Editor’s note: This commentary is by Tim Belcher, of Barre, who is general counsel for the Vermont State Employees’ Association.
[V]ermont is creeping towards a possible shutdown of state government come July 1. The governor is insisting on budget measures that the Democratic majority in the Legislature won’t support. The Democrats have proposed legislation that would keep the government open while the parties continue to negotiate. The governor doesn’t disagree with the substance of that legislation, but opposes it because he wants “leverage” in those negotiations. What does all this mean?
I worked in Maine as a union lawyer for the state workers before moving to Vermont, to take the same job. I’ve had a front-row seat to watch two state shutdowns and one near miss. I understand exactly what the governor means when he talks about “leverage.” Gov. John McKernan shut Maine state government down in 1991 to force the Democratic Legislature to gut the state’s workers’ compensation system. Government was shut down for almost two weeks, with a short hiatus designed to block state workers from collecting unemployment. The Legislature ultimately caved.
Gov. Paul LePage threatened a shutdown in 2013 over a budget dispute with a Democratic House of Representatives and a Senate controlled by moderate Republicans. He vetoed the budget, and directed departments to prepare for a shutdown, but enough House Republicans balked to override the veto. As a matter of full disclosure, during the course of that fiasco LePage issued a press release accusing me of being a liar, an accusation that was unfounded but that I wear as a badge of honor.
In 2017, Gov. LePage forced a second shutdown in a dispute involving school funding. During the 2016 elections, voters in Maine overwhelmingly approved a citizen referendum that increased taxes on the wealthy to fund education. By the time the state actually shut down on July 1, LePage had already secured concessions from Democrats that largely overturned that citizen referendum. He then began demanding more, including statewide teacher bargaining. The shutdown lasted three days, mostly over the weekend, and accomplished nothing.
The common thread in all of these incidents is a Republican governor trying to force legislative changes that he can’t get enacted through the democratic process. In each case, the voters had indeed elected a Republican governor, but had also elected a mixed or Democratic Legislature. Rather than hear a message demanding moderation and compromise, these governors shut down the government to force their opponents to cave.
The calculus is both stark and cynical. Many people are hurt by a state shutdown, but most of the pain is felt by state workers and people who rely on government assistance or support. When the Scott administration talks about needing “leverage” in negotiations, he is saying that he needs the power to cause pain to people Democrats care about. If he shuts down government, state workers and others will see their economic lives turned upside down. At best, they will face uncertainty. At worst, people will lose income they were counting on. People who live paycheck to paycheck will fall behind. People will do without. Shutdowns are stressful, difficult and demoralizing events.
When the governor says he wants the leverage of a shutdown to negotiate with the Legislature, he is saying he is ready to cause real economic pain to thousands of Vermonters. The strategy pits teachers against state workers and people who depend on state help, forcing Democrats and Progressives to choose between two core constituencies. Like LePage and McKernan in Maine, he is holding state workers hostage to force an agenda that he can’t win through the legislative process.
When Vermont voters sent Scott to work with this Legislature, they sent a clear message rejecting the scorched-earth politics we see in Washington and other states. If the administration is ready to play this kind of political game with people’s lives, the Republicans in the Legislature need to step in and override his vetoes. Otherwise, voters should hold them accountable in November. Vermont deserves better.
