NEAL P. GOSWAMI – The Bennington Banner
BENNINGTON – Four of the five Democrats seeking their party’s gubernatorial nomination shared similar visions for Vermont’s future Thursday night in a public forum that focused on differences with the current Republican administration.
State Sens. Peter Shumlin of Putney and Doug Racine of Richmond were joined at the forum by Secretary of State Deborah Markowitz and former state Sen. Matt Dunne. Sen. Susan Bartlett did not attend.
The four Democrats shared similar views on a range of topics, but the theme was clear: All four intend to run the state much differently than retiring Republican Gov. James Douglas and Republican Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie, who is hoping to replace Douglas.
Markowitz, in her sixth term as secretary of state, said Douglas and Dubie, who are now serving in their fourth term together, are only now looking at what the state is getting for the money it spends. “For the first time (Douglas) and the Legislature are saying we are going to look at outcomes,” she said. Markowitz said her experience running the secretary of state’s office will help her better manage the state’s budget. “We need to get our state working again and what I bring is different. I bring the practical skills of running government,” she said.
Racine said his business background will benefit the governor’s office. “I believe that the governor has to be a CEO,” he said. “You don’t get over-exuberant when times are good and you don’t get down in the dumps and preach doom and gloom when times are bad,” he said of his business philosophy.
The next governor must also plan more for the state’s future than the current administration does, Racine said. We’ve had an administration that sort of lets things happen to Vermont,” he said. “We need to control our own destiny and not just let things happen to us.”
Shumlin, leader of the Vermont Senate, said he has been working to do things differently than Douglas and Dubie contemporaneously. “We’ve been delivering on the budget. We did it in every way the Douglas-Dubie team didn’t want us to do it,” he said, noting the Legislature’s override of Douglas’ first-ever veto of a state budget last year.
Shumlin said he plans to end the practice of speaking ill of Vermont, too. “I have never sold a product by telling people how terrible it is. That’s never worked,” Shumlin said. “These guys are going around the state saying how terrible it is to do business.”
Dunne, an executive with the search engine Google, said Douglas and Dubie have failed to deploy an effective economic development strategy. “You need to have clear goals and you need to have people who will bring in fresh ideas and you have to have trust that you’re not going to bring in ideas from years ago that were already rejected,” he said.
All four expressed a need for greater broadband and cell phone coverage in Vermont to provide economic growth. Shumlin was willing to go a step further, however. Douglas promised universal coverage by 2010, he said, but has failed. Shumlin pledged Thursday to finish the task by the end of 2012 if elected.
“I will pull together Vermonters with the plans to make it happen and we will deliver that by 2012,” he said.
Markowitz said the state must “treat high-speed Internet the way we treat other utilities” because “it’s the electricity of today.” A public-private partnership will be needed to bring those services to all Vermonters because if providers could make money doing it “they would have done it” already, she said.
Economic and job growth will come from investing in and focusing on the state’s main sectors — manufacturing, agriculture and tourism, Racine said. Budget cuts have reduced needed investments, and the state’s rainy day funds could be used to stave off additional cuts this year, he said.
Dunne, meanwhile, said the state’s economic future is “rooted in its past.” The state has a history of “frugal people who have come up with new ideas and then been able to bring them to the marketplace.” He advocated for investments that will boost the state’s infrastructure, access to capital and education system. Dunne also proposed offering capital gains exemptions for people that invest in Vermont companies.
How can Vermont improve its school system and make it an asset to recruiting new businesses? All four candidates offered similar ideas, including investment in pre-K education and ending the practice of blaming teachers and schools for the state’s economic woes. “We make sure that when children walk into that kindergarten school door, they are ready to learn,” Racine said.
Markowitz said the next governor must “end the war of words” with teachers. “I’m offended by the governor always blaming our problems on teachers,” she said.
Dunne said the state should look at consolidating supervisory unions in a way that leads to collaboration and efficiency. Dunne and Shumlin also advocated for increased “distance learning” through video conferencing that will allow schools to share educational resources.
Additionally, Shumlin said he would have the state “back off standardized testing” and find better ways to help individual students learn.
This article appeared in the Bennington Banner
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