Last week Waitsfield resident Candice White -D, and incumbent Dara Torre-D, Moretown were elected to represent The Valley towns in the Vermont Legislature next January. They prevailed over two independents, John Burns, Moretown and Gene Bifano, Warren.
After last week’s election results came in, The Valley Reporter reached out to the four candidates for comments on the election and its results.
TORRE
I’m so grateful to have been re-elected and am honored to serve our Washington-2 towns and Vermont for another term. I deeply appreciate the support I received, and the honest and galvanizing feedback and ideas shared with me by other candidates and community members. We dove into the complexity and urgency of the issues we’re facing on housing, property taxes, flood resilience, education and healthcare. These issues require the full attention of the administration and our legislature, and our most productive work together to really address the cost of living crisis in our state. The legislative makeup will look different next term, hopefully setting us up for more effective collaboration. I’m committed to tackling the difficult work ahead with new colleagues,” Torre said.
WHITE
“I am thrilled to have been chosen to represent our district in the Vermont State House. I feel fortunate to live here, and to have raised my children here. And I am energized to go to Montpelier and work with the governor and the legislature to make our state an even better place to live,” White noted.
“I also want to thank my opponents, Dara Torre, John Burns, and Gene Bifano,” White continued. “I am grateful for the civility, and even the friendship, that was displayed during our campaign. While we have differing views, we engaged in respectful and productive dialogue regarding the issues we are facing. I have a lot of hope for the future of Vermont,” she added.
BURNS
“Statewide it was good to see voters send the message that they have had enough of Vermont’s runaway legislature. I have spoken to many local voters who feel the same. I began my campaign as an independent candidate for Washington-2 State Representative to give voters of this district more choice and some hope through this election cycle and that was achieved,” Burns said.
“This campaign stayed factual, honest, and made a point of holding elected leaders accountable for their record. I feel confident that there will be a heightened awareness of how our legislators perform in this upcoming session and this will be healthy for Vermont. I will stay engaged, along with many disaffected yet re-energized supporters that I have met, to do what we can to save our state. Thanks to all for your support and efforts during the campaign,” Burns added.
All candidates, including Bifano were invited to send their thoughts on the election results. Bifano did not respond by press time on November 13,2024.
