GOP Gov Running Well in Deep Blue Green Mountain State

Ambient intro – Pollina speaks while standing next to a noisy highway

Independent gubernatorial candidate Anthony Pollina waves to passing cars as they travel west between Hanover, New Hampshire and Norwich, Vermont.

Pollina is one of three major contenders in a race for Vermont’s top post.

Early polling places him a distant third behind frontrunner and three-time incumbent Republican Jim Douglas.

But even though Pollina could be closing in on second-place Democratic challenger Gaye Symington, both are still way behind Douglas.

Pollina is a big fish in Vermont’s small progressive pond.

He likes to paint Douglas as being out of step with most Vermonters, citing his support for the Iraq war.

And Pollina says the governor hasn’t done enough to keep the state’s economy strong.

Pollina - Vermonters are really looking for a different kind of governor and we’ve come forward with some very good specific ideas about how to get the economy moving again.

Pollina isn’t popular with mainstream Democrats.

They see him as siphoning off left-leaning voters from the party’s chosen candidate, Gaye Symington.

Symington - I’m here in Killington. We just had a debate hosted by the League of Cities and Towns that focused on the concerns of municipal officials (fade under)

Symington has been Speaker of the Vermont House for the past four years.

Insiders say she’s a skilled consensus builder and brilliant policy wonk.

But this is her first statewide campaign.

Symington - I would acknowledge that I follow a Vermont tradition of leadership that occasionally stumbles on words

Symington may concede debating club points to her more glib rivals.

But she says she offers substance over Douglas’ image-polishing and careful avoidance of tough issues.

Symington - I think that Vermonters are willing to substitute substance for slickness.

In recent financial reports, Symington disclosed her own assets but not those of her wealthy husband.
Douglas hit her hard on this issue, saying she was not being honest with Vermonters.

Symington says that she’s running for governor, not her husband.

Symington - My husband has a separate life and doesn’t appear in the statehouse, isn’t on the road with me in this race. I have fully disclosed my income. I have also fully disclosed all the assets that I share with my spouse as well as those that I own myself.

The recent economic meltdowns on the national level have strengthened claims by Symington and Pollina that Douglas trusts the free market too much.

Both challengers also say that Douglas never stops campaigning while the state’s economy and infrastructure suffer.

But while they complain, the governor still shows up everywhere.

He added to his already-busy travel schedule a new statewide tour to push his seven-part economic growth plan.

Middlebury College Professor Emeritus Eric Davis says despite the political climate, Douglas remains popular.

Eric Davis - He’s not a polarizing figure by any means. He gets out and about the state a lot. He’s probably met perhaps one hundred to two hundred thousand Vermonters in the time he’s been governor.

Ambient – Governor Douglas jokes with people….

Governor Douglas strolls around a statewide woodworkers convention.

He has an uncanny talent for remembering peoples’ names and he easily fields any pointed questions or gentle criticism.

Douglas has been able to distance himself from the country’s unpopular republican president.

The governor opposed the EPA when it blocked Vermont’s plan to limit greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.

The governor also sees himself as a sort of financial vanguard against a free-spending liberal super-majority.

Douglas – So I’ve said no to all these huge tax increases that Speaker Symington and her colleagues have proposed. And if that’s being obstructionist, then I plead guilty.

There is one hitch that heartens the challengers.

Vermont law says that if Douglas doesn’t get a majority, the vote is thrown to the legislature.

That’s an arena where Symington holds most cards.

But Professor Davis believes lawmakers would never go against the wishes of a majority of Vermonters.

Davis - It’s most likely that the legislature, even a strongly Democratic legislature like we have in Vermont right now, would vote to elect Jim Douglas to another term as governor.

Davis says that while national media coverage paints a picture less favorable to Republicans, it also draws attention away from those challenging Douglas.

The professor also says that Vermonters haven’t rejected an incumbent governor seeking reelection since 1962.

For NHPR news, this is Kevin Forrest