Shand Retires/Huntley to Run

Ernie Shand, member of the House of Representatives for Cavendish and Weathersfield has announced his retirement after 12 years of service.

To celebrate Representative Shand’s work in the legislature, a picnic was held at the Cavendish home of Gene and Phyllis Bont, attended by many supporters from Cavendish and Weathersfield, and Windsor County’s three senators.

Shand guided legislation that enabled many more Vermonters to have access to broadband and cell service in rural areas; and he worked to provide affordable health care to Vermonters. In addition, consumer protection was high on Shand’s agenda: he states that “A lot of time has been spend working with the Attorney General on consumer protection issues such as credit card fraud, unscrupulous internet lending and electronic security breaches.” During this last session, Shand shepherded a bill through passage which will guarantee our National Guard troops housing allowance when they are deployed for more that 30 days. This issue arose during the Irene deployment last year.

Community members present at the picnic shared stories about how Shand listened to all his constituents points of view, as well as the timely way of responding to their questions and concerns. Ernie stated that after a dozen years it was time for take a break, spend more time with his family, and mow the lawn!

The importance of Representative Shand’s tenure was noted by the three Windsor County Senators in attendance: John Campbell, Dick McCormick and Alice Nitka. John Campbell praised Shand for the way he studied materials and prepared for legislation. Often, he said, the committee wanted to hear Shand’s point of view before acting on a bill.

Also in attendance was Mark Huntley who, with the support of the Democratic Committees of both Weathersfield and Cavendish, will run for the Cavendish/Weathersfield House seat vacated by Shand. Huntley, a financial advisor and musician, was born in Rutland. He has lived in and been involved in the Cavendish community for more than a decade. He has served on the Green Mountain Union School Board for the past 10 years and was elected to the Cavendish Select Board this past year. He has been very active for over 10 years in the care, building and recent renovation of Greven Field, the Proctorsville little league baseball field that was severely damaged by the 2011 flood.

The Cavendish Democratic Committee will have a voter registration table at the Cavendish Historical Society flea market and Auction on June 30. If you are new to town or new to voting, stop by to fill out the simple form (bring along your driver’s license). Mark Huntley will be available throughout the day to meet people and answer questions.