easy to solve this issue on the low and moderate income side We are really lucky in Vermont to have the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board VHC be and the legislature has appropriated more money in recent years to VHC be to build low and moderate income housing and subsidize it and I think We've been able to this is an area where we've been able to leverage federal funding Although we have to be careful because that funding isn't permanent I think we have to make it easier to build in village centers and There's a lot of ways we can do that But we have to work with local government so that there's this is a Collaborative process and we make it easier to build housing even multifamily housing in village centers Or and accessory dwellings on people's property We also need middle income housing support because people of middle income can't afford housing either now So we need for more first-time buyer how assistance than we have and I think we can have indirect help to the young by tuition support debt relief and And but we just have to be careful how we do it so we don't turn into San Jose, California And have huge sprawl on our beautiful and change our landscape Thank you Tina Okay, so To create more housing There needs to be money obviously Phil Scott has done a good job with Allocating 250 million dollars this year of ARPA funds and COVID money towards middle income housing and restoring Duplexes multi-family apartment buildings, so we're on the right track Although when we run out of that money at the end of the year, we do need to figure out where we're going to Bring more funds in and this is my issue again with the transfer tax We collected as realtors last year eighty three million dollars that was earmarked for affordable housing and Conservation which are two separate entities and then they put on an extra tax for the Lake Champlain fund So the money is dwindling away from housing So that's a big thing Due to act 250 there are complications and building restrictions that need to be rolled back or modified and I know the state is working on that for next year 2023 so that would Help septic laws are also very stringent in the state, which makes it very hard to build as well Thank you. I noticed that both of you are being very conscious of the timer and I thank you for that So Tina the next question is back to you first again Gun related violence is on the increase both nationally in here in Vermont Should the Vermont legislature enact additional gun measures? And if so, what measures would you support? I Support gun rights for hunters in Vermont and sportsmen. I Believe that the ArmaLite AR 15 in particular Was made for army use only in that particular gun if someone under the age of 21 Wants to purchase one. Maybe they should enter the army and learn how to use it first so I stand with the sportsmen and their use and for hunting and Fishing and trapping and and they have a bill of rights themselves to sportsmen. So I believe that Vermonters are very Educated about gun use they have to take hunting and fishing courses. They have to take Have a orange card to use the hunting and the gun they have to take gun course and They are very accountable when it comes to handling guns. I believe that they should be locked up in the house and That is my stance Thank You Tina mark well, I also support hunting I don't post we don't post our land and Hunters have been really polite and great with us I Don't think that there's any place for automatic weapons outside of the military in American society and would support efforts to limit them. I I'm open to further limitations on gun ownership age of ownership and longer waiting periods and just closing loopholes I'm also concerned. This was not a pro about keeping our kids safe in schools This is not a problem that any one of any of us really want to face it's And it's something we really thought wasn't a problem here in Vermont But it turns out as the governor found out that it is and we have to be I think Really thoughtful about protecting our kids in school without turning schools into a fortress I mean, we don't want to get to a situation where kids really they feel Unsafe in school because there's so much protection, but I think we have to be really thoughtful about it All right. Thank you mark So mark the next question Current changes in extreme weather patterns are demonstrating the impact of climate change Are there actions for Mont should take in response to climate change? And if so, what would you support? You know, I've spent much of my I've been an environmental lawyer all my life spent a lot of my energy on energy issues I think we have to really reduce our dependence on oil Vermont spends about a billion that's be billion dollars a year on Oil and natural gas to heat homes and that money does not stay in Vermont Most of it goes to Petro States or Texas and it's really it doesn't it doesn't help us economically. It hurts us So we need to to solve that we need to weatherize our homes We have 90,000 homes to weatherize in Vermont and we need to change the heating systems into clean heat which could be advanced wood pellet stoves, etc or it could be heat pumps well all of that costs money and We need to leverage federal money and some of our state money to make that happen last year The legislature passed overwhelmingly the clean heat standard which would have done that and the governor vetoed it Which I think was a terrible mistake. We almost overrode the veto, but this year some version of that has to pass I also think we need to support electric cars. They're too expensive now We have to subsidize them, but I would aim the subsidy at used electric cars So that people of lesser means can acquire them So the end I I think energy is what we have to focus on Thank you, Tina So as a specialist with climate change in college I learned about this 25 years ago I moved back to Vermont To be an environmental journalist and went to Marcellus Parsons and asked for a job at that time They didn't care about the environment 20 years ago, but now it comes to be a big issue and I would start myself with the school systems. I think that the school systems are using a lot of Resources that are unnecessary first starting with the buses the buses do not need to be a Full-length bus that would accommodate the whole population of that one school they need to Consolidate to smaller vehicles to run the kids around to school and Then look into different heating sources and maybe smaller school buildings to accommodate the smaller populations. I Also believe that we do need to stop using so much oil for heating fuel So there are alternatives that I work with on a daily basis when selling homes as a realtor in central Vermont And those are heat pumps and we can use propane instead. We can use wood or pellets And there are many options to reduce the dependence on oil. I Want to remind the people who may be watching this live that if you have a question that you would like posed to the candidates Please call orca media at 8 0 2 2 2 4 9 9 0 1 and the question will be relayed on So Tina now they now that you've had a brief pause The Vermont legislature has made several attempts to increase the minimum wage Do you believe the minimum wage should be increased and if so to what level? so It needs to be increased Generously to accommodate the living standards in Burlington I believe you have to make twenty seven dollars an hour to live in Burlington so it's Has to go up to a minimum of twenty dollars an hour I would think and the businesses aren't fond of this of course They don't want to pay a higher minimum wage, but I have lived across the country I have lived in different states and I know as a previous waitress in college that In some states you only get two dollars an hour, so it's a big issue across the country and it needs to be considered Minimum wage needs to be more than fifteen dollars an hour closer to twenty dollars an hour So I just want to clarify that Based on your answer you see the minimum wage as needing to be the livable wage Correct. Thank you. So mark and I also support me. I support a livable wage Okay, and we do have actually compared to other states a pretty good minimum wage here, but it's not enough It's not enough to for a person to live on You know one of the things that's happening in Vermont is we're seeing Highly skilled workers who know computers and that stuff getting jobs with Google and Apple who's telling them Hey, you don't have to live anywhere. You can live where you want So they live in Vermont, but their wage scale is the app the national Apple or Google wage scale and But the people who clean their houses who service and restaurants who take care of our kids They don't have that kind of national wage pressure and so we're seeing this divide and I think it's up to us to really do something about that And the livable wage is a way to do that. We do have to be careful about one thing We have to be careful about what's called the benefit cliff That is we have to make sure that people don't We don't set a livable wage such that people lose more state and federal benefits than they gain by the increase In the livable wage, so it has to be done thoughtfully and phased in I think So that businesses particularly small businesses can adjust this can be very difficult for them Thank you so Mark back to you the Vermont Legislature has made several attempts to pass paid family and medical leave Would you support paid leave? Yes? absolutely almost every advanced industrial country provides generous paid family and medical leave It's it's people talk about being pro family One of the best ways you can possibly be pro family is to have generous medical leave If we don't do it at the state level that is if we don't do it by law it means that Businesses don't really have an incentive to do it. In fact, their incentive is to try to avoid spending money Unnecessarily, so I think that it helps businesses if we have a level playing field and the way to have a level playing field Is to have that kind of a leave and by the way people are worried about That we don't have the population and the jobs people here We don't have the working population that we need to do things and there's certainly truth to that. Well If we have strong livable wage and we have strong Family leave Benefit program it will really attract people to come to this state and that's important 30-second follow-up part of previous conversations have been should there be a maximum Limit on how much leave could be granted or requested of course And and do you have a sense of what no, I don't know the amount, but of course we you want to prevent abuse of any program like this and People can self-finance after a certain point, but what you really want to do is create a floor Okay, thank you Tina This is pertaining to state jobs You could you could direct your answer to state versus private if you would like to Yes, so I believe that paid leave should be for medical and perhaps pregnancy and They should have I would think a three month term of paid leave to accommodate for Unexpected medical Hospital You could be in the hospital for two or three months who knows and After a pregnancy you need some time to adapt to your new family So I believe it's really important for people to have paid medical leave and at the state level They should incorporate that for sure and then it would be up to each company to decide if they would provide that Okay, so what I'm hearing you say just to clarify is that the state should be required If it's a private business that it would be a voluntary buy-in process Just I would add my answer was both public and private okay and mandatory all right. Thank you so Tina There have been a series of Incidents recently targeting the lgbtq plus communities both nationally and here in Vermont is we've seen by threat surrounding drag Queen story hours hosted by local libraries the Vandalizing of rainbow and transgender flags and the targeting of transgender athletes in public schools If elected would you support strengthening Vermont's bullying and bias hate crime statutes? Yes, of course, I would support Doing anything I can against racism and hate in Vermont We do have a problem and this is a problem across the board with different states and different populations that are angry apparently and We have lots of services and programs to help People understand different communities. We have the BIPOC community We have transgender community and they all have to be equalized and everyone is equal in humanity so We need to have inclusion in Vermont and have an understanding that we support every race and We can't have implicit bias in this state It's just dehumanizing the population and the anger has to stop We have to communicate with each other and get along with each other We're all humans here there is no reason for this discontent and The mental health issue is Part of it and we need to help those populations understand That we're all equal here Thank you Mark I'd like to be able to say that discrimination against LGBTQ T plus people and immigrants is not a problem in Vermont and I can't Say that I when I was dean I really saw all kinds of problems emerge we have a substantial population that includes LGBTQ T people at the school and People of you know African-Americans and Hispanics and there were just incidents after incident you know an Hispanic woman would be running along the road and Somebody would pull up in the car roll their window down and say go back to Mexico and people Students just would find this all the time. So it's a real problem I think we have to start in the schools and educate people to this issue in the schools I think we have to teach our history truly whether it's embarrassing or not and I think There there's a truth and reconciliation commission that was created by the legislature. We have to support its work I think That there's a lot that we can do economically as well. We can help renters We can welcome. There's lots of ways we can welcome immigrants. We could use more immigrants here I care about this issue deeply. I was a legal aid attorney I was a Peace Corps volunteer this this issue of social justice is very important to me We can put people of color on the land I was on the board of the land trust for 11 years and we were successful in doing that. So there's a lot we can do so Hold on to that thought because it leads so well into the next question, which is As a state Vermont has begun the process to identify and confront institutional and systemic racism and the impact that it has on our indigenous and communities of color is Vermont giving this issue the attention needed and what's the actions or initiatives would you support? This is to me right this is back to you right Institutional racism is a serious problem It's almost kind of hidden because by nature institutional racism means it's The racism is just built into the normal way that we do things without even intending to be racist or thinking about it I mean I can tell you that the way that law schools are regulated creates Institutional racism and biases against African Americans for example. I Think that we need to do a lot more. We've started the process, but the most important thing is for the state to be very thoughtful and clear about the Institutional the racism the impacts of each law and each program on minority populations Disadvantaged groups. This is an area where we've begun that work, but we could do a lot more so it starts with consciousness being conscious about What we're doing and what the impact we do what we're doing and it's an analyzing it carefully Thank you Tina question again as a state Vermont has begun the process to identify and confront Institutional and systemic racism and the impact it has on our indigenous and communities of color is Vermont giving this issue the attention needed and what specific actions or initiatives would you support? So this became quite clear during COVID with the BIPOC community and And Different races that are here in Vermont. I have many friends in the BIPOC community that feel Since COVID and since all of the riots in 2020 that their lives may be In jeopardy and there is a lot of bigotry in Vermont. It may be over racism. It may be covert racism There's different things going on here people Are brought up in a way that they don't even know that they're racist but it's their personal attitudes that they have encompassed over their lifetime and It's pervasive in this culture that we have this problem it's a political issue It's an institutional issue that does has has to start systemically at the grade grade level of the young students in Vermont and we need to teach them again that we're all equal human beings and there's no reason to Be Racist even if they don't understand that word Thank You Tina So Tina the next question is back to you Vermont has seen an increase in both drug related deaths and increased emergency room visits due to the opioid crisis What actions should the legislature take to combat this growing addiction crisis? so the opioid crisis is Very Difficult for us to all understand I Believe that funding the police is One of the biggest measures that we need to incorporate and going back to funding the police and Having more police patrol and we should not have safe havens for their use It is illegal. It is destroying the community it's killing our children and Fentanyl is part of the problem now and It's a big issue for me and my friends and my family That this is just hitting home for everyone now so we need to cut through the red tape on this and just Get them the mental help that they need put them in jail and have them Work it out in rehab centers and don't allow them to go back on the street and reuse which It hits home for me because I did have a friend that died from fentanyl use this year and the night before she died She stated I'm not dead yet. Thank you for sharing and I'm sorry for your last Tina so mark Fentanyl addiction opioid the whole opioid edemic is One of our most serious problems. I don't think it's a law enforcement problem so much as a treatment problem These drugs are available. They're available by prescription and the prescriptions are misused of course We have one of the highest rates of addiction in the country. So it's it's really a serious problem for us So what to do about it? Well, we have this hub and spoke treatment system Which I think is working pretty well, but I think it needs more funding and more thought I think we we have to further expand medication-assisted treatment and I think we have to have we have to work more to have safe drug disposal Buprenofrin Buprenofrin distribution and I must say I really disagree with the governor's veto of safe injection sites. I Think this is a problem a lot of Vermonters understand because it cuts across class Race it doesn't matter who you are almost all of us know someone who's in trouble because of addiction and or Died of it. It's a really terrible issue so Partly building up both of your answers Mental health services in the state of Vermont Where should we be putting our attention and what action should the legislature take? And yes, Mark is back to you Mental health is really a serious problem here there and COVID has made it a lot worse There are more suicides here than there have ever been There's more people who need help and right now They're going they're stuck in emergency rooms Sometimes they're stuck in emergency rooms for weeks because of lack of a place. I Think this is an area where we really need to pay attention. We really need to Increase the funding that flows to mental health There's just no way around it. The problem is we only have so much money that we have we can't I mean Vermont's a Relatively high tax state. It's that way because we have our values here We believe in education and it makes the state a great place We believe in the level of government we have these values are important to us But we're going to have to be ingenious in the way that we think of ways to fund mental health But it's it's the system is on the verge of breaking down and Mental health care providers are leaving the field because it's so stressful. They're so overworked All right. Thank you Tina what how do you think we should respond to mental health services and mental health crisis here in Vermont? Again, we should start with the school systems. We should have counselors available for children and Students as they go through school. They should have counseling available and mental health access For help so that they can get that they help that they need right from the beginning and So that they have somebody to listen to them a lot of the times Parents send their kids to school and they have Nowhere to go after school. They have no one to talk to they have Limited friends in the rural community. There's no services available for them. So we can start with the school system and Help the children understand it's okay to ask for help Thank you and building off that For Manchester experiencing a dramatic increase cost for health care What actions should be taken by the legislature to address this issue? Well, I know a big issue I'm not sure when Obamacare or The Affordable Care Act ends but it needs to continue That makes everyone's health care affordable. I Know that Medicaid is available for most people under a certain income bracket, which is poverty That is very helpful for Vermonters to have Medicaid access and They need to have access points where they can sign up for this program a Lot of the problem with Vermonters is that they don't know where to go to ask for help They don't know where to get their insurance policy It's very difficult to go through the process I know that capstone and berry can help people and they can sign it you up. There's the The berry health and wellness clinic they can sign you up you just have to go down and do it in person and You can have Medicaid. I believe it's probably around 16 thousand dollars Income per year, so that's poverty level, but the Obamacare or affordable health care act provides a Subsidy that makes the health care system very affordable for most Vermonters if they know how to use utilize the program One minute follow-up is because I as I was listening to your answer One of the issues is not only the cost but availability Do you have a suggestion of how we attract providers to Vermont? Blue cross-blue shield and MVP are Enough providers as far as I'm concerned. No, no, no an actual health care provider a doctor or a nurse practitioner I can go to not an insurance provider Correct, so it is very difficult to get a primary care doctor in Vermont. So you call if you're Possibly new to the area it you call to get a primary care doctor and they're not taking new patients There's an overload. So that is a problem that we have to address We need to Support more doctors moving to Vermont. We need to support More nurses and We our health care system needs to accommodate the population which Across the board, that's the big problem is the population is or overpopulated on a whole It's a worldwide problem. All right. Thank you Tina. So mark first part The cost of health care and have the legislature and then after that we will do an additional How do we attract providers? The health care system is so complicated. I don't fully understand it and I admit that I do think We have to pay attention I'm going to focus on rural Vermont health care is becoming increasingly centralized and I'm not sure that works for rural Vermont one of the great things that we have in our district is a health center in Plainfield and that's been a real advantage. It's they can go into the schools. They can offer dental care I mean, it's really a shame. This is a country where you need not everybody has access to good dental care So I think we have to really examine Centralization and that's going to take state action. It can't happen because the market itself alone pushes centralization I I think that In rural Vermont what matters in a lot of ways initially is ambulance service and We're paying an awful lot of money small towns are paying an awful lot of money for ambulance service and again, I think the the inequality between Urban areas in Vermont like Chittenden County Where their population is concentrated and it's easier to provide that service versus rural is a real problem And we have to do something about it Now I Do think we need to train More I'm on your second. I was gonna say although I do think by the way I just want to mention the governor has proposed moving state retirees Out of Medicare and into Medicare Advantage, and I don't agree with that. I think that's the wrong step, but We have to the shortage of doctors Physicians assistants and nurses and health care workers is a really big problem here I think we can do something about it other states actually pay health workers a kind of a They offer them a sum of money or they offer them housing subsidy or they actually offer them Some sort of subsidy to help them with their medical school or their school debt And I think we have to look very carefully at what those schools do I don't think anything's gonna happen unless We think we have concerted state action on that. Okay Both of you made references to education and education our educational system is being a cornerstone of dealing with Racism and addiction access to mental health Do you think the current funding formula is working and if not How would you change it? And aren't you glad that you get to go first Mark? Yeah, sure Yeah, thank you for it's easy because I don't think anyone understands the formula even the people who work with it And I don't I think actually the education formula is pretty good in Vermont it's progressive and it recognizes the differences between urban and rural school districts and It It's been tinkered with by the legislature Repeatedly in I think good ways that For example Recognizement schools have more disadvantaged students or more students who are foreign and need language assistant So I think it's not bad. Can it be improved? I'm sure it can and I don't at this point know how I Do think Act 46 which was the act To consolidate that promote consolidation, you know, my experience in life is that proponents of consolidating anything They kind of get into their advocacy role and they think it's going to produce Results and then they're a little disappointed It rarely produces what we think it will produce But overall I think the most important part of our education system is the local school the local primary school For reasons that go beyond education but have to do with village life and it's important that we preserve them Tina Comments about the education funding formula and if you would change it. How would you do that? So I've been to many town meetings in Calis since I've lived there so long and There is over expended chairs On a yearly basis for medical healthcare For each employee within the school system, which is hundreds of thousands of dollars in some schools and There are expended chairs that could be consolidated and I believe that schools should be consolidated into Possibly larger schools like you 32 serves five towns Why can't we do that with elementary schools? Well, the towns of Worcester and Middlesex don't want to consolidate together Understandably because ones in the black ones in the red. They don't want to take on the debt of another town so it's a big Problem that encompasses everybody's opinions of you know, they like their schools the way they are but we have to Move into the future and these populations in the schools sometimes run 50 or 60 Students per school and they need to be consolidated into Largest school populations. I believe Think consider more follow-up time on this complicated issue. I Will give you both an additional 30 seconds. I Really, I think that in terms of educational performance Which was the motivation for act 46 high school consolidation of larger high schools and larger middle schools are important Primary schools have a purpose that goes beyond education. It's a way to introduce children to their peers and Create a cohesive community. It introduces children into the community It's a great way for parents in the community to get to know each other I think it's a really important part of The village fabric which makes Vermont what it is if we don't have thriving villages will lose the Vermont we love Tina an additional 30 seconds for more comment Well, I don't have children myself But I do have step Grandchildren that do go to you 32 Into Dodie school and I know the importance of the smaller schools for the young children today but again, I believe that the consolidation of the school district is imperative to saving money along with revamping and reinstulating and Restructuring the whole schools to save money. All right. Thank you. So mark your one-minute closing statement Well, first of all, thank you Keith for doing such a good in my view at least such a good job of hosting and Thanks to Orca for doing this. I've watched these Orca programs. It's a chance to really see See your candidates and get to know them in I think a pretty good way Overall one of them I Said earlier, it's important to have consistent thoughtful sophisticated Representation of our three towns. One of the reasons I say that is I don't think the solutions That we need are exactly the same as the solutions solutions in Chittenden County Chittenden County has a lot of good legislators World Vermont needs really good legislators who can make sure that the laws that are passed work for our three towns Thank you. Thanks for the opportunity. Thank you Tina Yes, thanks for having us tonight. This was a great opportunity for you to get to know me and I have served the central Vermont community for almost 20 years bringing Vermonters wealth and well-being through affordable housing As a realtor I have become attuned to the needs of Vermonters in the state programs that may need adjustments I will work day and night to make our Make sure that the issues for low and middle income and Vermonters are heard and addressed at the state level And my phone line is open every day 7 a.m. To 7 p.m. And check out my website goal in for Vermont comm So thank you to both of you. Thank you. Thank you for your willingness to serve Thank you for being here. Thank you for your direct answers Thank you for your integrity and thank you for your thoughtful responses and With that I remind you all Vote you should have gotten a mail-in ballot if you haven't please contact your town clerk Thank you and good night