ADDISON COUNTY — In an effort to help area voters get to know the local candidates for the Legislature and their stands on some important issues, the Addison Independent asked those running for House and Senate to answer a short questionnaire. This week we feature the responses from candidates in three districts, and we will run answers from the rest of the Addison County candidates here.
The four candidates running for the two seats in the Addison-1 House district, which encompasses Middlebury, include incumbent Democrat Betty Nuovo plus Democrat Amy Sheldon and independents Calvin McEathron and Thomas Hughes. Hughes chose not to answer the questionnaire.
In the Addison-3 House district — which has two seats representing the towns of Waltham, Panton, Ferrisburgh and Addison and the city of Vergennes — there are four candidates on the ballot: incumbent Democrat Diane Lanpher of Vergennes and incumbent Republican Warren Van Wyck of Ferrisburgh, plus Addison Democrat John Spencer and Addison Republican Peter Briggs.
Incumbent Democrats David Sharpe of Bristol and Michael Fisher of Lincoln are both running  for re-election in the two-seat Addison-4 district of Bristol, Lincoln, Monkton and Starksboro. They will face Republicans Fred Baser of Bristol and Valerie Mullin of Monkton.
The following questions, along with a requested word limit, were asked of each local candidate. The questions are not repeated in the context of each candidate’s response, but are recalled by subject at the beginning of each answer.
Election Day is Nov. 4.
1)  HEALTH CARE: What role should government play in health care, and what should the Legislature do to further that objective? (100 words)
2)  SCHOOL FUNDING: Vermont has struggled with funding primary and secondary education for its children, what are your ideas for balancing the needs of the students and communities with the limits of the taxpayers? (100 words)
3)  TRANSPARENCY: What would you do as a lawmaker to ensure that government is more open and transparent? (100 words)
4)  OPIATE ADDICTION: How is Vermont doing in its response to a wave of opiate addiction in the state and what more could it do? (100 words)
5)  HIGHER EDUCATION: How will Vermont make higher education affordable to its young adults while still making that higher education applicable to jobs in the state post-graduation? (150 words)
6)  ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: What role does government play in economic development and what specific steps would you try to put into law? (150 words)
7)  CANDIDATE’S CHOICE: Provide comment on the topic of your choice. (100 words)
Click on the links below to view the candidates’ answers:
ADDISON-1
Betty Nuovo
Calvin McEathron
Amy Sheldon
ADDISON-3
John Spencer
Peter Briggs
Diane Lanpher
Warren Van Wyck
ADDISON-4
Michael Fisher
Valerie Mullin
Fred Baser
David Sharpe