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Ralph Corbo is a candidate for lieutenant governor from Wallingford. His name appears on the ballot with the party affiliation 鈥淏anish The F-35s.鈥� In the past, he鈥檚 worked as a U.S. postal service employee.

In 2019 Corbo made statewide news for interrupting Gov. Phil Scott鈥檚 inaugural address. During his protest, Corbo and yelled that money should not be allowed to compromise Vermont鈥檚 鈥渃lean air and water鈥� from the balcony of the House chambers.

Our guest is:

•  Ralph Corbo, candidate for lieutenant governor running for the Banish The F35s party

Broadcast live on Friday, Oct. 30, 2020 at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.

VPR鈥檚 Mitch Wertlieb spoke with Ralph Corbo, and their interview below has been condensed and edited and fact-checked for clarity.

Ralph Corbo: It's very simple, especially from what's happened in the recent news - which unfortunately is not being reported on much - that came out of Imperial County, Calif., on Sept. 29, of the mid-air collision and crash and explosion of an F-35 during an in-fuel training flight.

So you feel that this is an example of how dangerous this plane could be, potentially, for Vermont?

It's just an accident waiting to happen, because on many occasions, I've seen the same type of in-flight fuel training going on, especially down here in southern Vermont, over my own town.

You're not alone in this issue. There was a lot of opposition to the F-35 coming to the Burlington International Airport. I am wondering, though, you've made this your signature issue to run on. Do you think this is really the most important issue that is facing Vermonters right now?

Yeah. Because at the base of all our problems, especially when it comes to solving in-state problems, lies the lack of funds. And that's all tied to the increasing military industrialization of the national economy, which is taking billions upon billions of potential funding dollars for our state and putting them into, at this time, a $741 billion defense budget to perpetuate endless wars for endless military and industrial profits.

Editor鈥檚 Note: In Feb., Pres. Donald Trump sent Congress a proposed Fiscal Year 2021 budget request of , of which $705.4 billion were allocated to the Dept. of Defense.

For FY 2020, the Department of Defense had a budget of .

What would you be able to do about this particular issue regarding the F-35 if you did win the lieutenant governor's office?

The thing is to bring this to everybody's attention. Like I said, there's been no coverage 鈥� including your own news agency 鈥� of the horrific crash on Sept. 29. Has your news agency done any stories on that at all? No, I doubt it.

Again, this happened in the skies in California.

Right. And this is something, like I just said to you, [that] is also going on over the skies of Southern Vermont. I've seen in-flight fuel training going on over the skies of Vermont. It's being allowed to happen. It's not only about just the F-35 itself up in Burlington, it's the militarization, all over, of the skies of Vermont.

I can tell your passion on this particular subject. But of course, right now we're in the reality of this really horrendous coronavirus pandemic. And if elected to the office of lieutenant governor, what would you do to address the pandemic?

This pandemic and other recent virus type things like bird flu and swine flu 鈥� it's all due to the degradation of the environment, breaking down people's immune systems, making them more vulnerable to these flu types of viruses. And you've got a perfect stew for all of these problems now that that's being constantly talked about. Mother Nature didn't create it. We have created it.

Editor鈥檚 note: VPR could not find evidence to support the claim that COVID-19, swine flu and the avian flu have impacted humans more severely due to our immune systems being suppressed by chemical pesticides.

But I am wondering, you know, again, if you were elected to the office, what would you do, let's say, differently - if anything - than what Gov. Phil Scott has done, and members of his administration, to deal with this pandemic? And is it being dealt with correctly?

No, it's not. Because, like I said, being that he is no friend of the environment to begin with, he will not focus on what needs to be done to prevent this, in the long term, from reoccurring again. He's only taking advantage of the short-term crisis for his own political gain.

You have to do hard things... like they have done in Portland, Maine. They're going on their third year of . He'll never do that.

Editor鈥檚 note: In July 2018, the City of Portland, Maine enacted an ordinance that, among other requirements, restricts the use of synthetic pesticides on both public and private property. However, the ordinance allows the use of pesticides that are certified organic by the USDA or considered 鈥渕inimum risk鈥� by the EPA. Find the full ordinance .

But you're not suggesting that pesticides led to the coronavirus?

Not to the virus, but it exacerbates things like this by breaking down our immune systems. We have immune systems that have been severely affected over all these decades by this constant heavy use of different types of pesticides, especially in the agricultural industry. That's something Phil Scott will not touch because a lot of his cronies and voting block are in the Vermont agricultural industry.

Editor鈥檚 note: VPR could not substantiate the claim that chemical pesticides inhibit immune responses in humans. Dr. Tim Lahey, a professor of infectious disease at the University of Vermont Medical Center, said "Viruses like SARS-CoV-2 are well-proven to be naturally occurring and personal vulnerability to COVID-19 has been convincingly linked to age or co-morbid medical conditions." Lahy told VPR he has not seen "good evidence" linking COVID-19 to environmental degradation.

Of course, you're running for lieutenant governor. So I'm wondering how you feel the candidates you're running against 鈥� Republican Scott Milne, Democrat Molly Gray 鈥� are approaching this issue?

Again, these are inconvenient truths that they won't talk about because they're afraid of hurting certain blocks of potential voters. They're all about just trying to win. They're not about trying to bring the issues that need to be brought forward to protect the people of Vermont [forward]; they're interested in winning. That's it. That's their bottom line.

Of course, associated with the pandemic is the economic fallout from it, and Vermont is hurting like really every state is. What would you do to right the ship for the economy in Vermont, if elected?

Again, what do we need? We need funds. And unfortunately, we don't have those kind of funds in the Vermont coffers. What you need now is federal government help. If there wasn't a $741 billion 鈥� or least a 50% reduction in $741 billion 鈥� defense budget, which would be about, say, on average, $300 billion. Divide that up by 50 states: $6 billion each going back to each state, not being wasted, those taxpayer dollars. We could have $6 billion dollars coming back into the state. That's the basically of the entire budget of Vermont for鈥� 2020.

I feel that you must have a passionate feeling on climate change as well. How would you, as lieutenant governor, prepare the state to meet this challenge?

Again, unfortunately on our own, we don't have the financial ability to do it. That needs a massive influx of money into the state. Every state needs to get more money back out of their federal tax dollars. And it's not happening right now, with the takeover of the national economy by the military industrial complex.

Earlier, about running and you told him that you're essentially running as a form of activism because there were no signature requirements to appear on the ballot this year due to the pandemic. You were also on the ballot for governor and Vermont's seat in the U.S. House. I'm wondering what you're hoping to achieve with this kind of 'any of the above' approach for seeking office.

Those had been dress rehearsals. Now, running for lieutenant governor, I am in it to win it. In this timeframe and with the consideration of what's going on in other races, I believe this is where I could best be of service to the people of Vermont, by being elected their lieutenant governor and being an advocate for them, for the protection of the people of Vermont.

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VPR sought interviews with each of the independent candidates running for governor and lieutenant governor ahead of the Nov. 3 general election. We were able to schedule interviews with Michael Devost (Independent, Governor), Charly Dickerson (Independent, Governor), Kevin Hoyt (Independent, Governor), Emily Peyton (Truth Matters, Governor) and Ralph Corbo (Banish The F35s, Lieutenant Governor). VPR was unable to coordinate interviews with Wayne Billado III (Independent, Governor & Lieutenant Governor) and Erynn Hazlett Whitney (Independent, Governor). Find our full coverage .