Alphecca

Vermont Governor's Race

A few years ago we had a governor here in Vermont named Howard Dean. He was (and I supported him, mind you) a cantankerous, argumentitive sort and there was always a lot of noise coming out of Montpelier. Plus, when election time came round he usually had lightning-rod opponents such as Ruth Dwyer.

The past two years have been blessedly quiet in the statehouse. You could actually hear birds singing and bees buzzing. To quote a great column by the late Michael Kelly, you can hear the water lapping on the shores of Lake Champlain again. In any event, I haven't written much (well, anything) about this year's governor's contest because while Democratic challenger Peter Clavelle is a nice guy but he's also a "progressive" who would use government to control every facet of our lives, from banning smoking in bars to jacking-up taxes to pay for all sorts of social programs.

Current Governor Jim Douglas (R) has done a fine job and certainly isn't to blame because IBM or other companies have cut jobs the way every other corporation in the country has and has kept Vermont government expenses in check and taxes in check. The trains run on time (I suppose) and there has been a marked LACK of quarrelness in the statehouse.

I endorse and plan to vote (again) for Jim Douglas this November. He's done a good job and earned another term.

In slightly related news, a couple years ago I wrote about the governor's race debate -- which included many third party candidates -- and wrote this:

The most endearing, and one of the most coherent, was an elderly woman named Patricia Hejny from the Vermont Grassroots party. I'm almost tempted to vote for her. And I may do so yet. I would definitely like to meet her and spend the day with her. Here in Vermont, that's almost possible.

My thanks to Alphecca friend Morgan W. Brown for tipping me to it. Morgan himself is the fine proprietor of the Unofficial Vote 4 Nader Blog and Norsehorse's Home Turf.

Update: Morgan informs me that Patricia Hejny IS on the ballot as an independent candidate for governor. Hmmm... Maybe I'll cast a vote for her.