Issue Position: Thinking Regionally

Issue Position

I believe in a regional approach to economic development. It is fine for an individual town to market itself, but it is most effective when resources are pooled and it is done under a regional umbrella. Individual towns are all too small and don't have the resources to do it effectively. That is why I helped found The Shires to bring the people of Bennington County together both socially and economically. It is too early to know what sectors of the local economy the coronavirus will hit the hardest and how deep the damage will run. But I do know that a strong, united Bennington County legislative delegation will be required to make sure Bennington County is not left behind as solutions are crafted. The Shires has helped set the stage for this kind of cooperation.
One of the lessons of this pandemic is that we need to think and truly live locally (meaning small, interconnected regions). There is real danger in being dependent on large-scale agriculture in the south or west for our food supply here in the Arlington/Manchester area. As we emerge from the pandemic, we must rebuild in a way that recognizes the importance of local agriculture/local food. We must understand the impediments to small-scale farmers making a living and make smart investments to help aggregate marketing and delivery of products. By way of example, we need a slaughterhouse closer to us and we need to help food producers with marketing so they can focus on producing food.

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