CALEDONIA COUNTY — In his formative years in the Navy, Scott Beck says he learned how to manage the seemingly unmanageable. He says he would bring that creative thinking and problem solving skills to the Vermont Senate, representing the Caledonia District.
“Whether it’s corporate tax reform, education funding reform or pension reform, you go in there and really understand the system in great detail and depth,” he said.
“You just figure out those two or three places where if you just make a little modification, you can actually make that system work as it was supposed to,” he said.
Beck is a Republican currently serving in the Vermont House, representing Caledonia-3. The Vermont Senate Caledonia District he is now running for represents the towns of Barnet, Danville, Groton, Hardwick, Newbury, Peacham, Ryegate, St. Johnsbury, Stannard, Walden, Waterford and Wheelock.
Beck attended the University of Washington and served in the U.S Navy, before relocating to St. Johnsbury with his wife and six children.
Beck is a high school teacher and since 2005, he and his wife have owned The Boxcar and Caboose Bookstore in downtown St. Johnsbury.
In his limited spare time, Beck coaches local baseball or helps plan the St. Johnsbury Maple Festival, of which he happens to be the founder.
He credits much of his patience to being supervisor of dorms at St. Johnsbury Academy, as well as teaching U.S. history and social studies there. It also has given him an appreciation of the energy and perspectives of young people.
“You don’t just become somebody where your whole perspective is shaped by people in an older generation,” he said of teaching. “You continue to be shaped by young kids and you really see what they need and what’s working for them and what’s not working for them.”
He said this helps him understand how to get young people to stay in or relocate to Vermont. The high cost of housing is the major problem and the solution is less regulation and lower taxes.
“I think we need to shift from being a state that solves problems by creating government programs and new taxes and new fees,” he said, “and instead focus on regulation that is predictable and enticing to businesses and housing.”
He believes over-regulation blocks potential affordable housing from being built locally.
“Right now, (developers) want to build three-quarter-million dollar homes, but they don’t want to build market-rate housing because they can’t make any money building that,” he said.
Beck’s experiences as a business owner have shaped his desire to support local owners through lower taxes and less regulation.
“Our economy is not growing at the same rate as the rest of the country,” he said. “That shows up in how much revenue you have available for spending.
“And if you don’t want to raise taxes, you’re going to have to slow down your spending so that you don’t have to raise taxes,” he said.
He believes by looking into every bolt and nut, the system can be better understood and possibly improved. He believes the act of constant evaluation is key to his mindset.
“I think we need to take a really hard look at every program and determine if Vermont taxpayers are getting good value for this spending,” he said.
“If the answer is no, then we either need to shift that spending to where they are getting value,” he said, “or we need to give the taxpayers a break.”
Kate Lewton writes for the Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, on assignment for The Hardwick Gazette.
