Rookie lawmakers ready to tackle tough issues

[A]bout 40 new faces will take their turns in Vermont’s citizen Legislature this week.

Some scored upsets in the November election while others replaced those who chose to move on to something else.

They have been briefed on parliamentary procedure, toured Vermont’s historic Statehouse and even been prepped by the capital press corps. They will soon have their committee assignments and get down to the business of governing.

Now it’s their turn to serve the constituents who voted for them as well as those who did not.

There will be four new senators and three dozen new House members (see full list below) when the gavel falls Wednesday. VTDigger spoke with three incoming freshman House members, one Democrat, one Progressive and one Republican.

All were honored to be serving under the tradition-bound Golden Dome and all said they were excited to make a difference.

Paul Dame, Republican

Paul Dame
Party: Republican
Age: 32
Hometown: Essex
Occupation: Financial services adviser
Spouse: Lori Dame

Paul Dame of Essex was elected as part of a mini-GOP landslide that saw the party pick up eight seats in the House. Dame won on his second attempt, ousting incumbent Rep. Linda Waite-Simpson.

Dame said the mood of the electorate changed sharply since his previous race in 2012.

“Overwhelmingly, the thing people told me was property taxes are too high, and I don’t remember that two years ago,” said Dame, a financial services adviser. “The Legislature has to address education financing and property taxes.”

Before Gov. Peter Shumlin announced he would not pursue a single payer health care plan this session, Dame said he hoped Speaker Shap Smith would appoint him to the House Health Care Committee.

Dame opposed single payer, citing the experience he had with government health care in Romania, where his wife, Lori, is from.

“I saw that the bureaucracy behind the system caused the system to lose focus on the patient,” he said. “We need to protect the patient and the private system.”

He said the Legislature should concentrate on ways to reduce the growth in health care spending.

“If you can focus on controlling costs insurance rates will go down,” he said. “And, if you bring costs down, more people would be able to afford it.”

Dame said he was interested in a New Jersey proposal that would have the state pay the malpractice insurance of doctors who volunteer with free clinics. He said that would reduce the cost to the physician and encourage specialists to work in the clinics.

Dame said he was confident that he could work across party lines.

“Any idea that allows people to pay less property tax I want to take a look at,” he said, regardless of who proposed it.

Dame said he was leaning toward voting for Scott Milne when lawmakers choose the next governor Thursday. He said those who voted for him likely voted for Milne.

While becoming a new lawmaker is important, Dame may have to miss a few meetings this spring — the couple’s second child is due in March.

Diana Gonzalez, Progressive

Diana Gonzalez
Party: Progressive
Age: 35
Hometown: Winooski
Occupation: Education consultant, doctoral student
Spouse: Ace McArleton

It makes sense that Diana Gonzalez of Winooski is the first Latina elected to the Vermont House. After all, she represents the most diverse population in the state, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Gonzalez says her training as a public health educator, mediator and teacher will help her navigate the sometimes stormy waters in the House.

She said she is not a single issue candidate and believes she could contribute much as a member of the Judiciary, Education or Health Care committees.

Gonzalez has worked with restorative justice programs and believes that community involvement is vital in stemming drug-related crime and supports the Legislature’s move toward pretrial services for addicts.

“Community connections are important,” she said. “If students feel like they belong and are part of the community they are less likely to use drugs. There is a great payoff from dollars spent on prevention versus those spent on corrections.”

Gonzalez says that while she does not believe that Winooski has a problem with racial profiling by police, the state needs to address the issue not only with training but through accountability.

“A lack of police accountability increases violence,” she said. “Diversity training that is not embedded in a culture of support and accountability can very easily be dismissed.”

She supports the notion of community-represented police oversight boards.

Gonzalez, who replaced retired Democrat George Cross, said she differs from some of her Progressive colleagues in that she is in no hurry to legalize marijuana.

“My background is as a public health educator and when we look at how access to a substance increases addiction, they are related,” she said. “I’m not opposed to legalization … but we need to do it in a very smart and controlled way.”

Gonzalez said she, too, heard that property taxes are too high and said communities should look at ways to share costs.

“There is merit in looking at income-based funding,” she said. “Housing costs are so high, especially in Chittenden County, and it would make sense to have a portion of education tied to income.”

Gonzalez said she would support Shumlin for governor because he shares more of her views than Milne.

Amy Sheldon, Democrat

Amy Sheldon
Party: Democratic
Age: 48
Hometown: Middlebury
Occupation: Natural resources planner
Spouse: Asher Nelson

Like many lawmakers, Amy Sheldon of Middlebury admits to being somewhat relieved that the Legislature won’t be wrestling with a single payer health care plan this year. But the underlying issues have not gone away, she says.
“(The cost of health care) is weighting us down in so many aspects of our society and economy, so I really want to be there for however the conversation moves forward now,” she said. “There were a lot of things we needed to do before single payer to control costs. I think we can do a lot with prevention and cost reduction.”

Sheldon is a private water resources planner and consultant and her preferred committees include Natural Resources and Energy, along with Health Care and Education.

“One of the reason health care is important for me is that it’s a huge driver of our school budgets, so it’s tied into that other big issue for our economy, which is the property tax,” she said. “We need to get a handle on the costs, what we’re spending per pupil and how to best address declining enrollment.”

Sheldon said education funding must be addressed and that the current formula, which includes income sensitivity, is flawed.

“We have folks living in very expensive real estate and are income sensitive,” she said. “We need to look closely at how income sensitivity is delivered.”

On the local level, Sheldon said she favors an approach “that allows the local community to talk among themselves to find ways to save money.”

Sheldon said she would vote for Shumlin this week because he received the most votes statewide and in Middlebury.

Despite the challenges of revamping the state’s education financing structure, resolving a $100 million budget gap and cleaning up Lake Champlain, to name a few, Sheldon said she is eager to find solutions.

“I’m optimistic,” she said. “Even in tight budgetary times we have an opportunity to shape the direction the state goes. I think we’ve hit a tipping point in a lot of ways.”

How much impact these three and the other 177 lawmakers will have in the next biennium begins to unfold Wednesday.