Gov.-elect Phil Scott claimed a mandate Wednesday to hold tight the reins on state spending, one day after his convincing general election victory over Democrat Sue Minter.
Scott said he believed his win was the result of his focus on the “affordability crisis” and pledged economic growth would be his top priority. He will succeed Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin in January. Shumlin chose not to seek a fourth two-year term.
Scott, the Republican lieutenant governor, said he was not completely surprised by the election of Donald Trump as president and vowed to work with him despite having repudiated his party’s presidential nominee during the campaign. Scott said Trump won because of the “deep frustration” felt by many.
At a 30-minute press conference to announce his transition team, Scott sought to allay concerns of Vermonters stunned by the Trump victory.
“I can work with anyone. We’ll be OK. I believe in our democracy, and I believe we have a strong (congressional) delegation, a strong House and Senate” to keep Trump in check, Scott said.
“We’ll survive this,” he said. Scott said he had not contacted Trump, nor had the president-elect congratulated him. “I don’t have his number,” he quipped.
Even with a Legislature dominated by Democrats, Scott said he believed he could be effective finding common ground with the other side, particularly on proposals that could improve the economy.
“I don’t think it’s just about (the number of) Republicans. I think it’s about networking. I’ve reached across the aisle my entire political life,” said Scott, who served 10 years in the Senate before becoming lieutenant governor.
According to Tuesday’s results, the Republicans will control 52 seats in the 150-member House, enough to uphold a veto by Scott if they all stick together. There are also four independents who are considered fiscal conservatives and could also help make up the 50 votes needed to sustain a veto.
Political analyst Eric Davis said that because of the number of House Republicans, Scott has a “credible threat” when he says he may veto a bill, particularly on money matters. On issues, such as marijuana legalization, which died last year and is expected to be brought back, Davis said a Scott veto might not stand.
A veto needs to be upheld in only one chamber. After Tuesday, the Republicans are down to seven seats in the 30-member Senate, not enough to sustain a veto unless Democrats joined in. One Republican who lost his seat, Sen. Bill Doyle, represented Washington County, as did Scott. Doyle’s rejection by voters, Scott said, was “sad in some respects.”
Scott defeated Minter by a margin of 52 to 44 percent, an easy win in a largely Democratic state. He remains the only Republican statewide officeholder.
Davis, a former Middlebury College political science professor, said Minter was unable to get support beyond core Democratic towns like Burlington and Norwich. He said the support for Progressive/Democrat David Zuckerman, who won the lieutenant governor’s race, was more widely dispersed than Minter’s.
The campaign saw spending records smashed with a total of $13 million, including more than $5 million from outside political action committees such as those aligned with the governors associations of the two parties.
Scott said he would have preferred the outside money hadn’t come in but said he was “glad they came forward” to help him secure the win. He said he was not comfortable with all of the ads put out against his opponent by the Republican Governors Association, including one linking Minter to Shumlin that featured both of them as bobbleheads.
Scott said the campaign bordered on being too negative.
“It was on the edge. It was going down the wrong road. And I can see how it happens. Something like that gets negative, and then you get pulled into the mud, and I refused to go there. That’s why I was comfortable in the end, regardless of what happened,” Scott told reporters while standing in front of a bust of Lincoln at the Statehouse.
The transition team will be led by Tim Hayward, a former chief of staff to Gov. Jim Douglas, now retired, who volunteered to lead the effort. Jason Gibbs, who was Douglas’ communications director, said he would also play a leading role in the transition. Neale Lunderville, who served as administration secretary under Douglas and now runs the Burlington Electric Department, will help Scott develop a budget to present to the Legislature in January.
Also named to the transition team were Rep. Laura Sibilia, I-Dover, and Debbie Winters, the owner of Firetech Sprinklers.
Scott said he would turn to losing lieutenant governor candidate Randy Brock for financial-related advice and that their discussions might lead to a job offer in the administration.
Shumlin was unavailable Wednesday but told The Times Argus he would help Scott, whom he called a friend, with the transition.
Scott said he was unsure about his pledge during the campaign to drop Vermont Health Connect and have Vermonters move to the federal health care exchange given the election of Trump, who vowed to push for a repeal of the Affordable Care Act. Scott said Vermont would have to wait and see what the federal government does first on health care issues before he decides what to recommend here.
Scott said he would sell his half-share of DuBois Construction back to the company before he takes office. He came under fire during the campaign for having a conflict of interest because DuBois does business with the state.
During the campaign, Scott vowed to veto any carbon tax that reached his desk and any budget bill that exceeded the growth of the state economy. He said he wanted to review a recent deal Shumlin signed with the federal government on health care reform that allows an “all-payer waiver.” Scott said it wasn’t clear whether the deal would benefit the state.
Davis said the turnout was slightly lower than he expected. According to the secretary of state’s office, 318,000 Vermonters voted, short of the 325,000 Davis said he predicted. There are about 460,000 registered voters.
