Dean, a five-term Democrat, and his successor, Douglas, a four-term Republican, squared off for the better part of the morning at the DoubleTree Hotel in South Burlington. The event, part of a legislative breakfast series, was put on by the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce. More than 20 sitting Vermont legislators attended, along with business leaders and others who filled the 200-person space.
Gov. Peter Shumlin, the keynote speaker, largely stayed out of the debate, other than to quickly side with his fellow Democrat in support of the current two-year limit. “Gov. Dean is right on this one,” he said to applause and laughter as he stepped off the stage.
Sen. Diane Snelling, R-Chittenden, proposed the amendment earlier this year. Vermont is almost alone among the states; other than New Hampshire, which also has two-year gubernatorial terms, the rest have a four-year term.
The proposal is not new, either. Since 1971 the state Senate has considered doubling the term 12 times, without ever ratifying the amendment.
Dean sees the current two-year limit as a tool for voters to defeat politicians they don’t like and a way to encourage elected officials to fulfill promises sooner, before Vermonters get back to the voting booths.
“This is one of the best-run states in the country,” Dean said, “exactly because of the two-year term. We get things done faster.”
Vermonters feel they matter, he said. Town Meeting Day and the two-year term allow people to voice their opinions and elect new politicians more easily and quickly than an average American, leading to a healthier democracy.
Douglas sees the four-year term as an opportunity for governors and other state officials to plan more effectively. Many Vermont business groups endorsed the proposal, including the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Vermont Chamber of Commerce and the Vermont Business Roundtable, he said.
Many previous governors supported a four-year term, Douglas added. He wryly quoted a governor’s report that chided the Legislature at the end of its session for not passing the amendment doubling the term. “That was May 3, 1996, my friend Howard Dean,” Douglas said.
“You live and you learn,” Dean said, smiling.
A 2008 report by the University of Vermont’s nonpartisan Snelling Center for Government found that over the years, many Vermonters have supported a four-year term. Among a representative sample of 400 Vermonters, support for a four-year term rose modestly between 2006 and 2007, from 53 to 58 percent, with opposition falling from 37 percent in 2006 to 35 percent in 2007.
Support is strongest among business organizations and especially among people who say they are politically active.
Bob Conlan, co-owner of Leunig’s Bistro and Cafe in downtown Burlington and a member of the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce board, said either term length wouldn’t affect him or his business. “What affects me is state spending,” he said.
“I lean Republican, but I thought Gov. Dean was right,” Conlan said. “I thought I’d never say that.”
