Shumlin for governor

The Burlington Free Press editorial board recommends Peter Shumlin, the Democrat from Putney, for governor of Vermont. The critical characteristic is that he will get things done. Shumlin’s promise to run state government in the most open way possible is the precondition for anyone who seeks the state’s highest elected office.

Vermont continues to struggle to rise above the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. A steady hand to maintain the status quo is no longer sufficient to move this state forward — socially and economically. This state can no longer afford a governor who would see blocking legislation as the major accomplishments of his tenure.

As Senate President Pro Tempore, Peter Shumlin has displayed considerable legislative skill in bringing about results on the biggest issues, an advantage he holds over his main competitor, Republican Brian Dubie of Essex Junction.

Shumlin was a driving force in Vermont becoming the first state to grant marriage equality to gay and lesbian couples without being told to do so by the courts.

Shumlin was a legislative leader in the 2009 budget fight with Gov. Jim Douglas that led Douglas to veto the budget and the Legislature to override that veto — both a first for a state budget in Vermont.

Shumlin can claim credit for the 26-4 vote this year that led the Senate to deny Vermont Yankee a chance to seek from the Public Service Board an extension of its operating license for 20 years beyond 2012.

Regardless of whether you agree with Shumlin’s agenda, there is no denying the senator from Windham County has built a record of bold action in the Legislature.

Shumlin’s platform is equally full of bold initiatives — from his proposal to reduce Corrections costs by focusing on keeping nonviolent offenders from returning to prison, to his push for a single-payer health care system for the state.

Shumlin’s platform shows a politician unafraid of controversy in his search for solutions to challenges facing Vermont. To shy away from trying new approaches to the state’s fiscal problems is to go back to simply cutting services the state provides to Vermonters to bridge the budget gap.

Shumlin will bring his experience gained in the Senate helping to build state budgets in an environment of reduced revenues to work with the Legislature on solutions that are fair to Vermonters.

In politics, the safe route is to stick to generalities and avoid leaving a public trail that could come back to haunt a candidate. In the general election campaign, Shumlin’s willingness to speak out on contentious issues and talk about specifics of his platform leaves him open to equally specific criticism. He has been direct. Again, this is part of being open and accessible as a representative of the people.

Shumlin exposes some weakness when delving into details of some of his proposals. He stumbles to make himself understood on his Corrections plan. He reached too far in claims of cutting taxes. And people will argue about how realistic his plan is to pay for his agenda without raising taxes, especially when he will face a $110 million-plus budget gap on day one as governor.

But throughout his campaign, Shumlin has been consistent on the issues and has remained the man Vermonters have come to know during his legislative career. With Shumlin, his legislative record and his willingness to delve deep into his proposals mean Vermonters know who they are getting as their next governor.

Shumlin pledges to look out for the interest of Vermonters who need help.

Shumlin offers a nuanced approach to Vermont’s budget challenges that avoids a simple-minded policy that more resembles hacking away at spending with a dull ax.

Shumlin’s platform recognizes the importance of investing in education as a way to boost the economy and tackle our social problems.

Shumlin has pledged to run an open administration, and work to reduce the barriers to public access that permeates Vermont laws. This is the only way to run state government, and the only way elected officials can be held accountable. Openness is the most important promise to Vermonters the next governor must keep.

Vermont needs a doer.

Peter Shumlin of Putney will be that governor.

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20101024/OPINION/101023016/Voice-of-the-Free-Press-Recommendation-for-Vermont-governor

There are many differences between Brian Dubie and Peter Shumlin. Our new ad, which you can see here, highlights their different stance on taxes.  Peter Shumlin is a small business owner who wants to build our economy from the ground up.  Peter plans to give tax breaks to the hard working middle class who need it the most and support our small businesses.  Brian Dubie, on the other hand, is a self described “George Bush Republican” who plans to give tax giveaways to the wealthiest 1,400 Vermonters and cut regulations for large, out of state corporations.

The Plans:

Peter Shumlin will continue his work to reduce taxes for the middle class and support our small businesses.  As governor, Peter will get health care off the backs of our employers, make credit more readily available to small business owners and get government spending under control.

Brian Dubie intends to cut the top marginal rate, resulting in tax cuts for the 1,400 wealthiest Vermonters and slash regulations for large out of state corporations.   It is these types of George W. Bush policies that led us into the mess we are in today: skyrocketing deficits, rampant joblessness and bankrupt families.

The Records:

In 2009, the Douglas/Dubie Administration proposed the largest property tax increase in Vermont’s history in order to balance the budget.   In response, Peter Shumlin and Speaker Shap Smith asked the wealthiest to pay a little more – responsibly balancing the budget and reducing income taxes for the hardworking middle class by $6 million.

After listening to the small business owners up and down the Connecticut River, Peter led the effort to eliminate the sales tax on clothing and shoes.  When Peter was no longer in the Senate, the Douglas/Dubie Administration increased the sales tax from 5% to 6%.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Peter Shumlin called on his Republican rival, Brian Dubie, to denounce an advertisement released Thursday by the Republican Governors Association — an ad Shumlin said distorts his record on taxes.

“All I ask is that we be accurate with the facts in this campaign,” Shumlin said at a hastily called news conference.

Shumlin also asked Dubie to join him at 7 p.m. Sunday at a location of Dubie’s choosing for a debate on tax policy: “If Brian Dubie wants to have a conversation about taxes, I welcome that opportunity.”

The Dubie campaign neither developed nor paid for the ad, but by late Thursday afternoon Corry Bliss, Dubie’s campaign manager, had reviewed it. He said he saw nothing inaccurate in it.

He also said Dubie wouldn’t agree to “this gimmick at 7 p.m. on Sunday.” Bliss noted Dubie wasn’t free Sunday night because he would be dining with the president of Senegal, who is visiting Vermont.

Bliss said there was a debate scheduled for today, broadcast at 9 a.m. by WDEV, as well as numerous other scheduled forums between the two candidates, “There will be plenty of time to talk about taxes,” Bliss said.

The Republican Governors Association’s 30-second advertisement starts by quoting Shumlin saying he wants to be judged not by rhetoric, but by his record.

The voice on the ad then says, “Well, as a proud architect of Act 60, he’s raised your property taxes. Last year, Shumlin led the effort to raise over $20 million in taxes on the working families of Vermont. This year he voted to raise taxes again, on farmers and manufacturers. Leaders should be creating jobs, not raising taxes. He says to judge him on his record. So call Peter Shumlin and tell him ‘We’ve had enough.’”

Speaking about the ad, Shumlin said, “Is there anything in there that is true? The answer is no.”

Read more: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20100917/NEWS03/9170302/Shumlin-says-new-ad-distorts-his-record#ixzz0zou7EpYr

“As governor, I will market Vermont as I have marketed my own small business — with enthusiasm and pride,” said Shumlin, one of five Democrats vying for his party’s nomination to be governor in the Aug. 24 primary. Shumlin criticized Republican Brian Dubie for suggesting in some of his advertising that Vermont is a “bad place to do business.”

Shumlin’s proposals include an online business mentoring forum and a database for graduates of Vermont colleges who want to be notified about in-state job openings in their fields. He also promised to use social media such as Facebook and Twitter to promote Vermont.

Shumlin said he could carry out his marketing initiative without spending additional tax dollars. He would use existing money differently, such as advertising regionally rather than spending money on trade missions to Asia.

Read more: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20100804/NEWS02/8040312/Democrat-Shumlin-offers-marketing-plan#ixzz0ve6vg6i0

By Terri Hallenbeck, Free Press Political Reporter

7 July 2010

PUTNEY — Down a winding dirt road on the outskirts of Putney is the business Peter Shumlin’s parents started that he now runs with his brother. Over the ridge is the dairy farm Shumlin bought and turned back over to the farmer to run. Nearby are acres of trees Shumlin owns where a friend runs a sawmill. In the center of town are several buildings filled with commerce — a restaurant, offices, apartments — that Shumlin owns and has had renovated.

Just a few square miles offer evidence that the 53-year-old Shumlin has his hand in just about everything. One hundred miles up the highway in Montpelier, where Shumlin serves as Senate leader, legislative colleagues say it is the same with the state’s business.

“It’s amazing the subjects that man is aware of in any given day at the Statehouse,” said fellow state Sen. Richard Mazza, D-Grand Isle/Chittenden. “The guy just never stops.”

Shumlin showed drive for immersing himself in local issues early on. He was 24 years old — back home after college to work in the family business, Putney Student Travel — when he won election to the Putney Selectboard. He helped his hometown win a fight against a new federal prison being built on the defunct Windham College campus. Instead, Shumlin helped lure Landmark College to the site, where it remains today.

John Leader, who was chairman of the Putney Selectboard when Shumlin joined the board 30 years ago, remembers that even at the age of 24 he had a way of making things happen. “Peter was fairly dynamic in his approach to problems. He was not afraid to use his connections and he had quite a few,” said Leader, who runs the Pepsi distributorship in Brattleboro.

Friends and adversaries alike say Shumlin has the intelligence for grasping issues, savvy for knowing when to act and a charm for getting his way — all of which means he gets things done even as he sometimes generates friction along the way.

Local economy

Shumlin is equally at home whether at the Statehouse, where he is typically dressed in a sharp-fitting suit, or back home in Putney dressed in a T-shirt and shorts. He appears to be a man at home anywhere, as long as he is in the middle of the action.

In laid-back Putney, the action is Shumlin’s involvement in a broad cross-section of enterprises. Each one, Shumlin said, brings home the importance of local control and a local economy.

As he walked through the barn of the dairy farm he bought, Shumlin said he decided it would be better to invest his money here and support the local agricultural economy than in the stock market. Being involved with the farm has helped him learn more about milk pricing and the challenges farmers face, he said. The milk there is sold to a cheesemaker down the road, which pays better than the traditional milk market.

Over the hill and up a rutty logging road, a friend runs a sawmill on land Shumlin owns. On another part of the property, a sawmill employee plans to start a CSA — a community-supported agriculture farm – selling locally grown food to local residents.

Family business

If Shumlin has a lot of irons in the fire, he appears to have learned it from his parents, George and Kitty Shumlin, retired teachers who started Putney Student Travel 59 years ago and turned it over to their sons 20 years ago.

In the renovated barn where the business operates, employees jokingly thanked Shumlin for stopping by one recent day. Between the January-May legislative session and his campaign for governor, Shumlin doesn’t spend a lot of time here. His brother, Jeff, runs the day-to-day business of sending students on foreign trips from Australia to Uganda for language, cross-cultural and community-service experiences. The company three years ago began a partnership with National Geographic for a series of programs.

Jeff Shumlin, who is nearly four years younger than his brother, said the two of them have become accustomed to their roles. “I’m more of a behind-the-scenes detail guy,” Jeff Shumlin said. “Peter is really a visionary, a creative thinker. We’re a good team that way.”

Last year, the business helped Shumlin earn an annual income of nearly $1 million, making him the wealthiest candidate in the race. Shumlin reluctantly revealed his income in April after the other gubernatorial candidates released their tax records. Once he did, he defended it as the mark of somebody who understands business.

Born for politics

While business brings home the money, politics has long been in Shumlin’s blood, his brother said, describing a young Peter sitting in his closet listening to Martin Luther King Jr. speeches on reel-to-reel tape. He was in the closet, Jeff Shumlin said, because the rest of the family was so sick of hearing the tape. Shumlin said he still occasionally listens to the speeches in his car.

His interest in King’s speaking ability might have been driven by his own learning disability. Shumlin struggled as a child to learn to read and spell and was eventually diagnosed with mild dyslexia. Shumlin said he believes he compensated for his difficulty reading with his speaking ability. “I had to be the guy who was fastest with my tongue,“ he said. “I had to be funny, engaging, witty and irreverent to survive those spelling bees and still have my peers know I was OK.”

It has paid off for him in politics. He is known around the Statehouse as being quick with a sound bite, the envy of more tongue-tied legislators.

Shumlin entered state politics after seven years on the Putney Selectboard. In 1990, he was appointed to a seat in the House by Gov. Madeleine Kunin. He moved to the Senate in 1993, became minority leader in his second term, and was elected president pro tempore the next term after Democrats gained the majority. He lost a three-way race for lieutenant governor in 2002 to Republican Brian Dubie, the man he hopes to face in November’s election. After a four-year hiatus, Shumlin returned to the Senate in 2007, and his colleagues elected him president pro tempore again.

Doing battle

President pro tempore was a job Sen. John Campbell, D-Windsor, very much wanted that year, after serving as majority leader under Peter Welch, who left the Senate to run for Congress. Campbell and Shumlin duked it out in a close race by secret ballot in a Democratic caucus meeting before the Legislature convened. When Campbell lost the higher position, he said he had no interest in returning to majority leader. Within weeks, Shumlin had lured Campbell back, promising him a key role in policy decisions. Shumlin stayed true to his word, Campbell said. “He and I were political adversaries,” Campbell said, “but I had no problem staying with him. He puts that aside.”

That is a recurring attribute for Shumlin: He does battle, sometimes there are hard feelings, but he has an uncanny knack for winning forgiveness.

“People stick with me because I think they know I’m going to get at least some of the results I promise,” Shumlin said.

Mazza, a 25-year veteran of the Senate, was angry that Shumlin pushed for a Senate vote in February against the continued operation of Vermont Yankee just as the nuclear power plant was mired in a public relations nightmare. Mazza was among a number of senators who thought Shumlin was unfairly taking advantage of Yankee’s troubles to defeat the plant instead of waiting for the results of an investigation into a tritium leak.

“My feeling was we were jumping the gun,” Mazza said recently. “I would not have handled it that way.”

Shumlin held the vote anyway. Mazza was among the few who voted for Vermont Yankee, but he quickly shrugged off his discontent with Shumlin. “I’ve been angry with him many times. The following day, it’s over,” Mazza said.

Months later, Mazza even defended the Yankee vote, saying Shumlin knew more about the issue than he did. Though Mazza said he is not endorsing any candidate for governor, he speaks highly of Shumlin, more than any of the other candidates. “He has a great ability to lead,” he said.

Beth Robinson, who led the fight for same-sex marriage through the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force, said Shumlin’s willingness to vote on that issue showed both his savvy at reading the tea leaves and his power of persuasion in getting others to follow.

In 2009, many legislators who supported same-sex marriage said it wasn’t the right time to take on the issue, Robinson said. “It took a lot of vision to get outside the conventional wisdom that prevailed — that this was too scary to do even though it’s the right thing to do,” she said. “Peter had the vision where others did not to see where Vermonters really were.”

Then, she said, Shumlin persuaded reluctant lawmakers that they would not face the backlash they did with the passage of civil unions in 2000. “That’s where I think Peter was a game-changer,” Robinson said.

Not everyone’s a fan

While supporters see him as a man who makes things happen, critics question the way he gets there. Polls suggest that Vermonters have picked up on that. In a recent Rasmussen Reports poll, Shumlin had a higher percentage of people viewing him very unfavorably than did the other candidates.

“There’s a number of things he’s said from time to time,” said Sen. Randy Brock, R-Franklin, noting that Shumlin told a television talk show host that Germany drew 30 percent of its power from solar when it actually produced 1 percent. “That makes me scratch my head,” Brock said.

Brock pointed to another instance. At the beginning of the last legislative session, Shumlin had a vacancy on the Senate Finance Committee to fill after the resignation of the only Republican on the committee that would do the bulk of the work on Vermont Yankee. Shumlin passed over Brock, a first-term senator who had served as state auditor and executive vice president of Fidelity Investments and loaded the committee with seven Democrats. “It certainly had the appearance of being disingenuous,” Brock said.

Shumlin said he draws criticism because he’s willing to make tough decisions, something that would serve him well as governor. “Tough decisions make both friends and enemies. I’ll take on things other politicians won’t,” he said. “You can’t have good government if you are not a good politician. Bad politicians don’t annoy people because they don’t do anything.”
Read more: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20100707/NEWS03/100706006/-1/TOPICS0206/Peter-Shumlin-is-at-home-in-the-middle-of-the-action#ixzz0t86cbihK

This week’s question for the major party candidates running for governor has to do with the social services safety net. As the recession forces Montpelier to cut spending, the budgeteers are faced with this  conundrum: People need help from the government most precisely when tax revenues fall and government has less money to spend. Read this week’s complete package here.

First up is Democrat Peter Shumlin.

After the series of budget cuts, does the state have an adequate social service safety net to meet the needs of Vermonters?

State government has been operating on an unsustainable track. As a Vermonter, I understand the importance of taking care of one another’s neighbor. But we must have the resources to do so. At a time when Vermont’s most vulnerable have needed services more then ever, the Douglas/Dubie administration has cut them to the bone. At the same time, Vermonters have hit their tax capacity. We cannot rely on higher taxes to provide the necessary social services. It is time for state government to reorganize our priorities.

As governor, I will focus on reducing costs in the top two areas of our budget’s growth — health care and corrections. By reducing the skyrocketing costs in both of these sectors we can lower costs for Vermonters and reinvest a portion of the savings into services.

Health care costs are consuming more and more of our economy. In the next two years, the cost of health care in Vermont is estimated in increase by $1 billion. That translates into a $7,000 annual increase for the average Vermont family of four. These costs are crippling our economy, hampering business growth, driving up property taxes and bankrupting too many Vermonters. As governor, I will bring these costs under control by implementing a single payer health care system. Such a system will get the private insurers out of the way, reward doctors for making people better, not ordering more tests and eliminate the millions of dollars spent on chasing money around.

The second largest area of growth in the state’s budget is our corrections system. We are spending $138 million a year on locking up Vermonters. We have the sad distinction of locking up more non-violent offenders than any other state — often locking up people for offenses like writing bad checks or for the crime of having no other place to go (on any given day, Vermont locks up 150 people for the lack of an appropriate place to live). As governor I will work with community providers to integrate these non-violent offenders back into society. Doing so will save the state $40 million a year. These savings will be reinvested into mental health and substance abuse, transitional housing and early childhood education to prevent future generations from such a fate.

Reorganizing our priorities will not be easy. I ask that you therefore look not only at my rhetoric but at my record. I am the only candidate who sponsored a single-payer health care bill. I worked with other Senate and House leaders to launch the Justice Reinvestment program — an initiative that has begun the process of moving our non-violent offenders into society and reinvesting the savings into services. I have a record of getting tough things done and as governor will ensure that Vermonter’s tax dollars reflect our values and are being invested as wisely and as efficiently as possible.

Burlington Free Press

Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Peter Shumlin released an economic-development plan Wednesday in which he said he would boost the economy by implementing a single-payer health-insurance plan, expanding Internet coverage, and expanding early education and higher-education opportunities.

Shumlin, one of five Democrats seeking the party’s nomination for governor in this year’s election, is the second to release an economic-development plan. Deb Markowitz outlined her ideas in a plan called JumpStartVT a week earlier.

Shumlin, of Putney, who is leader of the state Senate, unveiled his “Vision for Vermont” at a small company called Dreamlike Pictures in downtown Burlington that makes television commercials and films for clients around the world. Shumlin touted it as the sort of business he wants to see more of and an example of the need for better high-speed Internet access.

Owner Art Bell said although he is across the street from City Hall, he lacks access to Burlington Telecom and sometimes sends large files from his Burlington home, where he does have Burlington Telecom.

Among Shumlin’s ideas:

• HEALTH CARE: He promised a single-payer health care plan that would free businesses from providing insurance plans. He said he would await the results of a pending report the Legislature has commissioned that will outline how it would work and how to pay for it.

“I will deliver the first single-payer health care in the country,” Shumlin said, arguing that it would attract businesses to locate in Vermont so they don’t have to deal with providing coverage themselves. Shumlin said although a consultant the Legislature is in the process of hiring is slated to produce three health care models, he has his sights set on the single-payer plan.

• INTERNET: Shumlin said he would expand high-speed Internet service across the state by 2013. Retiring Gov. Jim Douglas promised it by 2010 but has since acknowledged it won’t happen. Shumlin said he would use state bonding to work with private entities to build the infrastructure.

Read more: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20100701/NEWS03/100630033/Vermont-governor-candidate-Shumlin-unveils-economic-plan#ixzz0suuq8D58

Peter has been recognized by the Teamsters for his vigorous efforts to put Vermonters back to work and help working Vermonters and their families. Peter received the endorsement from the Teamster’s leadership team, led by Ron Rabideau, the principle officer of the Teamsters at Champlain Cable in Colchester. Champlain Cable recently received a multi-million dollar contract that will create dozens of jobs at the plant and give a boost to the local economy.

“I have personally appreciated Peter Shumlin’s leadership as he is a straight-forward politician, said Ron Rabideau. “With Peter, you always know where you stand and that’s the kind of leadership we need in order to tackle the tough challenges that face Vermont. Peter has a record of getting tough things done while considering working Vermonters lives and livelihoods.”

After the endorsement, Peter took a tour with members of the Teamsters of Champlain Cable and saw a great deal of the work that this local Vermont business with international reach was doing to create jobs and a fantastic product for the American work force.

Peter’s strong record on universal health care, creating good paying jobs in Vermont and supporting Vermont workers is why organized labor and small business owners are uniting to support our campaign to get our economy moving again.