Political notes from Free Press staff writers Terri Hallenbeck, Sam Hemingway and Nancy Remsen
3.09.2010
Welch and others call on Reid to act
Rep. Peter Welch, D-VT, and 32 other members of the House have sent a letter of complaint to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid asking him to do something about the "silent filibuster."
The group argues that silent filibusters bottle up legislation and prevent debate on important issues. From the House perspective, there are more than 200 important bills passed by the House but stuck in the Senate.
Each year, legislative leaders set a deadline for committees to complete work on bills they would like their counterparts in the other body to take up. The idea is to give roughly equal time for the House and Senate to review bills.
This year, the magic date is Friday. Of course, there are exceptions. The House gets a few more weeks on the money bills because the Senate works on these bills without having them in their possession.
One of the biggest bills moving this week to make the crossover deadline will be a judicial restructuring proposal that the House Judiciary Committee has labored over since the beginning of the session.
The House Education Committee expects to vote Friday on a bill that would give school districts new incentives to consider consolidation. Prior to the vote, members of the House and Senate education committees will hold a rescheduled (weather did in the first date) hearing Wednesday night to give the public a chance to weigh in on an array of consolidation proposals – including some that mandate shrinkage in the number of school districts.
There could be a few final decisions on legislation this week.
Senate President Pro Tempore Peter Shumlin, D-Windham, said the Senate, for example, could endorse the revised version of a bill moving the primary election to the last week of August. The Senate approved the change last year, but the House didn’t take up the bill until this session. The House recently endorsed the new primary date, but rewrote the bill – which means the Senate gets another bite at the apple.
The House seems poised to wrap up work on an $8 million job-creation bill the Senate already passed. It includes aid to farmers, help for Addison County businesses affected by the closure of the Champlain Bridge and job training money.
Lawmakers won’t act soon, however, on any bill addressing the bankrupt unemployment compensation fund. Despite a year and a half of discussion, lawmakers, the administration, workers and employers can’t agree on a remedy.
"Unemployment will need the committed attention of the speaker, governor, myself and the committee chairs to come up with a solution," Shumlin said.
"There are continuing conversations," said House Speaker Shap Smith, D-Morristown. "We’ve got to do something."
The turnout Tuesday night at the George Middle School gym was impressive. More than they get for town meeting, on par perhaps with the crowd you might see for a school concert, when grandma, grandpa and aunt milly bring the video camera and capture footage for the ages.
This crowd _ I estimated about 400 _ was there for a discussion that reverberates around the state. They were deciding whether, in the face of mounting costs, they were willing to change their educational setup. They answered with a resounding no. They love their K-8 school like Boston fans used to love Manny. They love their school choice for high school at least as much. You've never seen a group of people more happy with the way things are.
In Georgia's case, the question was whether they should think about giving up school choice for high school and consider pairing permanently with a district that charges less than others. The hope would be to save money.
Around the state, whether a town has a school of its own or not, this debate about whether Vermont can afford to continue its small-sized, uncentralized, local-local- local system of educating kids has been lurking under the surface. Gov. Jim Douglas
Georgia is not what I would consider a hot-bed of liberalism. It is in Franklin County, sends one Democrat and one Republican to the state House and along with the rest of the county does the same in the Senate. Yet, the residents Tuesday night cheered when, on several occasions, their neighbors said cost wasn't the driving factor for them in education.
Superintendent Bruce Chattman, a veteran of Vermont schools, was trying to warn them that the rising costs are unsustainable and that as a result, change is on the horizon whether they like it or not. They would have none of it.
That, in a microcosm, is the education debate in Vermont.
It sounds as though Vermont's congressional delegation heard what they were hoping to hear from President Barack Obama last night on health care.
Did he say what you wanted him to?
What do you think are the prospects for health-care reform?
Should Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., resign or otherwise be reprimanded for his outburst during the speech, saying the president was lying? Or does he become a hero with his constituents for it?
The Montpelier High School students who chose fundraising as their form of protest against the Westboro Baptist Church on Tuesday (you can read about it HERE) have updated their take:
The group, started by Montpelier High student Joe Carlomagno and which spread wild-fire like on Facebook, has raised $6,250 and counting, for GLAD, a New England gay rights organization. Donations are accepted through Sept. 10. (Other groups were also raising money for other organizations Tuesday.)
Joe listed some other numbers Here are some numbers:
Number of WBC members who protested outside MHS: 4 (5, if you count 7-year-old Luke)
Number of legal same-sex marriages that took place today in Vermont: 5
Number of states that have won marriage equality through the legislature: 1 (Vermont!)
Number of minutes the WBC protested outside MHS: 27 minutes
He also wrote:
"At Montpelier High School, you helped change what might have been a tense, frustrating, and disheartening school day into one filled with positive thoughts, unity, and hope. Thank you, thank you, everyone!"
Tuesday Buzz: on moderates, marriage and a changed political landscape
The monkey wrench in the middle
Gov. Jim Douglas’ announcement last week that he will not seek re-election lit up the phone lines among political aspirants and the people who can help them.
Looking out over the possible new landscape one might wonder whether moderates have a seat at the table. Keep in mind that in recent years, moderates have owned the power to put somebody in the governor’s seat (think Howard Dean, Jim Douglas.
If Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie is the Republican candidate against any one of the Democrats who’ve voiced an interest wins their party’s primary, does that leave moderates nowhere to go?
"It is a concern, naturally," said Sen. Richard Mazza, D-Grand Isle/Chittenden, who is often the man in the middle in the Senate. "One of the things expressed to me by a lot of folks in the store and in the business community is they are looking for someone moderate."
Mazza said he worries that neither Dubie nor some of the Democrats considering a run are the answer.
Charlie Smith, a moderate Republican and former member of Douglas’ cabinet, was not so worried, arguing that Dubie fills the bill. "I view Brian as a moderate and I view myself as a moderate," Smith said.
Mazza, who serves with Dubie on the Senate’s Committee on Committees, disagrees. "Brian Dubie’s a conservative," he said.
Dubie, who is expected to announce soon whether he is running for governor and to whom other Republicans are deferring, has shown conservative stances on social issues, opposing abortion and same-sex marriage. Smith suggested those issues won’t be key in 2010.
"His focus would be on jobs and the economy," Smith said. "I have confidence in his instincts and his values."
John Bloomer Jr., a moderate former Republican state senator who is among those who said he is awaiting Dubie’s decision before making his own, agreed that those issues don’t necessarily close off moderate support for Dubie.
Sen. Phil Scott, R-Washington, whose moderate status earned him a committee chairmanship in the heavily Democratic Senate, put it this way: "He and I may not agree on some issues but he has respect for other opinions and he listens."
Mazza, meanwhile, is worried enough that he’s trying to recruit moderates into the game, including state Treasurer Jeb Spaulding, who has said he would not run.
"Jeb would be a great candidate," Mazza said. "I’m going to talk to him again."
State Auditor Tom Salmon, a Democrat, has made sought to characterize himself as a moderate alternative. Mazza suggested that Salmon has some work ahead of him before is accepted by Democratic brethren.
Three Democrats are already in the race: Sens. Doug Racine and Susan Bartlett and Secretary of State Deb Markowitz, whom Mazza said called seeking his support over the weekend. Senate President Pro Tempore Peter Shumlin has strongly suggested he might join them.
Among those, Mazza said he ranks Shumlin the most moderate, despite Shumlin’s near-warfare-level wrangling with Douglas.
"He understands the business community. He knows the landscape out there," said Mazza, who runs a general store in Colchester. "Can he get elected? That’s another issue."
No matter how you rank candidates, Mazza said Democrats need to get together in a room and sort things out before they grow ugly. He suggested that Dean and perhaps Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., could pull the candidates together and figure out the best possible course.
"This is real big turning point," he said.
— Terri Hallenbeck
The call to the bullpen
It’s a powerful thing when people call and suggest you should run for any office, let alone governor, as a number of Vermont politicians have discovered in recent days.
"It certainly is flattering," said Sen. Phil Scott, R-Washington, said he’s had calls suggesting he run for governor or lieutenant governor.
Scott said he is considering it, particularly running for lieutenant governor. On the governor front, he was candid: "I think there’s many more qualified people than myself."
As Scott thought about it, there was another, unique reason being governor might not be a good fit for him. Governors are driven around the state by a trooper and Scott said he likes driving too much to consider giving that up. Not to mention, Scott said, that officials at Thunder Road, where he drives a race car Thursday nights, would never let him sit in the passenger seat for their circuits around the track.
— Terri Hallenbeck
People won’t remember in November — 2010
The consensus among political party officials is that same-sex marriage — which becomes legal today — won’t be an issue in the 2010 election.
No big backlash as in 2000 when opponents of civil union ousted some lawmakers over their votes. "I don’t see it as an overarching issue," said Republican Party Chairman Rob Roper. Judy Bevans, Democratic Party chairwoman, agreed, as did Morgan Daybell, executive director of the Vermont Progressive Party.
"People have a year to get used to it and people wanted it," Bevans said of allowing same-sex marriage. "I think we have moved beyond being challenged on it. We have real problems to solve."
Daybell listed the issues he expects will the front-burner issues for voters — health care, the future of Vermont Yankee and the economy. "Same-sex marriage is going to be eclipsed by those issues."
Roper predicted same-sex marriage would become an issue only in a handful of legislative races if candidates received significant out-of-state money contributions.
— Nancy Remsen
In case you missed it
Free Press photographer Glenn Russell shot video of our interview with Gov. Jim Douglas the day he announced he would not seek re-election.
Nationally speaking: Gov. Jim Douglas’ announcement Thursday that he would not seek re-election set of a flurry of political buzz nationally among those who track states and who controls what some refer to as "the governor’s mansion," though Vermont has no mansion.
CQ Politics is among those that immediately changed its rating of the state to "Leans Democratic" from "Leans Republican." CQ Politics said Republican Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie has proven he can win, "But he also has clashed with Democratic state legislators over his conservative line on law-and-order and social issues — views that could provide ammunition for the opposition in the contest for the much higher-profile governor’s office in strongly Democratic-trending Vermont."
— Terri Hallenbeck
Roar of the crowd
"If Dubie runs, I don't think he will have as difficult a time as CQ politics imagines in this "heavily democratic" state," said politicaljunkie, responding to CQ Politics’ assessment. "If Vermont voters really perceived Dubie as that different from Douglas or some kind of extreme conservative, he would have undoubtedly faced many more defections."
Campaign stimulus plan
Gov. Jim Douglas has done his part to stimulate the economy in Vermont with his announced retirement from political office. Think of all the staff, rented offices, phone lines and placards for the many politicians eying the opportunities from the changed political landscape in 2010.
OK, the pack will shrink so the stimulus may be short-lived. Still, some political hopefuls are hiring for what they hope is the long haul — from now to at least September, 2010.
Democrat Doug Racine, who was in the race for governor whether or not Douglas was the Republican candidate, has now hired his third campaign aide.
Amy Shollenberger, who comes to the campaign with a decade of grassroots organizing and political experience, becomes Racine’s field director. "I’m responsible for getting people engaged," the 38-year-old Montpelier resident said. She will recruit volunteers and supporters. "Basically I ask people to do stuff to help get Doug elected."
Shollenberger wrapped up her work as director of Rural Vermont earlier this summer, so this opportunity came along at the perfect time, she said.
Democrat Deb Markowitz, who got serious about her run for governor last winter, is interviewing to find a campaign manager. She is conducting a nationwide search.
A staffer she hired to get her campaign and fund raising launched has moved on to pursue other career options as expected. He was never a long-term hire, Markowitz said. She has another paid campaign aide.
Democrat Susan Bartlett, the last of the three to declare her intentions, said she’s still relying on volunteers.
— Nancy Remsen
VPIRG counterattacks on health reform
The Vermont Public Interest Research Group doesn’t want Vermonters to feel left out of the national health care battle — so it has launched a series of television advertisements in support of comprehensive reform. Radio ads may soon follow.
Paul Burns, VPIRG’s executive director, said though Vermont’s Congressional delegation strongly supports reform, "We want them to be champions of the very best bill we can get." In other words Burns wants Vermonters to tell Rep. Peter Welch and Senators Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders to hold tight to the public health insurance option rather than throw it overboard in a seemingly futile attempt to win Republican support for a health reform bill.
In his 30-second spot — one of three VPIRG is airing — Burns shoots a dart at Gov. Jim Douglas, too.
"Some angry mobs, insurance industry lobbyists and our own Gov. Jim Douglas are opposing the public plan option that will keep costs down and give Vermonters more choice," Burns states on air.
Burns said he objects to Douglas using his new political weight as chairman of the National Governors Association to promote a position that differs from that of a majority of Vermonters. Burns urges Vermonters to let Douglas know he’s not speaking for them.
— Nancy Remsen
Quote to note:
Gov. Jim Douglas, announcing he wouldn’t run for re-election in 2010.
"But as any farmer knows, after many years — working sun up to sun down, seven days a week — there comes a time to turn over the reins to fresh arms. For me, that time is approaching. After 36 years as a public servant, 28 of those in statewide office, what will be eight years as governor — and through 15 statewide elections — I will have held center stage long enough for any leader. I will not seek another term as governor of Vermont."
Thursday afternoon, House Speaker Shap Smith, D-Morristown, couldn't have been more clear.
When asked if he would consider a run for governor, he said, "I'm planning to run for re-election in the House."
He said he'd received calls from several people suggesting he consider becoming a gubernatorial candidate and apparently the idea started to grow on him. That and he had a chance to talk with his wife later in the day, he said.
Friday he joined those talking about the new opportunities in the "changed political landscape."
"I'm very interested in continuing to work for Vermont. I'm looking at a variety of ways I can do that." Running for governor is one of the ways he's pondering, he said, although he added, "My inclination is to run for re-election."
If you are keeping count of all the Democrats committed to or considering gubernatorial runs, here's our best list of the moment: Deb Markowitz, current secretary of state Doug Racine, state senator Susan Bartlett, state senator, Peter Shumlin, Senate president pro tempore Shap Smith, House speaker Tom Salmon, state auditor
We came at you with live video, with tweets, with Web page updates today as Gov, Jim Douglas announced he would not seek re-election. Now, we turn to the blog.
Nationally, Democrats seem to think this is a golden opportunity to win control of a governor's seat. In the process, they sound like all that matters is the score-keeping - how many Republicans vs. how many Democrats, but never mind that.
Are they missing the possibility that this also leaves Democrats in a free-for-all with no common enemy? The candidates were all hepped up to tell you what was wrong with the way the state is being run. Mind you, that hasn't been a successful tactic for the last three elections, but now they have to compete with each other.
Will that prove to be even harder?
By the way, here's what Project Swing State says of the Vermont governor's race with today's news:
With this decision, Swing State Project is changing our rating of this race to "Tossup." Given the state's decidedly blue hue, "Lean Democratic" wouldn't be out of the question, but Dubie is no slouch and we are intensely aware of the capacity of the Progressives in Vermont to screw things up for Democrats. If it's clear that Anthony Pollina won't get in the race this time, we will feel more confident about Dems' chances.
The state has announced that a bogus Web site is trying to lure in would-be Department of Motor Vehicles users. Aware users would know that you can't renew your license online.
Here's the release on the bogus site:
MONTPELIER – The Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles learned today of a bogus website asking motorists to register their vehicles and renew their driver’s license using a credit card. DMV is warning Vermonters not to use this website as it is not legitimate.
The bogus website operates under the guise of both Business.com and vtregistrationrenewals.com. If computer users use the search engine Google and type in Vermont registration renewals or a similar search phrase, the bogus website can be the first link that appears. The Vermont DMV is warning computer users not to visit these websites, and only visit the official Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles website to do their on-line transactions.
“These bogus websites look extremely authentic, inform the user they can save a trip to the DMV and then take the user through a series of screens that appear legitimate,” said Vermont DMV Commissioner Robert Ide. “These bogus websites eventually ask computer users for their credit card information. Please do not give it to them.”
The Department of Motor Vehicles has reported the bogus websites to the Vermont Attorney General’s office, and the State has contacted Google to have the bogus web links removed from its search engine.
The people at Business.com say it isn't them.
The real web site: http://www.dmv.state.vt.us/ - Terri Hallenbeck
Despite opposition from Vermont and lots of other places, a Virginia county board has approved a Walmart store near key Civil War battlefields.
Vermont historian Howard Coffin rallied the state Legislature to take a stand against it. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., joined in.
Today, the Orange County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to grant a special permit after a hearing at which many residents spoke in favor of the store. From the Associated Press:
ORANGE, Va. (AP) Local officials early Tuesday approved a Walmart Supercenter near one of the nations most important Civil War battlefields, a proposal that had stirred opposition by preservationists and hundreds of historians. The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to grant the special permit to the worlds biggest retailer after a majority of more than 100 speakers said they favored bringing the Walmart to Locust Grove, within a cannonballs shot from the Wilderness Battlefield. Historians and Civil War buffs are fearful the Walmart store will draw traffic and more commerce to an area within the historic boundaries of the Wilderness, where generals Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee first met in battle 145 years ago and where 145,000 Union and Confederate soldiers fought and more than 29,000 were killed or injured. One-fourth of the Wilderness is protected. But they could not sway supervisors, who said they didnt see the threat.
A video (which you can see HERE) that questions how much progress society has made toward gender equality in politics and in breaking down stereotypes includes footage of none other than Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.
Leahy is not portrayed in a flattering manner. He is giving Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., a hard time about whether there is enough time for her testimony at a Senate hearing. He is sandwiched between numerous other examples of sexism.
Is it fair for the producers of the video - a group called The New Agenda - to assume he wouldn't have given a man the same hard time?
Do they have a point about society's post-Mayberry progress or lack thereof?
Today in Montpelier, the Douglas administration released a list of $28 million in budget cuts to the Legislature's Joint Fiscal Committee. The cuts are based on how much the economists expected revenues coming into the state to shrink.
The cuts come in bits and pieces all over state government. They include $6.8 million left over from last year and $7 million in labor savings that means we'll have another dance between the union and the administration over contract concessions and if not those, then layoffs. A $565,000 cut to the Legislature would mean a shorter 2010 session.
The Joint Fiscal Committee did not vote on the plan, but has 21 days to do so.
You can read more about it in Thursday's Free Press.
As you read in today's Free Press, Sen. Ed Flanagan is no longer sure if he's running for lieutenant governor. He says he realized it was too early and he'll make a decision after the next legislative session, which ends in May.
Flanagan, of course, has reasons to reconsider. He has been accused of inappropriate behavior in the men's fitness center of the Burlington YMCA. He denies the allegations, though he says that as a result of the brain injury he suffered in a near-fatal 2005 car accident he has found his "discretionary capabilities" are off-kilter.
I spoke to many of his Senate colleagues yesterday to see whether they thought he could continue as a senator or as a lt. gov. candidate _ several of them in person at a legislative conference in Burlington and others on the phone. No question, the topic was the buzz among members, but speaking publicly about it was not so easy. Every one of them winced when I mentioned the topic. Understandably so. The thing is complicated, sensitive, and who wants to have their name attached to it in print?
Give credit then to those who were willing to speak and help put an important question into perspective. Not all were. Sen. Tim Ashe, D/P-Burlington, asked if he could think about it and call me back. I'm still waiting. Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie, who presides over the Senate, wanted to check first with legal counsel to see what the presiding officer's role might be. Not a bad thing to know, but does that preclude making any comment?
A little update on the day's events in Washington, when they weren't busy not deciding what to do about clunker cars:
- Today the Senate voted to boost money for food stamps and three in $350 million to the o lift milk price supports — the amount the government pays for surplus milk products — by an estimated $1.50 per hundredweight. That came from an amendment by Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and barely passed 60-37. Sixty votes were required because the amendment broke budget rules. According to the AP: Sanders said dairy farmers, especially smaller ones, are struggling badly as milk prices have plummeted by more than 40 percent below last year, well below most farmers' production costs.
"Family-based dairy agriculture is on the verge of collapse," Sanders said. "This is not a regional issue. This is a national issue."
- Also today in the Senate, debate began on the confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Sen. Patrick Leahy gave the opening remarks:
"Judge Sotomayor’s journey to this nomination is truly an American story ... (and) a reminder to all of the continuing vitality of the American dream,” he said. “She’s a restrained, experienced and thoughtful judge who has shown no bias in her rulings.”
He'll probably be celebrating her confirmation later this week.
The crowd at the Council of State Governments Eastern Regional Conference in Burlington heard a speech today on a topic near and dear to me: The future of state news reporting. If speaker Pete Hamill had the answer I wanted to hear it.
So did he have the answer? Sort of. He offered a hint of hope.
Hamill, who started his career at the New York Post and has written nine novels, set the stage by reminding the crowd that the media is essential to democracy, to teaching people about their community. "The need to explain is always there," he said.
Hamill warned the group of the peril society faces. On a subway in New York City recently, he recounted, a few people were reading papers but the majority either "thumbers" working their BlackBerries or people just staring into space. The Internet that those thumbers were accessing poses a daunting challenge to media, who haven't yet figured out how to make a living off it.
Hamill said he thinks one possible solution is charging for content online. The Wall Street Journal does it. I read recently that the Daily Gazette in Schenectady is going back to that. It should be clear soon whether that will help, he said. "We'll know better in maybe 11 minutes the way things are going. Certainly by the end of the year."
Will it be enough? Hamill hopes so, and perhaps he persuaded a roomful of lawmakers to hope so.
"We need it because the essence of our democracy is at risk," he said.
Economist David Hale, a Vermont native and St. Johnsbury Academy graduate, delivered the news to legislators and others from around the region this morning at the Council of State Governments Eastern Regional Conference.
The recession's not over. Job losses will continue. But he said, "We are on the verge of economic recovery."
You and I might not feel it right away. Economists will be the first to sense it, he said.
Hale warned, though, that predictions are precarious. Recovery depends on consumers' willingness to shell out money. If they don't, a "double dip" or "W"-shaped downturn is a possibility. "Right now there's no precise way to predict," Hale said. "Odds probably do favor a consumer upturn."
In other words, just went Americans learned not to spend more than they have, the economy depends on them not keeping too much.
The stimulus package and moves to lower interest rates are helping to keep us out of Depression territory, he said. State governments have used some of that money to create 12,000 jobs this year, he said, and the money will have more impact next year.
Some states, he noted, have looked at drastic measures to raise money. Arizona raised the notion of selling the Statehouse. Gov. Jim Douglas, on a panel with Hale after his speech, pretty much said he didn't see that happening here.
Hale, who will stop and visit his mother in St. J. while he's here, made another prediction that he says is also imprecise. He may someday come back to Vermont and get involved in politics.
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch has told his department heads to make plans for the state to lay off 750 workers beginning in September.
Lynch said the State Employees Association, which represents most of the state’s 11,500 workers, has not agreed to a furlough plan to avoid layoffs. Lynch said he agreed to limit layoffs to those already planned in the state budget. He said that means if revenues continue dropping he won’t lay off workers to save money.
Lynch said he also agreed to shut some state offices on selected days for some of the furlough days. Negotiators meet Thursday, but Lynch said the state can’t wait to make plans for layoffs
Yesterday, Gov. Jim Douglas spoke against the "public option" for health care. Today, one of his Democratic opponents dumped on him for it.
Says Sen. Doug Racine, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor:
"Jim Douglas does not understand that his reliance on private insurance companies has not produced the affordability, accessibility, or accountability that Vermonters really need and never will. He is out of step with President Obama, our congressional delegation, and most Vermonters who understand that providing people with the choice of a public health care option is essential.
"While it is an honor to have a Vermonter as chairman of the National Governors Association once again, it is unfortunate that Jim Douglas does not understand what the last Vermonter who held the position does. ... Sadly, Jim Douglas is using his new position to oppose real change."
Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas becomes chairman of the National Governor's Association today down in Biloxi, Miss.
Theoretically, this is a good thing for Vermont. It puts him in a position to help sway the national debate. Do you see it that way?
How would you like to see him use the position?
To help shape federal health care reform? To help shape the way farmers are paid for their milk? To look out for border states' needs on immigration/security issues? Something else?
