By STEPHEN SEITZ
Special to the Eagle Times
WHITINGHAM. Vt. — It’s not often you find a state Senate candidate who wants to improve the state of rap music in Vermont, but Tyler Colford, a Republican running for state Senate from Whitingham, said that’s what he’d do if the Mega Millions jackpot fell into his lap.
Responding to an Eagle Times questionnaire, Colford had this to say: “I would donate part of the winnings to my local library, public school, and The Pool Learning Center; I would make other donations via donorsee.com; and invest in local rappers and rap groups to help get the scene off the ground.”
Colford, who works as a machinist at G.S. Precision in Brattleboro, also raps under the name Krypto Man. But he also has serious priorities if elected, largely centered around curbing state power.
“If elected,” he wrote, “my chief legislative priority will be to decentralize the state and federal governments, giving more control and responsibilities to local communities and individuals. As a state Senator I won’t be able to control the legislation passed at a federal level, but I can propose and support legislation to nullify the enforcement of federal legislation.”
Colford wrote that he would like to see a return to the days of local school funding.
“My main priority [for Windham County] is to give localities the control to levy property taxes and budget public education spending how they see fit,” he wrote. “One big step in that direction is to repeal Acts 46 and 60.”
Colford wrote the he favors free-market capitalism.
“I am in favor of removing the age requirements to work and removing a minimum wage, both of which will allow Vermont to thrive economically,” he wrote. “An age requirement to work was put in place to protect children from mining hazards, which, by the time the law was passed, was unnecessary. Today the jobs kids could be hired for would likely be coding or something technologically based, in an air conditioned office.”
Colford believe that having a minimum wage is too much of a burden on business.
“The minimum wage is an arbitrary amount that could become either far too little an amount for the employee, or far too much for the employer to pay,” he wrote.
Colford’s philosophy includes renewable energy: “I think the government should get out of trying to increase renewable energy,” he wrote. “There is already a demand for it, and private companies are responding to the demand without government intervention.”
More on Colford’s candidacy can be found on his Facebook page.
The incumbents in the Windham County Senate district are Democrats Becca Balint, first elected in 2014, and Jeannette White, who was first elected in 2002. While Colford is the only Republican running, Aaron Diamondstone and Jerry Levy of the Union Liberty Party and independent candidate Beverly Stone are also in the race. Diamonstone and Levy have run in each election since 2014.
Balint and White advanced to the general election after defeating Wayne Estey in August.
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