STARKSBORO DEMOCRAT HERB Olson has joined a burgeoning field of candidates joining the race for the Addison-4 district’s two House seats.
Independent photo/Steve James

The following five questions, along with a requested word limit, were asked of each local candidate in a competitive race for the Vermont House or Senate.

The questions are not repeated in the context of each candidate’s response, but are recalled by subject at the beginning of each answer.

Primary Election Day is Aug. 13.

1) PERSONAL BACKGROUND: When we moved to the community 50 years ago, we were told we would be fine — as long as we pitched in. Community service creates our moral center, binding the individual and the community with each other. My community service resume includes: Mt. Abe High School Board, Starksboro Planning Commission, mediating between state regulators and the village water system, and advocating to save our school. My work skills and experience: Assistant Attorney General with human services agencies, Legislative Counsel for 16 years, and General Counsel-corporate regulator. I want to continue to serve our community in Montpelier.

2) THREE ISSUES: 1. Montpelier needs to fix the education property tax mess. Our children’s education is the highest priority of a decent and hopeful society, but we are in danger of losing public support for education because of recent extraordinary education property tax increases.

2. Vermont should be a place where our daughters and sons can afford to live and build a home. Montpelier has spent a lot of time, effort and public funding on increasing housing opportunities in cities and larger population centers. Rural Vermont communities need housing too.
3. Get a grip on health care inflation. The health care sector is spending more and more of the resources of individuals, businesses, government, and schools. Universal primary care can help by emphasizing lower cost, effective care by primary care practitioners, rather than relying on more expensive hospital care.

I have the skills, experience, and temperament to lend a hand in addressing these challenges. I was an Assistant Attorney General representing a variety of human services agencies. I was Legislative Counsel to the Vermont General Assembly, providing policy and legislative drafting advice. I was a General Counsel regulating health insurers, hospitals, banks, and securities firms. Through these experiences, I developed the temperament to get things done in Montpelier: (1) Respect everyone, regardless of policy differences. (2) Collaboration, good will and good relationships make for good solutions to our problems.

3) PAYING FOR SCHOOLS: First, don’t change the core fairness principle that the quality of a student’s education should not depend on the wealth of the town where the student lives. (Brigham)

Second, Stop pushing false solutions. Closing a rural elementary school doesn’t save as much as some imagine, and should not be undertaken before making administrative reforms that do not directly impact student learning. Meanwhile, closing a school loses important educational benefits for students, especially for lower income students.

Third, Fixing the education property tax mess has a tax component, and a spending component. Tax revenue allocated to the Education Fund has shifted away from corporate and individual income taxes. We should be looking to reduce reliance on property taxes to fund education. On the spending side, we need to conduct a deep financial audit of whether all spending from the Education Fund is necessary, and whether, even if necessary, spending levels are reasonable and cost-effective. Let’s start with some obvious candidates for examination. (1) Many local districts complain about costly mandates from Montpelier. Mandated spending should be identified, and accepted, rejected, or revised as appropriate. (2) Health benefits constituted 16% of recent increased education spending. Ask the Green Mountain Care Board to focus on cost containment as their highest priority. (3) Student behavioral health needs and costs have exploded. Behavioral health services are covered under both public and private health insurance plans. Are insurers paying their fair share? (4) Administrative spending in some districts exceeds national norms. Identify administrative and operational cost saving reforms.

4) HOUSING: The cost of housing is one of the main reasons why our daughters and sons have difficulty affording to live and raise a family in Vermont. I was working with a young family several years ago in a school advocacy effort, and they could not find a home for any price in our community, much less at a price they could afford.

We need a sense of urgency about the housing crisis in Vermont. It’s not enough to say “I support affordable housing BUT . . .” (But, I want the homes around me to look like mine. But, manufactured home parks should be located somewhere else. But, I want to limit the land available for housing in rural communities in order to permanently preserve certain land I like.)

Montpelier has devoted considerable time, effort and public funding to support housing in cities and larger population centers. Rural Vermont communities need more housing also.

• Design housing programs that fit the scale of a rural Vermont community. Rural Vermont generally builds homes one unit at a time, or as a small, 5–10-unit project. Recently legislated programs incentivizing 75-unit projects are not relevant to rural Vermont.
• Rural Vermont communities usually do not have public infrastructure, such as municipal sewer and water. We should explore initiatives to help with community water and septic systems for smaller scale, rural housing projects, or with assistance with the upfront infrastructure costs for owner-built homes.
• We should look into expanding the concept of graduated permit fee amounts based on the size of the housing project. We should also look into whether some permits for smaller projects can be self-certified by licensed professionals.
• Land costs in Vermont have skyrocketed. If the supply of buildable land is limited, the cost of land will increase, whether that is because of land purchased for second homes, zoning restrictions, or the permanent conservation of buildable land. Housing in rural Vermont communities will benefit from policies that do not restrict the availability of buildable land for housing.

5) CLIMATE: I support the Climate Action Plan. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and promoting clean energy and transportation is good for our environment, and can be good for society.

We are already experiencing the very real and costly effects of climate change. When Hurricane Beryl swept through my town, Starksboro, a few weeks ago a wall of water came down from the Lewis Creek headwaters, trashing bridges, flinging vehicles, damaging homes, and upending lives. Skiing and snowboarding are suffering from milder winters that don’t deliver enough snow. Agriculture is experiencing torrential rains, or conversely severe droughts. Climate change is also bringing all manner of exotic tick borne diseases.

It is essential that there be a just and sensible financial transition to clean energy and transportation that will ensure low and moderate income Vermonters get the assistance they need, and that local small businesses are not harmed. Otherwise, we will face backlash that will leave us divided and worse off. We should work to build consensus to address this urgent issue together.

Read more Addison Independent coverage of Herb Olson here.

Find our Q&As with the rest of the Vermont Senate and House candidates here.