MONKTON — The Addison-4 House district — Bristol, Monkton, Lincoln and Starksboro — features a hotly contested Democratic Primary in which four candidates are running to secure two spots on the November ballot for the Vermont House of Representatives.
With the retirement of longtime state Rep. David Sharpe, D-Bristol, Democrats hope to maintain that seat while challenging incumbent Fred Baser, a Bristol Republican.
On July 25, a standing-room-only crowd at Monkton Friends Methodist Church had an opportunity to question the four Democratic primary candidates.
The candidates and their election websites are:
•  Paul Forlenza: forlenza.us.
•  Rob Demic: robdemic.us.
•  Mari Cordes: maricordes.org.
•  Caleb Elder: calebelder.com.
More than 45 community members attended last Saturday’s forum, and they asked how candidates would grow the economy while caring for the environment, combat inequality particularly in relation to regressive property taxes, keep young families from leaving the state, and move the state forward with healthcare reform.
Monkton Democratic Committee member Melanie Cote moderated the event, which included Democrat candidates Peter Newman for sheriff, Ruth Hardy for state Senate and Ethan Sonneborn for governor.
You can watch a video of Saturday’s forum below.
This forum, organized by the town and county Democratic committees, came on the heals of successful forums in Bristol and Lincoln.
A final “Meet the Candidates” forum will be held next Wednesday, Aug. 8, 7-8:30 p.m. at the Starksboro library.
The Primary Election is Aug. 14.