Rep. Heidi Scheuermann, a Republican from Stowe, says she is considering a run for governor.
The former staffer for Sen. James Jeffords says she is concerned about the direction the state is headed.
“I think that I have some ideas and thoughts that would resonate with Vermonters and would move the state forward in a positive direction and that’s why I want to consider it,” Scheuermann said in an interview.
The Vermont GOP has not yet backed a candidate for the 2014 gubernatorial race, and Scheuermann is the first Republican to make her interest in the race public. Former state senator Randy Brock, who ran against Gov. Peter Shumlin in 2012, is also said to be considering another run.
Scheuermann, 42, is a four-term representative who has never run for statewide office.
She describes the possible bid against two-term gubernatorial incumbent Gov. Peter Shumlin as a David versus Goliath scenario (the governor is renowned for his shrewdness as a politician, and he has $1 million in the bank), but Scheuermann says she could overcome those hurdles.
If she decides to run, Scheuermann says she will run on a job creation platform.
“If I decide to run, I will run 24/7 with a positive message, and one Vermonters are looking for,” Scheuermann says. “I think a candidate like that can win without millions of dollars.”
Scheuermann says Vermonters are worried about jobs, health care and property taxes.
“What I hear from folks is, it’s the economy, stupid,” Scheuermann said. “We need to focus and have a laser focus on the economy and ensure growth and how to put in policies that will allow our state to grow economically with private sector jobs. That should be our No. 1 priority, and we lack that.”
Scheuermann says she wants health care reform that makes sense and that Vermonters understand and aren’t anxious about.
Property taxes are an issue, she says, and “have been an issue for me for the last eight years.” Scheuermann’s hometown (she grew up in Stowe) is a ski town that has contributed more to the statewide property tax under Act 60, which leveled the playing field between rich and poor towns, than it has received in subsidies.
“They continue to skyrocket,” she said. “I would like to really focus on property taxes and education and ensure we have a high quality education system we can afford.”
Scheuermann went to Stowe public schools, graduated from St. Louis University and served in the Peace Corps, teaching English in Poland for three years. She took a job working for Sen. James Jeffords (she worked in his office in Washington, D.C., and then helped to run his campaign in 2000) and then ran for state representative in 2006.
