The two major party candidates for governor turned up the heat in the WCAX studio Tuesday night for an hour-long debate that rehashed longstanding disagreements and exposed new ones.
The first portion of the debate focused on the state of mental health treatment in Vermont, a freshly relevant topic following a tragic wrong-way driving crash on Interstate 89 on Oct. 8 that left five teens dead. According to a sworn Vermont State Police affidavit, the suspect in the case, Steven Bourgoin, sought treatment three times from the UVM Medical Center emergency room that Saturday morning. A call was made to the Howard Center, a mental health treatment agency, but he was not screened for a mental illness there, according to a state police trooper. The Howard Center has disputed that assertion.
Both Scott and Minter expressed sorrow for the tragedy, and vowed to make improvements to the state’s mental health infrastructure, which was hobbled after a primary treatment facility in Waterbury was badly damaged during Tropical Storm Irene.
“We need to expand the treatment facilities throughout the state — and providers for the treatment — and use the designated agencies to help as well,” Scott said. “It’s a broad approach, it’s all of us trying to prioritize the important things.”
Scott said that, as governor, he would look to find financial savings in the state’s Medicaid system and funnel those savings toward comprehensive mental health services.
Minter went further, calling for parity in mental and physical health treatment in Vermont. She said that mental health treatment should be integrated into schools, and focus less on prescribing and more on wholesome, outcome-oriented solutions.
“We still have a stigma about [mental health treatment] instead of an acceptance of how important it is,” Minter said. “And so many people are not accessing services because of their own inhibitions.”
The debate then shifted to another recent news item: the strike by Burlington teachers for better wages. Teachers are protesting for pay raise averaging $1,900, which would push the median salary over $73,000. The city says the demands would cost the city an additional $440,000 annually. WCAX anchor and moderator Darren Perron pointed out that new rate of pay for Burlington teachers would be $10,000 more than the median household income in Vermont.
Both candidates said they hoped negotiations would avert a strike, but Minter — who has been endorsed by the National Education Association — was more supportive of the teachers’ proposed contract.
“Everyone is struggling in this economy, and that’s why we actually need to think about giving Vermonters a raise,” she said. “But we don’t try to bring others down, we try to lift all boats. That’s the goal.”
Scott said that when middle class workers “see some of the teachers getting raises that far exceed what they are getting, they have a reason to push back.”
The debate also tackled the frequently discussed topic of the Vermont Health Connect online exchange.
“I would recommend we transition to something else, whether the federal exchange or go to another state system and join with them with our own autonomous system with our own laws in effect, and that can be done,” Scott said, floating Connecticut as a possible partner.
While Scott has talked to Connecticut officials about contracting parts of their more successful exchange, health care experts said in a recent VTDigger report that merging Vermont’s exchange with another state would be unprecedented. Cory Gustafson, spokesperson for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont, pointed to logistical issues that could arise due to conflicting state laws regarding insurance plans.
“Thinking that someone else can solve our problem, I think, is a simplistic answer,” Minter said.
She did not propose her own specific solution to the lingering technological issues with the state exchange, saying instead that it “failed many Vermonters and it needs new leadership and it needs fresh eyes.”
When Minter said that Connecticut Gov. Daniel Malloy had expressed hesitation about bringing Vermont onboard, Scott shot back.
“I think he’s just out of touch, he doesn’t understand that the lieutenant governor is the one overseeing this program in Connecticut and it’s long overdue,” Scott said. “We’ve studied this enough, we don’t have to be careful anymore we just have to have some action.”
On the idea of a carbon tax, Scott voiced absolute opposition. Minter was a bit more muddy in her position, and when Scott asked her if she would sign a carbon tax bill if it got to her desk, she stumbled.
“Well, I will see what that is that they are talking about,” she said. “There is no bill in front of me to answer.”
The matchup also featured a number of jabs.
Minter attacked Scott for ditching out of the WDEV debate at the Tunbridge World’s Fair after the lieutenant governor had requested Liberty Union gubernatorial candidate Bill “Spaceman” Lee be invited.
“You know what, governors don’t always get their way, but they have to show up,” said Minter.
Scott pointed out that Minter had bailed out of primary debates, including a forum held in Irasburg by anti-wind advocates near two wind farms in the Northeast Kingdom.
Minter also hit Scott for invoking his “two daughters” in a recent explanation about why he was disgusted by recent comments from Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in which he described groping women.
“You said you have two daughters and you would denounce this kind of language and behavior — I don’t know why you have to have two daughters to be outraged by this. But that’s besides the point.”
However, Minter used the same tactic. In her remarks explaining why teachers need better pay, Minter made clear that she was “a mom with two kids who have gone through our public school.”
The most paradoxical moment of the night came at the end of the debate, when each candidate criticized their opponent’s support from national political groups.
Both the Republican and Democratic Governors Associations have rolled out a slate of negative ads in the campaign to boost Scott and Minter. (The RGA has spent $1.8 million on Scott, the DGA $767,000 for Minter.)
After the debate ended — and Minter and Scott shook hands — the WCAX feed cut out, followed by a series of ads funded by the RGA and DGA.
