In a town that hosts the state’s flagship university and depends on the jobs and innovation it provides, Sarah la Cour said she will prioritize how education is funded if elected as the next state representative for the 3rd Hampshire District.
“We have to get a handle on public funding for public education,” la Cour said.
The state should return to, at minimum, the 50-50 funding for the University of Massachusetts, la Cour said, and should also set aside money for towns to provide universal preschool and for students pursuing vocational and technical school education.
“It’s about making sure every child has the opportunity for an advanced educational opportunity,” la Cour said.
Currently executive director of the Amherst Business Improvement District, la Cour, 53, has called Amherst home for the past 21 years. Married to Niels, she has raised two children.
“With Ellen (Story) retiring, I wanted to do more for the community, and look at the district holistically,” la Cour said.
After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in political science and studio arts at Mount Holyoke College, la Cour earned a master’s degree in landscape architecture at UMass and began a varied work experience with landscape design.
With 15 years working for private managed projects throughout the Northeast, and serving as director of conservation and planning for W.D. Cowls, Inc., she doesn’t want to give short shrift to environmental affairs.
“Climate change is an issue, and we have to address it over the long term,” la Cour said.
She would seek to have a transition in place until the state can get to 100 percent renewable sources for its energy infrastructure.
La Cour has won endorsements from several officials, including Rep. John Scibak, D-South Hadley, who represents the other Granby precinct; Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan; and retiring Hampshire County Sheriff Robert Garvey. She also has in place what she calls her “kitchen cabinet,” including Amherst Education Foundation co-founder Jan Klausner-Wise, former Pelham School Committee member Joan Temkin and Select Board member Constance Kruger. “I’m lucky to have a broad group of people to support me behind the scenes,” la Cour said.
La Cour said she will focus on issues of concern for women, such as the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act that still hasn’t passed, as well as criminal justice reform, and how to address both social and racial justice.
She is endorsing passage of the fair share amendment when it comes to the state ballot in 2018. “I support the fair share amendment, the millionaire’s tax, and creating a better economy and increasing revenues,” la Cour said.
Her work experience, she said, has centered on identifying a problem and bringing people to the table to solve it, building consensus through negotiation.
She hopes to replicate the “grace, humor, warmth and intelligence” of Story in her temperament.
“The key is being a human, being approachable as that person who they see walking on the street,” la Cour said. “Nuances of temperament and experience make the difference.”
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
