Brattleboro Reformer
By CHRIS GAROFOLO /Reformer Staff
Posted: 08/20/2010 03:00:00 AM EDT

Friday August 20, 2010
BRATTLEBORO — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Peter Shumlin is making one final sweep of the Green Mountain State in his pursuit of the party’s nomination next Tuesday.

Shumlin, the outgoing Senate president from Putney, expressed excitement about his campaign earlier this week to the Reformer, crediting Windham County voters for their support during his political tenure.  He is one of five Democrats vying for the party nomination on Aug. 24 to square off with Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Dubie, Vermont’s current lieutenant governor.

“We are optimistic that we’re going to win the nomination and beat Brian Dubie in November,” he said. The county has not produced a governor in about 40 years, and Shumlin said he will “never forget who brought me to the dance” when he sits in the governor’s chair.

“I made a decision early on in this race that resulted in a lesson that I learned from the voters of Windham County, who have been so good to me for so many years, and it is — stand up for what you believe in and get tough things done and the voters will stand by you.”

According to Shumlin, he has the action plan to make the infrastructure changes within Vermont to create jobs and recover faster than the other 49 states while moving away from an oil-based economy.

“I think my vision for job creation is catching fire because I have a very specific plan to get Vermont back to work,” he said.
He lays out five points as part of his campaign:
– A single-payer health care plan where coverage follows the individual and is not a requirement of the employer.
– Broadband Internet access and cellular phone service to every last mile by 2013.
“I will do for the Internet what our last governor from Putney, George Aiken, did for electricity,” he said.
– Establish a block grant for early childhood education for parents of 3- and 4-year-olds so (predominately) women do not have to make the choice between a job and affordable, quality child care, he said.
– Generate a tax structure that grows wealth and jobs.
– Retrain Vermont’s work force to do the jobs of the 21st century.

Calling himself a social liberal but fiscal conservative, Shumlin said only two of his platform programs (health care and early childhood education) will cost money during a fiscal year that is expected to have a $120 million budget shortfall.
“With health care, our challenge as a state is that we’re spending $1 million a day on health care. That’s both unsustainable and unaffordable. It is also the fastest area of growth in the state’s budget, which is also unsustainable,” he said. Shumlin pointed to a study done 12 years ago that examined the fiscal impact of a single-payer system for Vermont, and said it would save the state an estimated $110 million ($250 million in today’s money) in administration savings alone.

“I’ve never known an insurance company to make Vermonters healthier. I will get it done, and it will cost less, not more,” he added.

The second fastest growing area of the state budget is corrections, Shumlin said, and he has found a way to save $40 million annually to provide community-based care for offenders and grant money for children’s early education.  In statistics he said were from appropriations at the state level, 69 percent of female and 45 percent of male offenders are nonviolent. Of those figures, 90 percent have difficulty reading and more than 90 percent have drug or alcohol addictions.

“Vermont has the distinction of locking up more nonviolent offenders per capita than any other state in the country,” he said. And putting millions toward early education will pay off tenfold in the future and break this destructive cycle, he added.  “I will be the governor with the courage to provide community-based drug and alcohol consulting, mental health consulting, adult education, life skills and housing through the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board and stop this madness of spending almost $40 million a year of taxpayer money incarcerating people who we’re not scared of, but mad at. I want to lock people up we’re scared of,” he said.

Democrats will choose between Shumlin and four other candidates in the statewide primary next Tuesday.
State Sens. Susan Bartlett of Hyde Park and Doug Racine of Richmond, Secretary of State Deb Markowitz of Montpelier and former state Sen. Matt Dunne of Hartland are also vying for the party’s nomination.  But Shumlin points to his track record of “making things happen” in the Statehouse, such as the Legislature approving same-sex marriages in 2009 and the vote not to allow Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant to continue operations once its license expires in March 2012.

“I get it done. I think people are moving to our campaign because, as the Burlington Free Press said in its endorsement — I stand above the other four in my ability to get things done and have the vision for where Vermont needs to go,” he said.

http://www.reformer.com/ci_15834361?IADID=Search-www.reformer.com-www.reformer.com

When Peter Shumlin this week leaped on comments by Brian Dubie about Vermont Yankee, Dubie got a taste of the kind of treatment he is going to get in the General Election.

Shumlin is one of the five Democrats running in the Aug. 24 primary for governor, and it is far from certain that he will be the one to take on Dubie in the General Election. But he took the opportunity to blast comments by Dubie that seemed to cast a positive light on a report about the prospects for Vermont Yankee’s future.

Dubie’s comments came in an interview on Vermont Public Radio. He was discussing a report from the Public Oversight Panel last week about the continued operation of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant beyond the expiration of its license in 2012. Dubie said that if the owners of Yankee, Entergy Vermont, were to embrace a culture of safety and make necessary investments then the Public Oversight Panel saw no reason that Vermont Yankee couldn’t operate beyond 2012.

Shumlin saw his chance, and he turned what could have been passing comments on the radio into an issue about Dubie’s attitude toward Vermont Yankee.

In fact, Dubie’s characterization of the panel’s report on Vermont Yankee put a positive spin on a highly negative report. The panel, which was created by the Legislature, found serious problems at Yankee, raising doubts about the plant’s continued operation.

These problems include a corporate culture that does not encourage scrupulous attention to the truth, as well as the failure to devote adequate resources to the physical systems. These problems are “systemic,” according to the panel’s report. Vermont Yankee cannot operate reliably for another 20 years unless Entergy corrects this corporate culture and spends enough money on the plant, the report said.

The main thrust of the panel’s report was a warning: Things cannot go on like this. The report called what had happened at Yankee an “organization-wide breakdown” in attention to detail and in attention to the truth.

Dubie did not deny these findings. His spokesman said that Dubie believes safety is paramount and that the company’s actions were indefensible. Rather, Dubie was saying that if reality were different, there would be no reason why Yankee could not continue to operate. If the corporate culture could be corrected and we could receive adequate assurances of safety, then there would be no reason not to extend the plant’s license.

An election campaign is when statements such as Dubie’s inevitably come under minute parsing, with all shadings analyzed and all possible meanings teased out. In one sense, Dubie was merely stating the obvious: If everything were fine at Yankee, then everything would be fine.

But Dubie’s words suggested an eagerness to look on the bright side when it comes to Yankee. He claimed the report suggested that if a long list of mistakes were corrected, then perhaps the plant could carry on. But the emphasis of the report was on the list of mistakes and the fact that they hadn’t been corrected and doubt that the plant could carry on.

Dubie can expect more close parsing of his words as the election season continues. He is not as politically shrewd and verbally agile as Gov. James Douglas, and his Democratic opponent can be expected to pick up on any effort to spin a story to his liking.

Vermont Yankee may be a difficult issue for Dubie. Those who believe Vermont Yankee has been an important source of electric power and of well-paying jobs have been undercut by Yankee’s record of misstatements and mistakes. All five Democratic candidates believe the plant should be closed in 2012, and Dubie may lose credibility if he continues to look beyond the warning signs about Yankee to an unjustified rosy scenario.

Shumlin has made Yankee an important issue in his political career. But his Democratic primary opponents — Matt Dunne, Douglas Racine, Deborah Markowitz and Susan Bartlett — are also ready to see Vermont Yankee shut down in 2012. They, too, could be expected to take Dubie to task for looking past warnings about Entergy’s failures.

Senator John Campbell (D-Windsor County)

By Daniel Barlow
Vermont Press Bureau – Published: July 20, 2010

MONTPELIER – More than 60 House members and 12 senators received perfect 100 percent rankings on the first legislative scorecard issued by the organization Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility.

The progressive business organization, which has more than 1200 members, ranked lawmakers on seven key legislative votes, such as Vermont Yankee’s relicensing, the establishment of same-sex marriage, health care reform and the fix for the state’s unemployment fund.

The scoring on those votes indicated strong support for the business group’s agenda at the Statehouse, with 62 House members receiving 100 percent rankings, meaning those lawmakers voted with VBSR on all the main issues the group identified.

Sen. Ann Cummings, D-Washington, was one of the 12 senators to have a perfect record with VBSR. She said she doesn’t consider rankings such as these when casting her votes, but she appreciates the support afterwards.

“I’m proud to have 100 percent ranking,” Cummings said. “It’s always a bit of a surprise. I vote my conscience. But Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility have been a very positive and proactive organization at the Statehouse.”

Will Patten, the executive director of VBSR, said the organization will do these scorecards every two years now for each Legislative biennium. Starting the scorecard was in response to member businesses that wanted to see how local lawmakers were voting on business issues the company’s cared about, he said.

“I think there are a lot of couragous legislators who are pro-business, but don’t neccesarily get acknowledged for that,” he said. “It’s worth pointing out their longterm support for businesses in Vermont.”

VBSR’s ranking is a lot different than the scorecards put out by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, the other major business group in the state.

That organizations 2009-2010 rankings have not yet been released, but in its 2007-2008 rankings, for example, the Chamber gave Cummings a 50 percent score. Lawmakers with high scorings for the Chamber tend to be Republican; high scores for VBSR tend to be Democrats or Progressives.

Rep. Pat McDonald, R-Berlin, had a VBSR scoring of 17 percent – one of the lowest in Washington County, where she lives.

McDonald, who is retiring from the Legislature this year, said votes at the Statehouse on key issues are not always as cut and dried as the scorecards make them out to be. For example, she said she voted against S.88 – the health care reform bill – after the House added in new provisions.

“Small businesses are the backbone of Vermont and the votes I took supported small businesses in the state,” she said.

The VBSR scorecard ranked several lawmakers seeking higher office this year.

Senate President Peter Shumlin of Windham County and Sen. Doug Racine of Chittenden County got 100 percent rankings and Sen. Susan Bartlett of Lamoille County got 83 percent. All three are Democratic candidates for governor in the Aug. 24 primary.

Sen. Ed Flanagan, D-Chittenden, a candidate for state auditor, scored 83 percent. Sen. Phil Scott, R-Washington, a candidate for lietenant governor, scored 33 percent. Rep. Steve Howard, D-Rutland, also a lieutenant governor candidate, scored 83 percent.

Rep. Chris Bray, D-New Haven, a candidate for secretary of state, had an 83 percent score.

Full Article: http://www.timesargus.com/article/20100720/NEWS02/707209909/1003/NEWS02

Daniel.Barlow@timesargus.com

NEAL P. GOSWAMI
Bennington Banner

Wednesday July 7, 2010

BENNINGTON — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Sen. Peter Shumlin snagged endorsements Wednesday from Bennington County Sens. Dick Sears and Robert Hartwell.

Shumlin,the president pro tem in the Vermont Senate, faces four others — Secretary of State Deborah Markowitz, Sens.Susan Bartlett and Doug Racine, and former Sen. Matt Dunne — in a primary Aug. 24. Endorsements from Democrats in the Legislature had been slow to arrive for the five candidates, but have picked up with the primary date fast approaching.

Sears, the county’s senior senator and chairman of the Senate JudiciaryCommittee,and Hartwell, who is seeking a third term in November, were unequivocal in their support for Shumlin in a brief news conference at theBennington Town Office.

Sears said all five Democrats in the race to succeed retiring Republican Gov. James Douglas were “terrific candidates.”

But Shumlin stands out for several reasons, Sears said, most importantly is his ability to win.

“I believe Peter can win in November, and I think that’s tremendously important as a Democrat,” said Sears, who has served with Shumlin in the Senate for 14 years.

Shumlin is the “best candidate of the five to lead Vermont out of our recession-induced budget gap,” according to Sears. “That’s a tremendous problem that we’re facing in the state and throughout the nation,” he said. “Peter understands that we can’t do that by either
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… raising taxes or cutting services. He realizes we need to that through economic development.”

Hartwell said Shumlin was an effective “manager as well as a legislator.” The Putney Democrat has guided fellow lawmakers through several challenges, including an override of a vetoed state budget and passing same-sex marriage, Hartwell said.

“In my four years with Peter he’s been confronted on a number of occasions with tough management decisions and guiding the Legislature through tough issues,” Hartwell said.

He said he, too, was swayed because “Peter can win this in the fall.”

Sears also said Shumlin has “the temperament to lead.” While he can be “overly aggressive” on issues, Sears said he has watched (Shumlin) grow in the position of president pro tem.” He demonstrated after the tragic killing and sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl in 2008 the ability to approach hot-button issues in an even-keeled way, Sears said.

“There was all kinds of calls for this, for that, but at the time Peter was the leader, in my view. He said, ‘No, we’re not going to jump to special sessions. We’re not going to suggest that Vermont isn’t a safe state. We remain as one of the safest states in the union,’” Sears said. “Peter … set in motion, I think, one of the best examples of leadership this state has ever seen.”

Bennington County would benefit from having a governor from Southern Vermont, Sears said.

“Peter understands southern Vermont. It’s interesting. I have candidates call me and say, ‘What are the issues down here,’” Sears said. “He understands that and he understands what it’s like to be forgotten.”

Shumlin pledged to bring more attention to the southern part of the state and said he hoped to “make Bennington County Sears, Hartwell and Shumlin county.”

“Having been born and raised in Southern Vermont, I will never forget my roots or where I come from. I am going to be the governor that creates jobs equally across the state, not just in our central population base,” Shumlin said.

“Bennington desperately needs jobs. We need to grow the opportunities in composites and other areas where we’ve been extraordinarily innovative.”

Contact Neal P. Goswami at ngoswami@benningtonbanner.com

http://www.benningtonbanner.com/ci_15462118

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.