Caledonia-3 Candidates Prepare

Details: Created on Thursday, 25 October 2012 15:59; Written by Peter Lipomi

CALEDONIA COUNTY - House District candidates hit the streets to get their name and voice out to the public as election day approaches.

Democrat Michelle Fay, Republican Gary Reis, and Democrat Robert South will be all be running for two seats in the Caledonia-3 District. Reis and South currently hold the two seats.

Fay currently works for Umbrella and is focusing on providing an active, strong voice for the community. "We could use more active advocates in Montpelier. I think that we have seen a lot of new kinds of initiatives come out of our representatives and so I am really interested in forcing Montpelier to listen to the voice of (St. Johnsbury) and the (Northeast Kingdom)," said Fay.

Incumbent, Gary Reis, is taking an economical approach, focusing on the area's spending. Reis has worked for and is currently receiving a pension from manufacturer, Weidmann Electrical Technology, Inc., which recently had an investment given to them by the State Senate maintaining 280 jobs at the plant. See Jobs Secured at Weidmann.

"I don't think we are doing too bad, I think we need to control our spending and we need to bring in more business," said Reis. Weidmann is currently one of the town's largest employers.

Bob South has passed several laws since holding his seat. He would like to see more funding brought to the area and uses Hurricane Irene as a prime example.

"(The storm) destroyed the Mental Health Services over in Waterbury at the state hospital. What I want to be able to bring in, (is) more funding for Community Mental Health Agencies who have to wrap around services for people from the community," said South.

The candidates will be out in the streets campaigning up to election day on November 6th.