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Political notes from Free Press staff writers Terri Hallenbeck, Sam Hemingway and Nancy Remsen
2.26.2008
Pollina at the Statehouse
The Pollina-mobile and Progressive gubernatorial candidate Anthony Pollina made a visit to the Statehouse today. The van, parked throughout the day at the end of Aiken Ave. near State Street, blared its bright yellow existence to passersby with the message mounted on top: "We can do better. Pollina Governor '08." Pollina, standing inside the Statehouse in front of media mics, sought to deliver that message too. He took Republican Gov. Jim Douglas to task for his 2009 proposed budget. Pollina sounded like a spitting verbal image of legislative Democratic leaders on the governor's budget. He criticized cuts to subsidized health care premiums, to housing/land conservation and to hospitals. He said the governor has failed to fund road and bridge repairs and state police, and has failed to work with legislators on making tough decisions about the budget. He suggested using money generated from the governor's proposed elimination of a capital gain exemption to pay for roads and bridges and state police. All these ideas have emanated from the mouths of legislators in recent weeks. Perhaps Pollina did that intentionally. If he sounds like a Democrat, the reasoning might go, perhaps Democrats will see him as their candidate and vote for him. When I asked him why his ideas sounded so much like theirs, his answer indicated he wanted to be the answer to their frustrations with Douglas: "There’s one component that’s missing in the dynamic right now, which is a governor who shares a commitment that the Legislature has for a budget that works for Vermonters. If we just change the occupant in that office across the hall this process will be different." As for the Pollina-mobile, it's a Chevy van with a big sign attached. Douglas spokesman Jason Gibbs wondered about its greenhouse gas emissions compared to the governor's car. He wanted to compare it to the governor's own Dodge Neon, but let's face reality - the governor is driven everywhere by state police in a Chevy Impala. I don't know about overall greenhouse gas emissions, but the van is listed as getting an average of 15 mpg and the Impala 22 mpg. Before Pollina trades the van in, we should note that the last candidate to take Douglas on drove a Toyota Prius hybrid. It did not ensure victory. - Terri Hallenbeck
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