The main contrast came over the candidates’ resumes, with Minter touting her state work and Dunne highlighting his employment at Google.
Minter pointed to her experience managing big budgets and natural disasters at the Agency of Transportation, asserting she could bring efficiency and innovation from AOT into the governor’s office.
She spoke about integrating efficient bridge-building techniques at the agency and her work quickly rebuilding 500 miles of road after Tropical Storm Irene. And she said that while wait times at the Department of Motor Vehicles had once averaged hours, “Now, 90 percent of the time you can get your transaction done in 30 minutes.”
Dunne said he had worked effectively in the private sector, bringing laser-fast Internet service to cities with populations larger than Vermont. He said he learned lessons from across the country and knows what incentives would attract businesses and young people to Vermont.
Minter promised to streamline the state’s permit process for businesses. She pointed to infrastructure projects as being able to boost town economies and revitalize downtowns.
“I have seen how strategic infrastructure can actually stimulate economies, like we did in Barre,” she said.
Dunne stressed the importance of workforce needs and telecommunication infrastructure for rebuilding a 21st century economy.
“What we have not done in this state is investment in critical underlying infrastructure and bringing forward capital that is actually being accessed elsewhere,” he said.
Dunne said private-public partnerships could be effective, proposing a $100 million energy efficiency fund that would pay for apartment renovations in town and city centers. He said the move would create jobs, make Vermont’s housing stock more attractive to outsiders and reduce pollution.
Nuanced differences emerged when the candidates dug down into details, but most issues brought little disagreement.
Both candidates agreed that the state’s green energy sector was crucial in a thriving economy. Minter spoke about her efforts to make the state prepared for future natural disasters.
“We have to know that climate change is not a future issue, it is happening now,” she said.
Both said strategic investments in childhood education would bring younger families to the state and save money down the line on special education. They said it was time for Vermont to legalize marijuana, and both voiced support for gun control.
They also both called for a complete reform of the tax code.
“This tax code was built 50 years ago, when it was an economy of durable goods,” Minter said. “So we have sales tax on goods and not on services.”
The two also described their travels across the state, and both said economic anxiety was emanating from nearly every city and town. Both criticized Gov. Peter Shumlin’s administration in abstract terms.
In a veiled jab at Shumlin, Dunne spoke about how he had delivered gigabit-speed wireless service in his time at Google, a goal the governor has not completed.
“Having spent the last five years of my life not just talking about delivering high-speed Internet but actually doing it, I know how to get it done,” he said.
The crowd, representing everything from UVM to the YMCA, listened attentively throughout the Monday morning breakfast, clinking silverware while eating.
House Speaker Shap Smith, a former gubernatorial candidate who may re-enter the race, sat in the back of the room. He had left by the time the candidates finished speaking.
Running on the Republican side are Lt. Gov. Phil Scott and former Wall Street executive Bruce Lisman.
