I'm Scudder Parker, and I'm running for governor of Vermont against Jim Douglas, a two-term Republican incumbent. Douglas has easily won two 2-year terms because he has managed to convince voters that, like the mythical (pre-war) George W. Bush, he's a really nice guy. But my campaign is gaining strength because over the last couple months, Vermonters have started to realize Jim Douglas is actually a lot like his fellow Republicans from Washington, D.C. who are making so many problems for all of us.
In his four years in office, Jim Douglas has dragged his feet on issues ranging from health care reform to advances in renewable energy to aid for Vermont's dairy farmers, and most recently, opposed the New England Wilderness Act, which was unanimously passed by the Senate and supported by the vast majority of Vermonters. He even has the distinction of becoming the first governor in the history of the state of Vermont to veto civil rights legislation.
More on the flip.
I believe that the issue of Vermont's wilderness is indicative of Jim Douglas's performance as governor of this state. The New England Wilderness Act, supported by the Congressional delegations from Vermont and New Hampshire, was subjected to exhaustive public comment in the state of Vermont over the past five years. Of Vermont's 251 towns, only seven formally objected to the passage of the bill, and an overwhelming number of Vermonters attending hearings and filing comments were in support of the bill.
Flying in the face of the will of his constituents, Jim Douglas chose to play on the fears of logging, forest products, and hunting and fishing groups, and wrote a letter on behalf of this state to Rep. Richard Pombo of California - the notoriously anti-environmental chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources. Ultimately, due to Douglas's meddling, the bill failed to pass through the House by the end of this session. Far from uniting Vermonters behind a balanced compromise that was developed over time, he drove a larger wedge between us and polarized our state even further. And at the same time, he turned his back on good environmental policy.
I am running for governor because Vermont deserves a leader who will bring Vermonters together to solve the challenges facing our state. I am running to win, in order to bring hope, leadership and solutions to Vermont's most pressing issues.
I grew up on a dairy farm in the Northeast Kingdom, and I've been serving Vermont's communities my whole life. I was a minister in my community for twenty years, I served in the State Senate for eight years, four of them as chair of the Finance Committee, and I went on to direct the renewable energy and efficiency programs for the State of Vermont for twelve years.
Vermont is facing some tough situations right now, with rising health care and energy costs, and falling dairy prices for our farmers. Making the necessary changes to ensure a prosperous future will be a challenge, but I have the ideas and vision to secure that future. As Vermont's governor, I plan to:
- Lower the cost of health care by creating a single risk pool for all Vermonters, removing this responsibility from businesses and ensuring that all citizens - no matter their income level or employment status - have access to quality care.
- Control the cost of energy through investment in renewable resources and increased efficiency and restore the leadership on these issues that Vermont showed by creating the first statewide provider of energy efficiency services (Efficiency Vermont).
- Work with Vermont's businesses to help them succeed, and strengthen our economy.
- Create good jobs and invest in our state's local economy.
- Develop permanently affordable housing for our working families by expanding the nationally respected network of community land trusts in Vermont and by fully funding the Housing Conservation Trust Fund.
- Support schools as they seek to use their use buildings and teachers more efficiently.
In Jim Douglas, Vermont has a governor who is running away from the issues, dividing Vermonters, and refusing to adequately address the concerns of our state. I want to be Vermont's governor because together, we can do better.