John Walters is a political columnist for VTDigger. He also contributes to our daily Statehouse newsletter, Final Reading. Subscribe here.
The 2019 legislative session ended with a dispiriting fizzle, as a rancorous House/Senate relationship derailed action on shared priorities. Legislative leaders have spent the ensuing months trying to repair the damage.
“I don’t think any of us liked the way the last session ended,” said Senate Majority Leader Becca Balint, D-Windham. “I don’t ever want that to happen again.”
Previous sessions were marked by contention between the Democratic Legislature and Republican Gov. Phil Scott, but last year’s crash-and-burn was triggered by disagreements between House and Senate — especially between House Speaker Mitzi Johnson, D-South Hero, and Senate President Pro Tem Tim Ashe, D/P-Chittenden.
The only person who might have been pleased with the scenario was Scott himself, since he didn’t have to make tough choices on increasing the minimum wage, creating a statewide paid family leave program and establishing a regulated market for cannabis.
Since the final gavel fell, House and Senate leaders have done their best to dispel tensions and remove barriers. “Over the summer and fall, we had more regional meetings and get-togethers. We’ve started building relationships,” said House Majority Leader Jill Krowinski, D-Burlington.
Sounds like a nice New Year’s resolution. And you know how long those things usually last.
“I think it’s genuine,” said Balint. “Tim and Mitzi have done some soul-searching. Jill and I have. Peter Sterling and Katherine Levasseur [Senate and House chiefs of staff respectively] have. I do feel optimistic.”
As do I, when it comes to losing weight and getting back to the gym. And there are inherent differences between the two chambers, as well as personality clashes between their respective leaders.
Senators represent larger districts, and are relatively immune from electoral challenge. (The last senator to be defeated in a re-election bid was Bill Doyle, who lost his bid for a 25th term in 2016, at the age of 90.) State representatives have closer ties to their constituencies. Each senator serves on two committees, while each House member only has one. House committees have more time to take deeper dives on legislation. Senators, perhaps because they are members of a much smaller club, tend to carry themselves with an air of superiority.
On the personal level, Johnson is a consensus-builder who tries to be as inclusive as possible – which is generally a positive, but not when things are moving quickly and fast decisions need to be made. When she suddenly adjourned the House on May 24 while Senate leadership was still willing to continue working on minimum wage and paid leave, many senators felt they’d been hung out to dry.
Ashe is more aloof, and is widely seen as having trouble working with powerful women — which includes not only Johnson and Krowinski, but key committee chairs in the House.
“Everybody sees how he talks to women in leadership,” said one female lawmaker, speaking on condition that she not be identified. “He needs to make a change — and he has to make up for his past missteps.”
(Ashe did not respond to a request for comment made through his chief of staff, Peter Sterling.)
It’s tough for fully-formed adults to change their character. But it might be necessary if Johnson and Ashe are to make an effective team that can move substantial legislation to Scott’s desk. That’s what they will have to do, to help build a case against the governor’s expected re-election bid.
Even if the two leaders are completely sincere about getting it right this time, they will have to conquer their own demons and overcome the two chambers’ longstanding antagonisms.
“As much as there’s been friction between Mitzi and Tim, you wouldn’t believe what happened with [former speaker] Shap Smith and [former pro tem] John Campbell,” said a now-retired member of legislative leadership. “We often had to cobble things together at the last minute.”
Or fail to do so, as in 2019.
As Balint noted, “Trust is built in hundreds of moments.” That takes time, care and attention. It should be simple in January, when the majority caucuses can unite in reaction to Scott’s agenda. The chambers are also poised to quickly approve minimum wage and paid leave bills, which would provide a solid morale boost.
As the session continues, unexpected events will supersede the best-laid plans of mice and lawmakers. Then comes the inevitable pell-mell rush to adjournment, when time and tempers are short and attention divided. And some of those small moments will be sour, not sweet.
That’s when all those offseason resolutions will truly be put to the test.
