Editor’s note: This commentary is by Karen Hewitt, who is a small business owner who lives in Montpelier.
[A]s a Vermonter who voted in the November election, I am accepting of the statutory requirement that our Legislature will decide who our next governor will be. This is not a capricious vote and I sincerely believe legislators owe Vermonters their best critical thinking when they weigh the leadership qualities of Peter Shumlin and Scott Milne on Jan. 7. Can I be the only Vermonter who is appreciative of Scott Milne’s refusal to concede?
Vermont’s constitution was written to recognize and resolve the exact electoral puzzle presented by the election results of November: It is not clear who is best suited to govern our state because neither candidate received 50 percent of the vote. This constitutional requirement would exist whether Scott Milne conceded the election, or not. In the same way the U.S. electoral college guarantees Vermont a say in national elections, our state constitution gives Vermonters a voice where none would otherwise exist, even when a so-called “one-vote” system points to a win for Peter Shumlin. Variation in population density in districts within counties throughout Vermont tip elections and disenfranchise voters; campaign spending is an additional factor where over $500,000 was spent by the Shumlin campaign.
Scott Milne deserves a very close look for his recognition that nothing of value can be sustained in Vermont without economic reforms.
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Scott Milne deserves respect for bringing policy issues to the fore and for his persistent integrity in not buckling to rhetoric, including vituperative personal attacks. Reforms are required for Vermonters to grapple with economic realities and Scott Milne seems to understand this. Recent forums on rising property taxes relative to education funding, even with the disclosure of our present administration that Vermont has over a $75 million shortfall in our budget (and growing) offered no practical solutions to the crisis. Paul Cillo of the Public Assets Institute even suggested that if Vermonters just understood Act 68, it could be seen a crisis does not even exist — a peculiar position and an extreme Jonathan Gruber-esque moment: Vermonters are too stupid to realize we are not drowning in unsustainable spending in our state. Really? I believe Scott Milne gets it.
Gov. Shumlin is to be congratulated for his leadership on soft policy issues, especially tackling erosion of communities by opiate addiction, putting forward pre-K education programs, and the promoting of single-payer health insurance (now tabled).
But Scott Milne deserves a very close look for his recognition that nothing of value can be sustained in Vermont without economic reforms. Recent criticism of Milne that suggests he has no specific ideas of how to govern overlook what any Vermonter can learned without too much digging: that Mr. Milne has specific ideas on education, property tax reform, and the reinvigoration of business throughout our state that will benefit both social and economic goals.
I urge our legislators to reject the protection of secrecy when they decide the deadlock on Jan. 7. The Vermont House and Senate, and all Vermonters, should engage in civil and transparent treatment of Gov. Shumlin and, especially, Scott Milne, whose only transgression, after all, is to offer himself in service to the people of Vermont.