After reading the Oct. 22 letter to the Valley News editor supporting Mike Tagliavia (“An outsider for attorney general”), I decided a little research was needed. It is nice to say a person is honest and uses common sense, but does he know anything about the job. I go to Mike’s web page and I read hard worker, and ran a company in New York and Maryland, but no mention of what kind of a company. Now he likes Corinth, dogs, woods, guns, and does not like career politicians. Nothing on education or legal knowledge. And he will stand up for the national anthem, which it is good that we all shall.
Now, I looked at the job of the attorney general, as in a job description. 1. Issues formal opinions to state agencies. 2. Acting as public advocate in areas of child support enforcement, consumer protection, antitrust, and utility regulation. 3. Proposing legislation 4. Enforcing federal and state environmental laws. 4. Representing the state and state agencies before the state and federal courts. 5. Handling criminal appeals. And the list continues.
It seems to me Mike Tagliavia has no legal experience that comes close to the knowledge needed to qualify as an attorney general for the State of Vermont.
Vermonters need to elect educated and qualified individuals who have the knowledge to perform jobs for which they are elected. Nothing less means they lack the wisdom to understand the laws and structure that form our democracy. Electing unqualified persons results in ignorance at the highest levels of government, and the weakening of the principles “for which we stand, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
Keith Merrick
Post Mills
Margaret Drye
for NH House
Our neighbor, Margaret Drye of Plainfield, is running for the New Hampshire House and we should be glad she is. Margaret knows our district and the towns in it — Plainfield, Cornish, Newport, Unity and Charlestown — and knows the state about as well as anyone. She should, she’s served the towns, district, county and state in a variety of ways on a variety of commissions and committees as well as in her four decades of service as a volunteer EMT on the rescue squad.
She organized and managed a 4-H group for over 25 years.
She’s led the town Finance Committee and the Plainfield 250th Anniversary Committee. She served as water district clerk for 15 years and is currently a cemetery trustee.
She’s been an instructor trainer for the Red Cross and American Heart Association for decades, served on the Hanover Co-op Board for 13 years, and is currently a trustee and member of the board of directors for the Big E.
This is far from a complete list of Margaret’s efforts and accomplishments. I could go on for a few more paragraphs.
Margaret is an intelligent, thoughtful, experienced, hard- working, involved, even-handed, fair-minded, energetic, enthusiastic woman. I can’t imagine a better qualified person than Margaret Drye to represent our district in the House.
J. Cheston M. Newbold
Cornish
Vote Democrat to keep
programs and cut deficits
This mid term election, we can lose Medicare and Social Security if the Republicans take control of the Senate or House or both.
During Republican presidents, the deficit has exploded: Reagan: the deficit rose from $70 billion to $175 billion. George H.W. Bush up to $300 billion. George W. Bush up to $1.2 trillion. Trump up to $7.8 trillion with a $2 trillion tax bill that was supposed to pay for itself.
Democratic presidents: Clinton cut H.W. Bush’s deficit from $300 billion to zero, and Obama cut W. Bush’s $1.2 trillion to $600 billion.
Biden: The 2021 deficit fell by $350 billion; this year so far, the deficit fell by $1.4 trillion.
Some highlights of Biden’s presidency: 100 million new jobs, including 700,000 in manufacturing; getting us through this pandemic alive; inflation reduction, infrastructure, expanded health care coverage for veterans exposed to burn pits, and Chips acts.
My message is simple: Republicans campaign well — they’ve blatantly said they’ll do anything to gain control of the Senate and House. They even take credit for the major bills they refused to support. They lie. Democrats govern better than they campaign, and Biden’s Friday morning message from the White House outlined some basic facts as noted above.
Vote Democratic this mid-term to keep the Senate and House working. Don’t give up Medicare and Social Security to the Republican agenda.
Anne Peyton
South Strafford
Reelect Michael Ricci
I’m writing to support Michael Ricci in the upcoming election for assistant judge. As the current incumbent he’s in a position to ensure continuity as he is already up to speed on the operation of the court.
But more importantly, Michael is the fairest and most even-handed person I know. He brings no bias to the table and has no personal agenda to pursue other than to understand each case and to apply the law and ensure justice is done. At a time when our judiciary is sometimes viewed as partisan, Michael is anything but that.
I hope I never have to appear in front of Judge Ricci, as I’ve sat in and observed cases in the Woodstock courtroom and some are heart-breaking. But if I did appear I’d be confident I’d be treated fairly. I hope you’ll join me in voting for Michael Ricci on election day.
Jon Spector
Woodstock
I’ve known Mark MacDonald as a friend and my state senator for nearly a quarter-century. As Orange County’s state senator, he stands for the bedrock Vermont values of personal freedom and dignity, and equal protection and opportunity for all citizens.
Sen. MacDonald’s decades of service in the Vermont Legislature is highlighted by his courageous work protecting civil rights and women’s health choices from government interference. He has been a leader in improving Vermonters’ access to both the ballot box and to fiber internet service. His service as a legislator was long proceeded by his public service as a combat veteran in the Vietnam War and as a public-school teacher at Randolph Union High School. And he’s been raising Angus beef cattle in the meadows of Orange County for over 50 years.
Sen. MacDonald’s long list of legislative accomplishments and relevant personal experience make him an easy vote for reelection to the Vermont state senate.
Rep. Tim Briglin
D-Thetford Center
A pointed objection
to student loan forgiveness
It has been announced that a $10,000 credit will be awarded to students with federal college loans and I object!
My husband and I scrimped and saved to send our two children to college, and we never asked for loans. It is not right at all that some of us thought ahead, worked hard and saved to send our children to additional schooling that would assist them in their lives.
What has happened to old fashioned save and then spend? Now it is spend and then ask for a handout. Is this what our country has come to?
Perhaps the voting in a few weeks will solve this problem.
Janet Bantly
Lebanon
Lovett understands
school funding inequities
I write to support Charlene Lovett for the New Hampshire Senate for District 8. As her op-ed in the Oct. 20 Valley News (“New Hampshire can fix how it pays for education”) clearly demonstrates, Charlene understands that the way property is taxed and schools are funded is a deeply flawed system.
We have been poorly represented these past six years by Ruth Ward, who shows neither the insight, nor I suspect the concern for the tax burden that local funding puts on us residents in Newport. Ruth lives in the low tax community of Stoddard and enjoys a school tax that is one-third that of Newport. The status quo is just fine with Ruth. Furthermore her legislative achievement is the education voucher program which has thus far cost the state nearly three times the original estimate of around $5 million. I suspect Sen. Ward ultimately wants privatization of our public schools.
I will be voting for Charlene Lovett on Nov. 8. She will work to legislate for fair funding for our schools. She will also work to fundamentally change how communities are taxed. If you live in a “property poor,” high tax town, if your school system struggles to properly fund its mission to educate your kids, then you should vote for Charlene too.
And by the way, if your state representatives have not fought on your behalf to lower your school tax then maybe it’s time for them to be replaced. There is a whole slate of good candidates who want to lower your taxes and fairly fund your schools.
Larry Schissel
Newport, N.H.