Former Vermont Govs. Thomas P. Salmon, Madeleine Kunin, Howard Dean and James Douglas joined incumbent Gov. Peter Shumlin in a roundtable discussion on Aug. 15 to talk about what it is to be a political leader and how one of Congress' biggest problems is its unwillingness to work together.
The event took place at the Hilton Hotel in Burlington as a part of the 96th annual conference of the National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers. The conference allows principal state officials to gather and discuss government finance, auditing and reform initiatives.
Facilitating the discussion was Chris Graff, vice president of corporate communications and government relations for the National Life Group and former Associated Press bureau chief in Vermont. There was a general consensus across the board that each governor was displeased with the current situation in Washington D.C.
“I am disgusted with what's going on in Washington,” Salmon said. Salmon was elected governor of Vermont in 1972 and served two terms before running second in a race for the United States Senate in 1976.
Kunin agreed. “I've never seen it in my years in my political life, or my years as a citizen, as divided as this,” she said. “We just have to find a way to break bread together, to converse together and to listen to the other side.”
Kunin was the first female governor of Vermont, serving from 1985 to 1991. Currently a resident of Burlington, Kunin was previously the ambassador to Switzerland under President Bill Clinton.
Dean also agreed. “I think Washington is the most out of touch it ever has been,” Dean said. “The reason we (governors) got re-elected was because we worked hard.”
Dean was Vermont's longest serving governor, serving for six terms. After his service to the state, Dean made an unsuccessful run for the presidential nomination in 2003. Following his loss, Dean served as chair of the Democratic National Committee.
Douglas, a Republican, added his own concerns about Washington's contentiousness: “Vermont has a long tradition of working together, and I hope that folks in Washington might look to us as an example of how to get the job done. What we see in the nation's capital now is very disappointing, to put it mildly.”
The most recent predecessor to Gov. Shumlin, Douglas was elected in 2002. Prior to becoming governor, Douglas was voted into Vermont's House of Representatives in 1972 and served as a lawmaker before becoming an aide to Gov. Richard Snelling in 1979. Douglas was also Vermont's secretary of state and state treasurer before his gubernatorial inauguration.
“In Vermont, we do pay our bills,” Shumlin told the gathering. “Unlike in Washington, we work together in a bipartisan spirit to get what's important done for our state.”
Shumlin, the 81st governor of Vermont, worked for each of his immediate predecessors. Out of college, he worked on Salmon's campaign, was appointed to the House of Representatives by Kunin and worked as Senate president pro-tempore under both Dean and Douglas.
The dynamic of the state changed over the almost 40-year period covered by the five governors. In the early 1970s, when Salmon served as a Democrat, Vermont was heavily Republican. Shumlin, a Democrat, currently serves with Democratic majorities in both the House and Senate. Each of the governors, regardless of party, has tended to promote bipartisanship and the importance of leadership.
“The United States of America is broke,” Salmon said. “Our president, our leaders in the House and Senate, need to come together … and tell the truth,” Salmon said. “The time for leadership is at hand.”
Salmon added that in this time of economic woe, taxes must be raised not just for the rich but also for the middle class. Kunin disagreed with Salmon on this point, saying the rich need to help out the poor and middle-class to come back from the current economic decline. Kunin also said there needs to be more diversity in Congress and fewer millionaire men.
“We cannot be a great democracy with such a gap between the rich and poor,” Kunin said. “I don't think the middle class should pay more, I think the middle class is hurting, and I do think the wealthy should pay more.”
Kunin also mentioned that just 17 percent of the United States Congress is female and the United States ranked 73rd in the world against other parliamentary systems in the number of women. In the House, 75 of the 435 are women, and in the Senate it is 17 of the 100 members.
“Here we are a great democracy, and women have a lack of power,” Kunin said.
In the House, there are 332 white members, 42 black members, 30 Jewish members, 25 Hispanic, five Asian and one Native American. In the Senate, the numbers break down to 81 white members, 14 Jewish members, two Hispanic members, two Asian and one black.
Dean impressed upon the crowd of roughly 200 people that it's important to not stress the little things but focus on the goals you set out to accomplish. Dean said Americans want strong people to lead the country, while the media have a tendency to make a big deal of little things for a week and then move on.
“As governor, what you really need is a great press person to tell you when you should not get involved,” Dean said.
Both Douglas and Shumlin agreed with Dean on the idea of sticking to what you set out to do and what you believe in. Douglas told the crowd that although there are newly-elected politicians who might come off as disagreeable, it's important to allow every person to be heard. Shumlin reiterated Kunin's concerns about Washington's lack of diversity.
“Those who represent us don't look enough like us. Whether it's a lack of women in politics, or a lack of diversity in politics, we do seem to have in Washington older white men who have achieved great wealth, and the rest of America doesn't look like that,” Shumlin said.
Former Gov. Ray Keyser Jr. was also scheduled to be a part of the discussion in Burlington, but due to medical issues he was advised to sit it out. Keyser served as governor from 1961-1963, becoming the state's youngest governor at age 33.