Position Statement

BANNER CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE

1. What are your top goals if you are elected to this office?

Ensure that Pownal is business friendly. Economic opportunity is the primary need of Pownal residents.  I want to do all I can to help provide a stable, predictable business environment that treats all businesses fairly and equally. To achieve this, we will need to curb the rapid growth of town government and spending. Vermont’s out of control spending has now earned us a 48 out of 50 ranking for economic outlook by Forbes. A select board member is limited in what can be done about this, but this has to change. That change needs to start locally.

2. In your view, what are the most pressing issues related to this position and/or the town?

I am becoming increasingly concerned about a growing trend of separation and vilification of opposing political views. The divide is even greater along socio economic lines. The local government has not been listening to the voices of locals. This has become most evident in the recently proposed town plan, which has as a majority of its vision geared towards creating an art community. While the arts are important and always enriching, this lopsided focus as a primary need for Pownal shows a deep lack of connection with the true needs of Pownal citizens, especially those in financial stress. Our town needs elected officials who are willing to challenge the status quo, and to make sometimes very hard evaluations of policy, spending and municipal actions. This needs to happen now before we lose even more struggling families and workers to states that have more financial opportunity and less constrictive regulations on business and industry development.