Four Addison County candidates for Vermont Senate presented their positions at Bristol’s Holley Hall last week. Incumbents Christopher Bray and Ruth Hardy shared a very different vision than that of Steven Heffernan and Landel Cochran on the direction we need to go in Vermont as we try to meet the needs of our people in a sustainable and equitable manner.

Bray and Hardy are experienced legislators who have wrestled with the issues of climate change, land use, housing, education funding, childcare and health care. They presented a clear message on the need to ease the tax burden on low-and middle-income people. Yes, this is complicated they asserted, but if we put people first over vested interests, we can make progress on these issues.

For example, Ruth Hardy was a chief architect and lead sponsor of Act 76 Vermont’s Landmark Childcare Law which expands financial assistance so working and middle-class families can afford childcare. It also provides more support to childcare programs so they can increase the number of children they serve, pay teachers more, and improve quality. Even one of her opponents agreed that Act benefited his family directly. This is typical of Ruth’s careful, well-researched approach to legislating that gets results for her constituents.

Another example, Chris Bray, who’s mantra is “good jobs and a healthy environment” is chair of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Energy dealing with the balance between using our resources wisely while enabling low- and middle-income Vermonters to share equitably in a sustainable future. Listening to his neighbors, Chris crafted a bill, The Affordable Heat Standard, which will rely on solid research and data to replace fossil fuel use in Vermont with cleaner energy sources that are not susceptible to the fluctuations of the global energy market, and that have cost protections for low- and middle-income folks.

On the other side, both Steven Heffernan and Landel Cochran, heavily funded by the National Republican Party and such sources as the Koch Brothers and fossil fuel interests — witness the costly full page, color ads week after week — join the governor in opposing such things as the Affordable Heat Standard, relying on erroneous information about its impact when implemented.

Their mantra again and again was “too much taxation and too much regulation.” Being newcomers, it’s understandable that they did not have clear legislative priorities aside from opposing most of their opponents’ positions. But their reliance on outside interests that are driven by the profit motive, and an unrealistic belief that we don’t have to prioritize protecting our way of living from climate change, is disturbing after two years of serious flooding that wiped out homes and businesses around the state.

As they spoke, Heffernan and Cochran clearly align themselves with national interests that, if elected will roll back progress that has been made on building back better after the pandemic that stopped us all in our tracks. Their vision connects with those who aspire to open the floodgates to the destructive “Drill Baby Drill” philosophy that advocates de-regulation, which will result in a clear march to environmental and social destruction.

Several times during the evening Heffernan and Cochran advocated for a “more moderate approach” and aligned their candidacies with the drive to eliminate the super-majority that overrides the Governor’s vetoes, contending that the governor is acting to bring down taxes. The other side contends that the super-majority is necessary to enable progress in dealing with the critical climate and social issues facing us.

Vermont’s 650,000 people are called to at least carry out our share of the global work needed and, one hopes, can demonstrate to much larger towns, cities and states that this small community can show that building back better is possible and will actually improve the lives of our people.

Bray and Hardy would argue that later — or never — is too late!

Richard Butz

Bristol