[A]sk former Vermont Gov. Thomas Salmon for the most memorable ritual of his 1973 inauguration and the answer may leave you hungry.
“There wasn’t much tradition when I got elected,” the 85-year-old recalls.
That’s why Salmon — welcomed nearly a half-century ago by the only other Democrat to then hold the post (the late Philip Hoff, who served from 1963 to 1969) and Republican peer Deane Davis (1969-73) — took advantage of the free time and joined his predecessors for lunch.
History repeated itself Thursday when Phil Scott — greeting the only other living Republican to hold the post (James Douglas, 2003-11) and Democratic peer Peter Shumlin (2011-17) — continued what’s now a biennial custom open to all Vermont governors past and present.
“When I left office, I told my wife, ‘We don’t have a generous retirement package, but we do get a free meal once every other year,’” Douglas joked of his attendance.
Not everyone was able to redeem the offer. Salmon is wintering in Florida. Howard Dean (1991-2003) had out-of-state commitments as a national political consultant. And Madeleine Kunin (1985-91) is taking time off after a successful promotional tour for her new memoir, “Coming of Age.”
But there or not, all the former leaders appreciate the opportunity to gather.
“It’s not very often you get all the sitting governors in one place,” Dean said by phone. “I think it’s a nice bipartisan tradition.”
Douglas believes in it so much, he taught his Middlebury College “Vermont Government and Politics” class until 10:15 a.m., then traveled immediately to the state capital. Making time in a lingering snowstorm was the least of his challenges.
“Finding a place to park in Montpelier consumes the rest of the morning,” Douglas said. “But it’s a limited club in terms of people who’ve held this office, so regardless of party affiliation, there’s a real camaraderie.”
The fact the lunch is closed to the press and public feeds that.
“There’s a lot of laughing and interesting off-the-record conversation — not just old stories, but what’s going on now and different perspectives on how you do the job,” said Shumlin, returning to the capital for the first time since departing two years ago. “Being governor can be a pretty lonely experience in terms of the public understanding the demands. Here, you have all these people who’ve been through it.”
And understand what’s ahead.
“We all wish whoever’s the new governor well, regardless what might have been the tenor of the recent campaign,” Douglas said. “There’ll be enough time for bipartisanship to erode, so at least for an hour we can all be together.”
