Dear Editor,
I recently had the opportunity to sit between Burlington’s candidates for State Representative as moderator of the Burlington Area Chamber of Commerce (BACC) Candidate Forum. I urge all of you to watch the re-broadcast on BCAT or online (BACC or BCAT websites).
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I feel compelled to share my impressions because the role of our State Representative is vitally important to our community, and because the difference between these two candidates is striking.
In my role with the BACC, I have gotten to know our State Rep., Ken Gordon, who is being challenged for re-election by Republican Paul Girouard. It’s no secret that I have been impressed with Gordon’s work from the start. He has attended our meetings as an active participant. He has hosted forums on topics such as the minimum wage, gender pay equity, and paid family leave. He sought our input as much as we sought his.
Many members of the BACC are conservative and some Republican. We presented the Forum with an open mind. Each candidate agreed to the format and each had an opportunity to present their best case for the job.
The candidates were given the first five questions one week in advance and were allowed two minutes to answer them. We wanted to know what they would do, if elected, to positively impact our district in the areas of education, transportation, housing, senior services and economic development. These were basic concerns we all shared. It was evidently clear that only one candidate came prepared to respond to our questions. That candidate was Ken Gordon. He gave thoughtful responses, explaining what he had already done, and what he planned to do if given another term. Mr. Girouard’s answers were void of detail and lacking in thought. His answers fell far short of his allotted two minutes, because they had little substance. His consistent message was that he would work hard and do a good job, without telling us how.
Most revealing was the candidates’ answers to the simple request to describe their legislative agenda if elected. Gordon told us he would continue to focus on transportation, filing and advancing bills and budget amendments to address our district’s traffic concerns. Girouard said he would file nothing at all. His plan is to sit back while others do the work, and then decide if the legislation others had filed was beneficial to Burlington and to the state. When Mr. Gordon pointed out that he will be an active member of the legislature, working to advance or amend bills filed by himself or others before they come up for a vote, Girouard continued to insist that the most important role of the legislator was to vote on proposals filed and advanced by others.
The stark contrast between these candidates led the BACC to award Gordon its 2016 Partners in Community Prosperity Award. We know that Girouard boasts of his endorsement from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). The NFIB is a politically motivated group that does not know Burlington at all. The BACC stands in a better position to judge Gordon’s record against Girouard’s lack of preparedness. We have observed Gordon’s work, and having heard from Girouard, see no reason to change our reliable representation in the State House.
I urge the voters of this district to return a good Representative to Beacon Hill, rather than putting party politics ahead of our interest. Please watch the BCAC Forum and once you do I’m sure you will vote for Ken Gordon on November 8.
Sincerely,
Kelly Pappas
Burlington
(NOTE: Kelly Pappas ia Burlington resident and Vice-Chair of the BACC Government Affairs Committee. In full disclosure, she is not registered as either a Democrat or a Republican.)
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