Cassandra Gekas officially launched her campaign for lieutenant governor in front of a who’s who of the Vermont left in Burlington on Thursday.
Rep. Chris Pearson, Sens. Anthony Pollina, Phil Baruth and Hinda Miller, Secretary of State Jim Condos and Gov. Peter Shumlin all attended the launch. Even attorney general candidate TJ Donovan stopped by for a few minutes before heading to his noontime Burlington Free Press debate with incumbent Vermont Attorney General Bill Sorrell.
Miller said Gekas’ age (she is 30) is an asset.
“Sometimes older people get in the way,” the state senator said of politics.
Shumlin, who introduced Gekas, did not mention her opponent, incumbent Lt. Gov. Phil Scott. The governor has said since Gekas announced her candidacy that Scott has been a helpful member of his administration, and he is endorsing Gekas because she is a Democrat.
“She is a leader in health care,” Shumlin said. “Second, as has been mentioned — what we have in common as statewide office holders, and it’s not just me; I see Secretary of State Condos is here, I know we have Attorney General Sorrell and Senator Patrick Leahy, Senator Bernie Sanders, Congressman Peter Welch, your governor, others. This is what we have in common: We are aging, wrinkled, white men.” He paused for laughter from the audience of about 50 guests. “It’s the truth. The exciting thing about this candidacy is we finally have a dynamic, bright, committed woman under 35 who wants to be a leader for the future of the state of Vermont. That’s important.”
Gekas did a bit of classic politicking in her speech, referring to an event that spurred her into politics. She talked about a 2010 bill she helped to pass as an advocate for VPIRG that requires insurers to include midwifery services as part of health care coverage.
“We filled the halls of the Statehouse with mothers and fathers and babies and midwives and it was really an unstoppable movement, and in 2010 in May, a week before Mother’s Day, our governor signed that bill into law,” she said. “After that signing ceremony I went down to Kismet to have a celebratory lunch with some folks and a young woman came up to me and she asked if she could give me a hug and she said something to me that I won’t ever forget. She said: ‘Thank you for showing me that we can make a difference. I never knew that I could walk into our Statehouse and talk to an elected official and that they would listen.”‘
But the speech wasn’t all fond reminiscence. Gekas also tried, in more classic politicking, to connect her opponent and the conservative right’s national agenda. After rattling off some of the most important issues to her campaign – retirement planning, health care costs, college tuition costs, environmental issues and Vermont Yankee, Gekas focused on Republicans.
“We’ve seen some of the most extreme members of the Republican Party come here to visit and that means something,” she said, referring to recent fundraisers with controversial Republicans Maine Gov. Paul LePage and Rep. Allen West, R-Fla. “So I stand before you today with a sense of urgency because we have to take action now and make sure that that rhetoric doesn’t take hold in Vermont.”
Gekas, a former health care advocate for VPIRG, decided to make a run for the seat just hours before the filing deadline in June after the governor’s office urged her to get on the ballot. The Vermont Democratic Party office scrambled to help her get signatures for her filing petition. Shortly afterward, Paul Burns, executive director of VPIRG, fired her.
Melinda Moulton, a Burlington businesswoman who hosted the event, also tried to use Republican incumbent Phil Scott’s party against him.
“Look,” she said, “Phil Scott is a popular guy but a lot of Vermonters really don’t know what he stands for. Phil Scott is a member of the Republican Party and during the last election, he received the endorsement of the Vermont Right to Life group whose mission is to end a woman’s right to choose in Vermont.
“Phil Scott’s Republican Party across the country has been spending much of their time introducing and passing bills restricting women’s access to health care,” she continued. “Lawmakers have introduced more than 1,000 — one thousand — reproductive health bills which seek to undermine women’s health. In the first half of 2012, states enacted 95 new provisions relating to restricting abortion, family planning, and sex education. The top GOP ticket of Romney-Ryan, if elected, would end funding for Planned Parenthood, overturn Roe v. Wade, restrict contraception, dismantle Medicaid, and repeal the Affordable Care Act. Lt. Gov. Scott is a member of the Republican Party, and I believe Vermonters need to understand his positions on these issues. What portions of the GOP platform does Phil Scott stand behind?”
Moulton didn’t mention marriage equality, which Scott voted in favor of in the Senate, despite his party ties, in 2009.
In an interview Thursday, Scott made his positions clear on some of the issues mentioned by state Democrats.
His response to comments about the Right to Life group’s endorsement, he said, had little to do with women’s rights issues.
“I was a bit surprised that I received the endorsement so I wanted to check with them because I think I’ve been fairly transparent and consistent in my 12 years. … I’m pro-choice, and so I was surprised to receive the endorsement,” Scott said. He said the endorsement had to do with his stances on end-of-life choice issues. Scott said he is concerned about physician-assisted suicide.
Where Gekas and Scott differ the most is on health care. While Gekas has been strong supporter of Shumlin’s single payer initiative, Scott has concerns about the cost of the plan, and he is waiting on reports from the Green Mountain Care Board before he takes a firm position.
