Save the Date!

Annual Leaf Drop    

Pam reviews the spoils of the day

This weekend,  November 1st and 2nd, the Conservation Commission will be hosting the Annual Leaf Drop,  Years ago the Select Board discontinued the 4 weekends for burning which were two in the Fall and two in the Spring.   I thought if the Town was going to ban leaf burning, an alternative should be offered to the residents for leaf disposal.  The idea for Leaf Drop was born and I manned the first drop off site along with a couple volunteers.  The first year we had two sites, one at Airport Park and another at Bayside.  The Bayside location did not attract much traffic and the Town cut back the Drop Off to Airport Park only the following year.  The Conservation Commission hopped on board and the rest is history.  We sell baked goods to warm your tummy and fill our piggy bank with some funds for our annual Colchester Blooms effort.  Stop by, bring your leaves, some spare change for treats and take a moment if you chose to visit with the candidate, that would be me,  for the House of Representatives in The Bay.

Saturday and Sunday 8AM - 4PM........we are waiting for you and your leaves.

Colchester Voters I need your Endorsement

Republican Booth at the Champlain valley Fair

Please Endorse Pam

I am in the midst of a very challenging race for the House of Representatives. My opponent has "the old guard' support but I have something far more valuable...friends and neighbors who believe, as do I, we are at a critical crossroads in Vermont to right our Ship of State. This is serious business requiring hard work and the fortitude to make hard decisions. Joining on as one of the super majority, my opponent will not get the job done.....it requires someone like myself who is willing to stand up and articulate stridently common sense solutions to the morass of problems we have created and inherited. Please consider approving the following message to be published in my last ad before the election in The Sun. I would be honored to include your name. I would like to get as many folks as possible to make a bold statement that grassroots folks like ourselves are alive, well and will not be silenced. Anyone else you know who would be willing to be included in the endorsement, please advise and either you or I could contact them. I need each person's permission by Monday to submit my text.. Thank you for your support...it is immeasurable.
You may call me at 846-7313 or send me an email.

Thank you for your continued support!

On November 4, we the undersigned will be voting for Pam Loranger to represent the Bay District in the House of Representatives. Pam has proven herself to be a true Public Steward through 16 years of service in Colchester. We know she will deliver a strong message to Montpelier on behalf of all Colchester residents.

Pam Re Elected As Chair

Pam Gets The Job Done!

Tuesday  night I was elected for another one year term as Chair of the Planning Commission.  It has been and continues to be my honor to serve in that capacity.  My unanimous endorsement by my fellow commissioners presents me with an opportunity to address a concern expressed to me by my supporters.  "Pam, would you have to step down from any of your current commitments if elected?"  I have given this great thought and my answer is a resounding "YES".   Granted, I serve the Town in many capacities but I know am  capable of  meeting  my many obligations while at the same time representing Colchester in the Legislature.    I would never shortchange one responsibility for another.  In fact, I happen to believe the ability to serve the residents as a hands on volunteer locally augmented with my participation in the Legislature greatly enhances my contributions.   I believe this is a wonderful opportunity to bring real world on the ground experience to the Chamber and Committees of the House and also translate the complexities of developing legislation back to the committees/commissions and people of Colchester.

Seriously Consider Voting for Pam Loranger

We recommend that every voter seriously consider voting for Pam Loranger for State Representative. Since 1998, Ms. Loranger has thrown herself into the workings of Colchester and has truly dedicated much of her life to being involved and informed. She has served in many, many roles in our town and is prepared to dedicate herself to representing Colchester in Montpelier. No one out there will work harder for us. If you have any doubt about Pam’s dedication to, knowledge of, or commitment to Colchester, give her a call. Really. She’s probably knocked at your door but if you missed her, talk to her before Nov. 4. You will be impressed by not just the breadth and depth of her knowledge but by how much she wants to know what YOU think and what concerns you have. And that will not end the day she is elected.

If you consider yourself a liberal, think before you cast your vote along old party lines. We are both liberal, no doubt about it, but will be happily voting for Loranger next week. Labels are not helpful these days. Ms. Loranger transcends the party line. She will study the issues. She will listen to every constituent she meets. She will hear your concerns and ideas, no matter who you are. Pam has goals that are conservative in the old fashioned way, as in “cautiously moderate”. She wants to conserve what is good about our town and be sure we are on a path to a secure future. As struggling middle-classers and small business owners, we want Pam in Montpelier working for us. Pam Loranger truly will be a great representative for the people of Colchester.

Susan McMillan, Colchester
Becky Roberts, Colchester

Pam's Positions as Queried by The Sun

 The Sun Asked and Pam Answered!

Gotta get those lawn signs staked and placed!

 Last year, Gov. Peter Shumlin surprised some when he focused his “State of the State” speech on opiate addiction in Vermont. If you were tapped to give this year’s State of the State speech, what would you focus your speech on?

Education cost containment is top priority. The ballooning cost of education is driving statewide education property taxes to levels that are crippling the budgets of many Vermonters. Under the  current funding structure, the Legislature can control the purse strings and yet they have refused to curtail spending and re-tool the funding mechanism. We need to constrain costs, re-consider unfunded mandates and provide a formula for funding that every Vermonter can clearly understand.

I support a two year moratorium on the increasing burden of property taxes capping spending at the 2015 levels.  For the next two years,  the Legislature should concentrate on assessing Acts 60/68 and confine Education Fund monies only for the functions listed in Statute(16 V.S.A.).    Towns must send a resounding message to Montpelier to address the current unsustainable education funding.  I will carry that message from Colchester.

The Colchester School Board recently agreed to a contract with the Colchester teachers union that increases teacher salaries by an average of 3.25 percent annually over the next three years. Can Colchester taxpayers support these increases, and is Vermont’s education system sustainably funded?

As noted above, I do not believe education is sustainably funded.

We are educating fewer students yet the costs per student continue to rise. Consider the following: in the past 10 years student population has declined by 10% while spending has increased by 33% and the per-student spending has increased by 60%.  Property taxes fund 70% of education spending. Anyone who runs a business or a household knows this trend is unsustainable and cannot continue.  

Taking on a comprehensive review and overhaul of this broken system is no small task but that is why you send us to Montpelier.  I am asking you to elect me to do the hard work and face the tough decisions.  Education reform and its consequences must be paramount in the upcoming Legislative Session. Runaway education costs are the responsibility of the State to fix.

Have the struggles implementing health care reform under the federal Affordable Care Act/Vermont Health Connect changed your outlook on the state’s move toward universal, government-run health care? How will you handle the issue in the Legislature next year?

 Health care is a topic of utmost importance for Vermonters and they are being led down a single-payer road on a hope and a prayer by the Shumlin administration and the Democrats’ super-majority in the Legislature. I have seen no evidence that Vermont’s single payer experiment can succeed in our small state without substantial rationing of care. The failure of Vermont Health Connect is a clear example of government overreach, a colossal waste of taxpayer funds and evidence they are incapable of managing such an upheaval in the medical system.

I support quality healthcare for everyone, but prices are better controlled by a system that encourages multiple insurers either through a person’s employer or purchased on an individual basis. The costs of health care must be constrained by a  combination of rational government regulation of hospitals and personal responsibility  by everyone for their own health.

As a legislator, I will not support single-payer.

The EPA is pressuring Vermonters to stem the tide of polluted urban and agricultural runoff into Lake Champlain that is degrading the lake’s water quality. What needs to happen to ensure the lake has healthy water for swimming and drinking supplies?

Conservation Commission at Colchester Pond 

I am very pleased to report it is already happening!.  Last year, the Legislature passed the Shoreland Protection Act.  As steward of 27 miles of shoreline, Colchester has led other municipalities in local shoreline protection.  Our regulations are of such high caliber that the State of Vermont has granted Colchester municipal authority to provide for continued permitting under our existing regulations.  The Planning Commission and staff worked diligently throughout the session to ensure our delegation would be granted.  Additionally, the Planning Commission approved and provided to the Development Review Board guidance for seawall construction The Shoreline Stabilization Handbook.  

As chair of the Planning Commission and member of the Conservation Commission,  I believe I am uniquely qualified to serve on the House Natural Resource Committee when elected to the Legislature.

  Is there anything else about you, your history in Colchester or your candidacy that voters should know?

I began my service to our Town in 1998 after attending a meeting of  the Conservation Commission. My commitment quickly mushroomed into greater interest in Town government. I jumped in with both feet, first to understand our local governance and secondly to participate constructively and collaboratively in Town government.

Now, 16 years later I:

o  remain a member of the Conservation Commission.

o  am the chair the Planning Commission

o  remain a founding member of Colchester Blooms,

o  am a member of the Historical Society

o  volunteer at the Malletts Bay Schoolhouse

o  serve as Secretary of the Colchester Community Center Initiative

o  participated on the Governance Committee

o  serve on the Firearms Safety Committee

o  was a member of the Citizens Committee selecting our Town Manager.

Now it’s time to apply my energy, experience and knowledge accumulated in the past 16 years to serve the residents of Colchester in Montpelier.

I have the passion to help bring balance to our Legislature and re-align Montpelier’s actions to reflect the pressing needs of Vermont citizens. 

Join Pam at Tonight's GOP Rally

Jack is encouraging you to VOTE Pam

Greetings!

Please join me at the Rally tonight showcasing GOP candidates at the American Legion Hall on Roosevelt Highway starting at 6:30.  There will be a band and a cash bar.  A $10.00 donation is requested.

Hope to see you there!

As we move into the last stretch (15 days until "E" Day) please consider helping my campaign with any of the following:

• Letter to The Sun
• Posting to Front Porch Forum (better)
• Hosting a lawn sign…..I will have them with me tonight
• Introducing me to Friend in person or via your Facebook page
• Any time you can donate would be greatly appreciated

This is true grassroots campaign..so hop on board the Pam Train….it will be a fun ride.  And for those of you already on board thank you ever so much for your continued support.

The Education Challenge

The Education Challenge

Pam calls the Fall Class of Geese to Come to Attention

While school funding equity, the primary goal of Act 60/68, may have been accomplished, one consequence of this legislation has been to drive up the taxes to support the costs of public education to exorbitant levels, all in the face of a shrinking student population and a stagnant economy.

Clearly the issues resulting from Act 60/68 need to be confronted.   However, the Legislature refuses to do so when they clearly have the authority to cap school spending. Instead they have been complicit in driving up property taxes.

I support school choice in the form of charter and private schools which creates a dynamic and competitive marketplace.  And in a free market offering options for parents, school boards will have incentive to control costs and insure quality.  This does not provide immediate relief, but the start of the process to control public education costs. 

The income sensitivity level of $90,000 should be challenged.  I realize this would be supremely unpopular but until more voters have a greater stake in controlling education costs, property taxes will continue to escalate.

If State mandates  are driving school budgets, local school boards should be identifying these costs to their legislators and voters. If social services mandates are driving up local education budgets, that should be clearly identified to the voters.

Expanding social  programs such as lifelong learning, adult education, non-profit teen pregnancy programs, relief for caregivers of the disabled, should be critically reviewed based on the tenets of Results Based Accountability with clear and measurable goals.  If the programs are not producing proven results, they should be cut back or ideally eliminated. 

I am admittedly a novice in this supremely complicated area. However, unlike more populated states, we have the ability to implement incremental changes without enormous adverse unintended consequences as we reverse the trend towards an unmanageable, unsustainable education system based on property taxes. 

I realize I have not provided a ‘magic bullet’ to education sustainability but I  think we are way too far down the path to turn this on a dime. 

In my years of service to the Town, I have been witness to more than one study sitting now on a shelf and I am no proponent of endless analysis without concrete goals and outcomes.  That is why I support a Results Based Accountability approach which uses plain language, common sense, less paper, and is useful to the community.