The committee has scheduled a series of roundtable discussions with five candidates running for the Democratic Party nomination in this year’s August primary, and Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie, the only Republican to declare his candidacy for governor.
Although a common complaint heard in Southern Vermont is that Vermont politicians rarely venture below Route 4, committee members say the candidates were eager to visit the area and discuss economic development. “They’re looking to get the opportunity to reach out to people as much as they can,” says committee member Bob Rusten. “We contacted their campaign offices and all six responded in a short time.”
Committee member Laura Sibilia says she isn’t surprised candidates are looking at the Deerfield Valley, despite the area’s relatively low voter population. “The Deerfield Valley is a major net contributor to the Vermont state economy,” says Sibilia. “I presume it would be an area of vital interest for candidates. We work very hard to put the Deerfield Valley on the radar of state policy makers. We need to show up in Montpelier, and we need to ask them to come down here.”
The roundtables, which will take place over the summer, will give committee members and candidates the opportunity to connect on local, regional, and statewide economic issues. “One of the things the Tri-town Economic Development Committee has been talking about is the concern that there needs to be a statewide economic development strategy, and how that supports what we do locally,” Rusten says. “We thought the roundtables would be a tremendous opportunity to talk about our region with whoever is going to end up being the governor and get a sense of how seriously they’re taking economic development.”
Candidates will be asked a series of questions, all related to economic development. The questions will be selected ahead of the meeting, but candidates won’t see them beforehand. Rusten says the questions are designed to help the board determine “Who has a vision for where the state needs to go in terms of economic development, and who has the vision to implement it?”
Each of the candidates will also get a tour of the area, including a stop at a local business in each of the towns within the tri-town area. In Whitingham, candidates will stop at Honora’s wine tasting room. In Wilmington, candidates will visit Intouch, an international software company that creates point-of-sale systems for ski resorts. In Dover, candidates will tour Mount Snow, the valley’s largest employer.
Sibilia says the roundtable and the tour are a chance not only to hear from candidates, but to get the valley’s issues on candidates’ agendas. “We’re taking a leadership role in terms of economic development planning locally, regionally, and hopefully, statewide. This is an opportunity for candidates to see some grassroots organization and a sustained effort around long-term planning.”
The committee has already met with Matt Dunne, on Thursday, May 6, and will meet with Deb Markowitz on Thursday, May 13; with Susan Bartlett on Thursday, May 20; with Doug Racine on Wednesday, June 2; and with Peter Shumlin on Wednesday, July 7. After the primary in August, the group will meet with Republican candidate Brian Dubie, on Tuesday, September 7. All of the meetings will be held at 8 am in the Wilmington Town Hall. The TEDC is encouraging the public to attend the meetings.
Rusten says another reason candidates may be willing to climb into the hot seat is that the committee plans to use the information to offer a public evaluation of the results. “We won’t be endorsing a candidate, but we’ll review what they say and publicize who we think gave us the most important and realistic answers,” Rusten says. “So we aren’t just meeting, we plan to do something with this information.”
After the primary, the committee will also issue another evaluation, this time between the Democratic nominee and Dubie. For more information, or to see a schedule of the meetings, visit www.wilmingtonvermont.us.
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