Ferron Wambold and Lucy Rogers are running for the one Vermont House seat representing the Lamoille-3 district (Cambridge and Waterville).

Wednesday night, Lucy Rogers and Ferron Wambold met over Zoom to debate budgets, COVID-19 and a new police brutality bill. The two are running for the Lamoille-3 house seat where Rogers is the incumbent.

A Democrat and Vermont native Rogers said she will advocate for overlooked rural communities. She has a background in agriculture and small business, and seeks to strengthen a community that welcomes all Vermonters, she said. Rogers made national news during her 2018 run for the seat when she and her Republican opponent played an unexpected duet at the end of a debate.

A Republican and Nebraska native, Wambold is running on a platform of social liberty and fiscal conservatism. Wambold opposes new gun restrictions in VT and denounces “feel-good” legislation and taxes without return.

Wambold is a former police officer. She hopes to bring a financial conservatism to the table that she feels the state lacks.

Rogers seeks to strike a balance between funding local education and accessible health care, the latter of which she believes will be aided by competition in the health-care market. High among Rogers’ priorities is the inclusion of farmers in the legislative process and funding for rural infrastructure.

Here’s how the candidates responded to major debate questions.

What are your priorities for next year's budget?

Wambold says she will prioritize the health and safety of citizens, especially elderly folks, while focusing on the hurting economy. “We have to protect Vermonters in every realm, not just the health,” said Wambold.

Rogers seeks to prioritize broad-band internet expansion, and funding towards mental and physical health care.

How should the Legislature go about funding social services for those most in need?

Rogers hopes to avoid raising taxes and on the flip side, cutting services. She believes strong state reserves will help in instances such as these. “Going forward and as we face uncertainty with federal funding, I think the most important aspect is going to be using our reserves responsibly,” said Rogers.

Wambold seconded Rogers’ efforts to avoid raising taxes while maintaining services. However, she does not think the state should look to reserves for support and should focus on cutting government spending.

What do you propose to do to ensure that small VT farms are able to participate in legalized marijuana farming?

Rogers believes in a complete ban on advertising, which would help limit big-company monopolization of the cannabis advertising industry. Rogers also hopes for reallocation of cannabis tax towards substance abuse prevention programs.

Wambold believes the priority should be making sure farmers can stay in business as-is. She believes permitting must be on par, so that start-up farmers can afford advertising.

“What we also need to look at on those grants is wrapping up a contingency plan for five to 10 years down the road, so we’re assisting farmers getting into business,” said Wambold.

What is your position on the recently updated police use of force bill?

Wambold says she supports the bill and believes it should be updated in the coming year to include input from social justice groups.

Rogers supported the bill, having worked on the outreach section. She hopes to follow up on race data collection to ensure that all law enforcement agencies are completing said collection and rendering it public.

What strategies would you recommend to jumpstart VT’s struggling tourism and hospitality industries?

Wambold advocates for the marketing of stay-cation ideas and promoting inter-state travel. Despite COVID-19, she believes VT should promote travel from other states.

Rogers says she does not worry about the hospitality and tourism industry, and thinks the pandemic has bolstered attraction of out-of-staters to VT.

“I think to support our tourism and hospitality businesses we have to be careful about who and how we are welcoming people into Vermont right now,” said Rogers.