Off-election years can be sleepy, but the turbulent launch of the state’s health insurance exchange kept the Shumlin administration on its toes in 2013, supplying the political sparks normally associated with a campaign season.
“Nothing-burgers,” “something-thing burgers” and “security breaches” provided plenty of fodder to health reform critics and Republicans waiting in the wings.
But even Democratic lawmakers were put off at times by what was seen as brazen and unwarranted optimism on the part of administration officials.
Randy Brock, Republican challenger to Shumlin in 2012, entered the fray early on, with an op-ed, penned two days before Vermont Health Connect’s launch, that proclaimed, “The system does not work.” Brock, along with Brady Toensing, vice chair of the state Republican party, and Darcie Johnston, director of Vermonters for Health Care Freedom, have made multiple public records requests, probing for signs of mismanagement.
The administration’s attempts to generate positive news coverage about the exchange were undermined by the discovery that it had spent $2.8 million to do so. Using federal money, the state hired a Washington D.C. firm, GMMB, to analyze Vermont media coverage, orchestrate “earned media” coverage, and compile a list of the state’s health care reporters, among other tasks.
Website glitches may have been Shumlin’s greatest political liability in 2013, but they weren’t his only one.
After a land deal with his East Montpelier neighbor, Jeremy Dodge, went awry in late May, the governor went into damage control mode.
Dodge, who was facing a tax sale at the time, had agreed to sell Shumlin his house and property for a fraction of its assessed value. He came to regret the deal and claimed he hadn’t understood the terms of the agreement, which he’d entered into without a lawyer. That left Shumlin parrying accusations that he’d taken advantage of a financially-struggling, possibly mentally ill man.
After a string of one-on-one sitdowns with reporters, Shumlin announced that he would allow Dodge to buy his house back. Well-known Republican operative Brady Toensing, volunteered to represent Dodge in the do-over deal, but it was resolved without further political fanfare.
Vermont’s Republican Party, meanwhile, reeled from internal strife. It was thrust into an identity crisis as two factions vied for control of the party. A moderate group led by Lt. Gov. Phil Scott trumped members of an old guard, who had advocated for keeping close ties with the national party. The disagreement reached its peak in November, when the party met to elect its chair and other leadership positions.
Scott’s group managed to usurp control from the outgoing chair, Jack Lindley, and his allies, installing former legislator David Sunderland in his stead.
The U.S. Congress reached new lows in productivity this year, but the session was far from uneventful. The country came to the brink of intervening in the civil war in Syria, and Sen. Patrick Leahy, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Rep. Peter Welch waffled over whether to support the plan, despite vocal opposition among Vermonters. An unexpected deal with Russia saved them from having to make a wrenching decision.
The delegation had no qualms, however, about supporting the U.S. Air Force’s drawn out decision to bring 18 F-35 fighter jets to Burlington in 2020, despite fierce local opposition. The much-anticipated basing decision was announced in December, and Shumlin and Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger joined the delegation in hailing it as an economic boon for the region. Residents, citing health and environmental concerns, pledged to continue the fight by lodging lawsuits against the U.S. Air Force.
Leahy, as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, had his hand in a number of key issues. The immigration reform bill lost steam in the House, but his role in ushering it through the Senate remains a feat in its own right.
Leahy has also taken a lead role in pressing the Obama administration to rein in the National Security Agency’s (NSA) massive data collection programs and introducing bills to constrain these activities.
Sanders has kept up his relentless campaign to spotlight income inequality, and speculation that he’ll run for president in 2016 — a notion he hasn’t ruled out — is already bringing more attention to his cause.
Welch positioned himself well ahead of the government shutdown as an proponent of bipartisanship, and he earned himself some publicity by spearheading the “Problem Solvers Coalition” — a bipartisan group of 81 lawmakers that unveiled nine compromise bills in July.
In the Vermont Legislature, major battles unfolded inside party lines. Shumlin butted heads with Democratic lawmakers during two tax-related tempests.
The Legislature crushed the governor’s proposal to expand child care subsidies by drastically reduce the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which benefits low-income working Vermonters.
Shumlin, in turn, trounced an attempt led by Democrats in the House and Senate, to make progressive changes to the income tax code.
After a drawn out, emotionally grueling debate, lawmakers passed the “death with dignity” legislation, allowing terminally ill people to obtain a fatal dose of medicine from physicians.
The legislature also decriminalized marijuana and gave migrant workers the go-ahead to obtain the equivalent of a driver’s license, but, again, not without first confronting vigorous opposition.
An attempt at campaign finance reform fell short but will be back on the agenda for 2014.
Gun control legislation was extinguished early in the year. Lawmakers backed down from a bill that would have tightened background checks for gun purchasers, limited ammunition magazines to 10 rounds, and given local police the authority to enforce the federal law prohibiting felons and domestic violence offenders from possessing guns.