The honeymoon is already over for Gov. Shumlin, left. In the background, Lisa Kunin, Executive Assistant for Shumlin, and Beth Robinson, Legal Council. MIKE TOWNSEND, Free Press
The new Vermont governor, Peter Shumlin, stopped by the Free Press editorial board Monday to offer a few words on the challenges ahead and “the hand I have been dealt.”
Gov. Shumlin dressed casually. He was relaxed, realistic and unusually soft spoken. This day he was working with the grassroots, a show of respect on the day marking Martin Luther King’s birthday. His next stop was a community event in Winooski.
Chittenden County celebrates Dr. King’s birthday unlike any other county in Vermont, he noted. He has always been impressed with the efforts in the state’s most populous county. If only the rest could emulate this coming together for a cause.
Coming off an exhausting campaign, there is so much to do and so many promises to remember. And all, of course, will.
But first there is the harsh reality and that has grown to nearly $170 million beyond earlier estimates, as in yet another year of dealing with massive deficits.
He called this the budget insanity.
The hopes for smarter money management via the creative Challenge for Change initiative have become a pipe dream in whittling down the deficit.
“The rhetoric will not meet the math,” he said of the state’s efforts to find its vein of creativeness.
He is resigned to a contentious first year in the solitary seat of power.
“There will be plenty to criticize.”
Vermonters can expect even more cuts in the size of government and what services will be delivered — or won’t be.
In the face of the pressure to increase revenue, he is adamant.
“The tax capacity is not there.”
Neither is there capacity to increase fees.
On this foundation, he and his predecessor, Republican Jim Douglas, have much in common.
“People underestimate choices Douglas made. The point is we’re not done.”
Outside of “drawing down” federal revenue, the local targets for reduction are obvious. As Democrat Shumlin has said many times, you have to “go where the money is.”
That means health and education.
He expects a lot of push back on revenue, budget and cuts. He will offer “cooperative guidance.” But there will be, he noted, a need for “tough love.”
“We’re in big trouble … I am in desperado mode.”
As he maps out strategy, there are other certainties Vermonters can expect to hear from this governor:
— “The more transparency the better … this week the entire cabinet is getting a lesson in open government.”
— On the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, he said, “Shut it down.” There has been lobbying going on off to the side about delaying decommissioning. “They are trying to bait the dog … I’m not a big believer in the tooth fairy.”
—He will deliver on broadband in every part of Vermont. “I am promising by 2013.”
– On employment he said, “My job is getting on the phone, talking to CEOs and harvesting them. Not every governor is calling up and saying, ‘How can we help?’”
He is optimistic, “We have a bright future if we play our cards right.”
Yet in face of the stiff challenges in his first year as governor, he smiles big and says, “We’re having fun.”
You can see it in his eyes.
The honeymoon is already over.
