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Political notes from Free Press staff writers Terri Hallenbeck, Sam Hemingway and Nancy Remsen


7.28.2008

 

The view from Severance Corners

It took you a few tries, but y'all finally came up with some worthwhile questions. Nice work.

While you were doing that, two of our election combatants have been going at it today. Gov. Jim Douglas used the setting of a new development at Severance Corners in Colchester to point out the ways in which he believes Democrat Gaye Symington is anti-business.

Then she pointed out that he's been governor for six years, so if business isn't booming in Vermont, he ought to take the blame.

Douglas, in his comments, didn't mention independent (Progressive) Anthony Pollina a single time, but he quite pointedly used Symington's name about a dozen times. Odd, I thought. Usually an incumbent doesn't want to help a challenger with name recognition.

On the scene for Douglas' event were former Rep. Malcolm Severance and his wife, Gladys. The field where he used to grow corn is now sprouting condos. Quite a change, he acknowledged.

He's hoping, though, that the project will become a modern-day version of the old New England village. Holding onto prime land smack in the middle of the area Colchester designated for growth wasn't an option either, he said.

Severance, who's been out of the leggie for a term now, had some observations about that scene too. Things are better when the House and Senate are controlled by different parties, he said. He doesn't see that happening in 2009, though, and he conceded his Republican Party could lose a few seats.

- Terri Hallenbeck

Comments:
Severance is a another Vermont sell out. "Traumatic change" Ya think? Instead of growing corn, his land is now growing condos. And the whore Douglas is right there with scissors in hand to smile and take credit for this guy's quick buck excercise.
 
The reality is that the Severance Corner development has gone into slow down and down and down mode. The condos are not selling and the commercial space is not renting. The long term potential is there, but the Govenor tries to convert long term potential into "look what a good job I just did." The planning for this project started long before Douglas was elected governor and it is very doubtful that his administration added one iota to the development. In fact Severance Conners is a great example of the type of development that is the opposite of what the Douglas administration has heralded. Severance Corners is very dense development. It shows that a developer can build in Vermont and that the permiting process works.
 
maybe JD is promoting speaker gaye because internal polls have her coming in third right now...
 
Yeah, right... JD is really afraid of Symington.

Anthony has no chance, nada, he'll be lucky to come in with 10 maybe 12% max! His latest publicity stunt was meant to increase his support - in actuality it has hurt him!
 
Gaye Symington for Governor!
 
Go Douglas!
 
Why is Douglas blocking the Public Oversight Panel from access to VY, as required by law?

What do Douglas and Entergy have to hide from the public??!!
 
Douglas seems to think that economic progress comes from building more housing. Sorry, those construction jobs only last as long as a building boom is going on. Then what?

What we really need are new jobs in the information economy. We should be helping new start-ups grow and hire. Building condos in a corn field only makes us look more like New Jersey.
 
And how do you create jobs?
 
Stable jobs don't come from 3 month building contracts.

Jim promised jobs. He has not delivered.

Finger pointing won't cut it. He's got to go.
 
Jim Douglas should spare us all and just decide not to run in Nov.
 
It's time for a change!
Go Symington!
 
maybe JD is promoting speaker gaye because internal polls have her coming in third right now...
 
If Gaye wasn't a thread to Douglas, he wouldn't be attacking her right now.

Is McCain attacking Nader?
No.
Why?
Because Nader can't beat McCain.

Is McCain attacking Obama?
Yes.
Why?
Because he's McCain's only competition.

Is Douglas attacking Pollina or Pete Dimandstone?
No.
Why?
Because Pollina can't beat Douglas.

Is Douglas attacking Symington?
Yes. Constantly.
Why?
Because he is his only competition.

It's that simple.
 
Anon 11:10...how do you think construction contracts work? The industry is built on short term contracts.

I think the construction workers in VT might have a different point of view.

So I will ask my original question again, what would you do to stimulate job growth?
 
I'd do what Pollina suggested years ago. Open Vermont's door to companies that develop and manufacture green and alternative energy. Vermont could have been the place to go right now if people had listened to what Pollina was saying, but they didn't, so now we're playing catch up with other states who opened their doors before us. Say what you will about Pollina, but at least he's able to think outside the box that Douglas has us all hemmed into right now.
 
To stimulate job growth:

-expand broadband access. Douglas promised, but has not delivered.

-complete cell coverage. Douglas promised but has not delivered.

-create a partnership between higher education and business. train workers for the right jobs. Douglas has not delivered.

-we need good roads, safe bridges. under Douglas, our roads have crumbled.

-prepare for the closure of Vermont Yankee. Once their contract is up, rates will spike ... because Jim has not set up a competitive marketplace for power. This will drive business away faster than anything.
 
Did you see the bumper sticker on JIm Douglas's car?

It says, "Don't Blame Me, I'm Only the Governor."
 
Yeah, the same bumper sticker is on each of his "annointed", oops, I mean appointed Agency Secretaries and Department Commissioners cars as required for continued employment.
 
I thought Douglas would have a "Dump Governor Doesless" sticker on his vehicle. Seen a few of those in my travels.
 
I thought that the bumper sticker said, "Don't blame me, I only cut ribbons."
 
Or "Don't Blame Me, Mike Smith's the Governor"
 
maybe JD is promoting speaker gaye because internal polls have her coming in third right now...
 
or, "Don't Blame Me, I Didn't Do Anything!"
 
my spies tell me this race is a lot tighter between DOuglas and Symington and that's why he's flailing around like this. Jim has been on the public payroll since 1972, and he's desperate to stay at the trough. the real world is a scary place for career politicians.
he doesn't want to be looking for a job in the lousy economy he has created.
 
He can get a job retiring debt for McCain's failed bid. Maybe Barnett will throw him that bone.
 
Anon at 4:43pm has it right. Douglas must have internal polling that is telling him that the race is not going well. There is no other reason to go negative so early or at all. The good news is that his political skills are less then most folks think; otherwise, he would not be helping Symington with name reconigtion. Keep up the good work Jimmy!
 
Douglas goes negative early in every campaign.

I'm not saying that the polling numbers are great for him -- my guess is that they aren't as good as some might assume.

But the fact is that Douglas has never run a positive campaign for Governor.

He throws mud early and often.
 
Gov DOuglas has always run a shrewd, negative campaign with typical GOP fear tactics and "stretching" the truth.

It's right out of the Rove playbook which McCain is already using.

Jim Douglas is tied very closely at the hip of the Bush administration and has been right along.
 
I hear Kavet told legislators yesterday that Jim Douglas' much ballyhooed tax holiday actually had a negative impact on Vermont's economy. I hope the Symington and Pollina campaigns can get a copy of the transcript and start putting that message out to counter Dennise Casey's multiple ghost written letters to the editor bellowing about how great the tax holiday was.
 
Kavet echoes Symington's comment about the tax holiday "We (legislators) could have used this money more wisely".
Did anyone clue these people to the fact that they might not have had "all" that money to spend if it wasn't for the tax holiday? The retailers interviewed claim it was their busiest weekend in years.
Kavet supposedly works for the legislature- but sounds more like Symington et al.
 
It is exactly that. Unfortunately this has become a partisan issue beyond the point of productivity. The Legislature brings their economist, the Gov brings his economist to rebut.

We can debate this until the end of time but debating won't fix the problem. Increasingly becoming a nanny state as Gaye would like isn't the answer, not to mention unaffordable. It is difficult to name 3 things that a Gov't agency will do more efficiently than a private enterprise.

Face the facts, the VT economy is sliding (in part a direct result of the US economy, in part self-inflicted). Our politicians cannot agree on a solution. Gridlock only delays any corrective actions to make it better. So now we have another $30 million revenue shortfall to cover. It is you and me that ultimately pay this price for their silliness.

In the real world when parties hit an impasse they turn to arbitration to find an independent, unbiased and fair solution. It is time to take a lesson from the private sector. The Legislature and the Gov need to either: (1) lock themselves in a room, eliminate the politics and come up with a plan they will all unequivocally endorse (no press coverage and an agreement not to discuss the meetings or talk against any plan that comes out of it...you know act united) or (2) turn the decision process over to a non-aligned professional restructuring firm(there are plenty infinitely more qualified than our elected officials) to independently assess the situation, propose and implement a get-well plan.

I personally am out of patience with both sides and tired of seeing my taxes increase year after year paying for their ineptness. If they can't work together it is time to throw the bums out.

Captain America
 
Despite what you read on the blogs - It is Governor Douglas who won't play nice.

Working together with the Governor is "his way or the highway".

There is no discussion or compromise with him.

Jim Douglas has done more to create partisan bickering than anyone.
 
Nice try but no sale. There is more than enough responsibility to go around. Shumlin and Symington are far from the great compromisers.

C.A.
 
Actually, the biggest problem the Symington has is that she compromises with Jim Douglas TOO much.

Remember, this is the woman who agreed to skip the veto session this winter. She just let Jimmy have his way.

Jimmy wanted a "tax holiday" and so she compromised and passed one. Of course, Jim criticized her for that too!
Anyone who says that Gaye doesn’t compromise is either a GOP party hack or smoking some crazy herb.
 
sorry ... I mean she skipped the veto session this SUMMER.
 
"Actually, the biggest problem the Symington has is that she compromises with Jim Douglas TOO much."

The reason she compromises is that she has no vision or agenda that she has brought to her position. With no plan, Douglas routinely gets the upper hand on her, gets public support for his agenda and she has no choice but react to his proposals and compromise to save political face.

She is a rank amateur with few leadership skills. I can't think of anyone less qualified to be Gov.


C.A.
 
Anonymous said...
"Actually, the biggest problem the Symington has is that she compromises with Jim Douglas TOO much.""

"The reason she compromises is that she has no vision or agenda that she has brought to her position. With no plan, Douglas routinely gets the upper hand on her, gets public support for his agenda and she has no choice but react to his proposals and compromise to save political face."

If doogie's got so much support for his position, crazy lady, then how come he lost gop-slime Walt Freed as Speaker after his first term and the Dem Legislative Majority has grown progressively larger with each passing election cycle?

That's what I thought.

Symington has been entirely too accommodating and entirely too trusting in her dealings with doogie. Clearly, he's as untrustworthy as he is incompetent.

As in DC, the biggest threat to Vermont is the incompetent-trash executive branch, the veto-override-proof gop-slime legislative minority and the ignorant trash who support them.

Always a pleasure.
 
I find it amusing how many people have negative comments about this type of development. This is a designated growth center. People complain about sprawl, this type of dense community is certainly not sprawl. We do have a shortage of housing still in Vermont. I assume everyone complaining lives in a tent, not a house or condo. I would hate for any of you to be hypocrites.
 
It is unfortunate how much anger some people harbor. The low-end political back and forth hate serves no constructive purpose whatsoever. Some of you need to mature a bit, and try to work in a bipartisan, productive way and leave the cheap shots behind. Let's all grow up a bit please!
 
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