(Part 1 in a three-part series this week)
By Michael Bielawski
A lengthy list of Republican challengers against Democratic incumbents have filed petitions to run in the August 13 primary election.
Thursday, May 30 was the deadline for candidates to have submitted their paperwork with the state. The parties may next appoint candidates into races where there is still no current candidate.
VDC profiles several key House races and will cover more in a three-part series to be published this week. The latest candidate list, last updated on Saturday, can be seen here. In general, new candidates seem to be concerned with overspending and the lack of affordability throughout the state.
Addison 4 House District (2 seats)
Three Republicans and three Democrats are all running for the Addison 4 district. The Republicans are Chanin Hill, Lynne Caulfield, and Renee McGuinness.
McGuinness of Monkton is the Vermont Family Alliance Policy Analyst and she has written commentary concerning an “equal rights” related constitutional amendment for VDC.
“The sense that people who are currently being discriminated against cannot wait another four years for the legislature to reconsider the language drove the decision to pass Prop 4: the meaning and intent can be ironed out by the Supreme Court, which, according to Constitutional Law Professor Peter Teachout ‘makes lawyers rich.’”
Caulfield, a registered nurse from Monkton, gave testimony in 2022 at the Statehouse concerning Proposal 5, a state constitutional amendment protecting abortion. She called it a “disregard for the feelings of medical providers.”
“Proposal 5 assaults the conscience of health care workers,” she said.
Hill has been the business manager of the Four Hills Farm in Bristol. In an Addison Independent report from 2019 she states, “Farming today takes diversification. We can’t just grow our herd by adding more cows, acquiring more land as we did in the past. You have to look hard at the systems in place within the farm.”
The Republicans will run against incumbents Rep. Mari Cordes, D-Lincoln, Jeanne Albert of Lincoln who has been on the Vermont Legislative Apportionment Board, and lawyer Herb Olson of Starksboro who spent 15 years with the Vermont Legislative Counsel.
Albert is a member of the Lincoln School Board in Lincoln. Her profile states, “I have lived in Vermont for 37 years and moved to Lincoln in the spring of 2017. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve on the Lincoln School District Board as we work to ensure a vibrant, sustainable, and equitable educational future for all Lincoln students and families.
Caledonia-1 (1 seat)
Debra Powers of Waterford and Shawn Hanover of Barnet, Republicans, will run against incumbent Rep. Bobby Farlice-Rubio, D-Barnet.
There’s still only limited material on the new challengers, but Farlice-Rubio writes on his campaign page, “I will defend every Vermonter’s right to be the person that they were meant to be, and to choose their own destiny.”
Caledonia-2
Michael Southworth of Walden, a Republican, is running for the Caledonia-2 seat. In the general election, Southworth will face Democrat Sabrina Morrison of Hardwick. Incumbent Democrat Chip Troiano is not listed as a candidate.
Southworth recently wrote for the Hardwick Gazette, “My career started with working as a deputy state game warden then moved on to work for the Department of Corrections, the Agency of Transportation, and ended with the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. During my career, I have come to understand how state government works and what I feel could change. My wife and I also run a small business.”
Morrison works with a company called Porter Brook Group, which deals with information technology.
Lamoille 2 House District (2 seats)
Two Democrats and two Republicans who will compete for the two seats in the district. The Democrats are incumbent Rep. Daniel Noyes, D-Wolcott, and newcomer Jim Ryan of Wolcott who is a retired watershed expert from the Vermont Agency of Agriculture.
Republican Malcolm “Mac” Teale according to a 2022 News & Citizen report, “raised [with his wife] their two children here and have lived in Hyde Park for 36 years. He has served on the Hyde Park Development Review Board since 2002, chairing it for the last several years.”
He is quoted saying, “It seems like they are trying to change the whole world instead of making things better for Lamoille County. What good is passing a bill no one can explain or understand?”
Richard Bailey is also running as a Republican. In 2022 when he also ran he was quoted saying, “As a life-long Vermonter I believe the Legislature should be focusing upon keeping Vermont affordable, not trying to change the world,” he is quoted.
Washington-Orange House District (2 seats)
Incumbent Rep. Jim Masland, D-Thetford, and Rep. Rebecca Holcombe, D-Norwich are the incumbents running again.
There are two GOP challengers, including Kevin Blakeman of Sharon. True North Reports in 2017 reported that Blakeman has experience with dealing with overzealous government regulations.
The report states, “Blakeman has enjoyed his 60-acre homestead along bucolic Fay Brook in Windsor County for more than 40 years, but since his town adopted river corridor regulations, he’s not so sure how much of his property is truly his own.”
Lisa Flanders of Sharon is also running as a Republican. She is a jeweler, among other work experience.
Chittenden-Franklin (2 seats)
Running for the Republicans are incumbent Rep. Chris Tayor, R-Milton, and Anthony “Tony” Micklus also of Milton. On Micklus’s webpage, he shares his work experience. Incumbent Chris Mattos is seeking a Senate seat.
“Currently, Tony continues to work in IT consulting alongside one of his sons. He also contributes his expertise to the BHHS VT Realty Group’s foreclosure division and partners with another son in an industrial rubber products distribution business. Tony’s extensive experience in both the private sector and community service makes him a well-rounded candidate for the Vermont State House of Representatives.”
On the Democrat side is Henry Bonges, III who is an alternate for the Police Advisory Committee in Milton, and Lonnie Poland who shared her background when she ran for the Milton Selectboard earlier this year.
She wrote, “I hold a bachelor’s degree in Physical Therapy from the University of Vermont and dedicated 25 years to serving individuals in need through the UVM Medical Center’s rehabilitation department.”
The author is a writer for the Vermont Daily Chronicle
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