JULY 20, 2008 - Gubernatorial Debate Questions - and Candidate's Closing Statements.

Download a complete transcript of the debate below.

Listen to the entire debate here.

View video clips below.

Here are the nine questions asked of the three major party candidates - incumbent governor Jim Douglas, Progressive Anthony Pollina, and Democrat Gaye Symington - at the Mad River Valley Lareau Farm Inn debate, co-sponsored by Mad River Valley Localvores, George Schenck's American Flatbread, and the Vermont Natural Resources Council. and moderated by prize-winning Vermont journalist David Moats.

A few general observations - the rain came down hard, the Lareau Inn pavilion was packed to capacity, and all three candidates held their own quite well without notes or any prior knowledge of the questions. The debate's structure was efficient, if a bit rigid (more time for each question would have been useful - even another 30 seconds per), and Moats' continual squashing of crowd feedback sucked a bit of the oxygen from the space - but all in all, it was a fine evening.  

Here are the questions:

Act 250
Act 250, Vermont’s signature land use and development law, establishes several criteria that projects of a certain size must meet.  One of these is intended to help keep Vermont's best soils available for farming. Yet, according to the U.S. Agricultural Census, between 1982 and 2002 nearly 20 percent of Vermont's farmland was converted to other uses, including tens of thousands of acres that were forever lost to development. Pressure to develop on Vermont’s primary agricultural soils remains high. What specific policy steps, would you take to prevent the development of the state’s best farming soils?

A regulatory/infrastructure question regarding food
Vermont’s farms are essential to the economy and character of the Green Mountain State. Yet family farms, especially, face increasingly challenging infrastructure, processing and regulatory hurdles, as evidenced recently by the issues surrounding composting, the lack of sufficient meat processing facilities and limitations to on-farm processing. What specific plan do you have to help family farmers break down the regulatory obstacles to keep their farms thriving and strengthen Vermont’s family farm economy?

Lake Champlain
How do you evaluate present efforts to clean up Lake Champlain, and what additional steps, if any, would you take to achieve measurable results in tackling the lake's pollution?

Food safety/sustainability
With the science of genetic engineering in its infancy, the long-term consequences to human health and the health of our environment are not fully understood. As a result, some people would prefer not to eat foods with genetically engineered germ plasm or feed them to their children. Because pollen can easily drift beyond farm boundaries, neighboring crops, some of which may be under organic cultivation, can become contaminated with genetically engineered gene pollen. Organic farmers do not want this, and consumers of organic foods do not want this. Who is responsible for the drift of genetically engineered pollen, and what role does the state have in protecting the genetic integrity of its organic crops?

Forests
The Governor’s Commission on Climate Change found that reducing the rate at which our forests are converted to developed land is among the most effective tools Vermont could utilize to reduce our contribution to climate change. Please explain, in detail, citing specific existing or proposed laws or policies, how you would go about making this goal a reality.

Hunger/food security
It has been estimated that over the course of a year, one in seven Vermonters experience at least periodic involuntary hunger. What is the state's role in relieving hunger and creating food security for all Vermonters?

Energy
The state will need to replace Vermont Yankee’s nuclear power at some point, whether that happens in the next five years or, if relicensed, the next 20 years. What is your vision for the future of Vermont Yankee? Please speak specifically to the energy mix you will replace Vermont Yankee’s electric supply with and on what timeline.

General Food Question: The future of food and agriculture in Vermont
What is your long-term vision - say for the next 20-30 years - for Vermont foods and agriculture?

General Environmental Question
What do you think is the single most pressing environmental challenge facing Vermont? And what specific steps would you take to meet that challenge?

LAST Question (asked AFTER closing statements, as a transition to dinner)
Finally, the last question, without a right or wrong answer...what did you eat today?