(Click here for the GMD gubernatorial primary candidate questionnaire part 1)

(Click here for the GMD gubernatorial primary candidate questionnaire part 2)

This is the third diary of responses from the five Democratic candidates for Governor to the questionnaire sent to them by GMD – and yes, we said there would only be three, but there will be a fourth, likely posted on Sunday.

Once again, the questions had their genesis in this diary from last summer, as well as emails from readers (the questions did undergo a certain amount of “processing” to clean up and consolidate them a bit).

The topics addressed in part 3 are SOCIAL SERVICES, and our catch-all category RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT (generally).

A reminder of how to read the responses. The questions were presented under general categories. Some candidates’ responded question by question. Other times candidates would take all the questions under a given category and write a collective response encompassing all the questions. In some categories, candidates would respond by combining some questions and not others.

As such, the questionnaires are presented as follows: under each category, all the questions we asked are listed as bullets. At the end of each category, the candidates’ complete answers are presented (in alphabetical order by candidate). If the candidate answered each specific question, their answers are numbered accordingly. If their answers are not numbered, that indicates a generalized response to all the questions collectively.

So follow us below the flip for the candidates’ responses to this third of four rounds. Then come back soon for the truly final questions concerning the 2010 ELECTION PROCESS.

SOCIAL SERVICES:

• Given the poor economy you will be inheriting, how do you see the role of social services in the state over the next decade?
• How must social services be structured to address the economic hardships brought by a generation of failed conservative economic policies and neglect?

BARTLETT:

This budget year we are in the process of dealing with Challenges for Change; the first step in the restructuring of how we provide government services.  I have believed for a long time that we spend lots of money in government on structure that could be spent on direct services.  

We have failed to make adequate investments in technology, so we spend a lot of time and money on doing paperwork, that is literally still “paperwork.”  Moving to electronic records in human services can not only save money, but let a consumer know right away what they are eligible for and get the application entered for them.

There are many “cliffs” in the services we provide. A family may earn $40 over the limit and then lose all of the service.  We need to create slopes so that as an individual or family earn more, they can transition from state services to independence.  

We need to support services that are delivered in each community so individuals can remain in their homes.

One of my goals, and one I feel is very important, is to have free lunch and breakfast at every school.  We also need to expand lunch programs into the summer for those children that really depend on their school meals for nutrition.  We also need to expand access to good meals to more of our seniors.  

Hunger is a very real issue and it is not acceptable to have hungry Vermonters.

DUNNE:

Over the next several years, social services will be stretched thin and yet must be stronger than ever before.  From my experience leading 6000 people in the fight against poverty, I have learned how critical it is to connect the dots between various agencies that are assisting people who are struggling and help them become self sufficient.  

My administration will break down traditional barriers between different aspects of social services and proactively partner with the nonprofit sector to achieve the goal of moving people permanently off of public assistance.  This does not mean skimping on any particular aspect, but rather identifying barriers to success and addressing those challenges in a systematic way rather than passing an individual from one organization to another.  Areas included in this continuum of support and empowerment start with basic needs of food, shelter, healthcare and substance abuse treatment, move to job training, transportation, and communication infrastructure, and finish with peer mentoring, financial asset development, and micro-enterprise to ensure longer-term sustainability.  My administration will judge success based on the number of people successfully moved from low-income to sustainable, self-sufficient lives.

MARKOWITZ:

1. I have served on the board of the Central Vermont Community Action Agency for over ten years, and have seen first hand that Vermont’s social service agencies have been successful in reducing generational poverty.  As Governor I will fund the social safety net so families won’t go hungry or cold and I will invest in innovative programs like tangible assets, workforce development and head start that help Vermonters rise out of poverty.

2. As governor, I will focus on creating jobs.  By getting Vermonters back to work we will relieve some of the burden on our social service agencies.  At the same time we must continue to ensure that those who need it have access to help.   As governor, I will create a social service network that is community based. Our community action programs are models for service delivery. I would appoint cabinet members that are willing to listen to voices outside of government to develop a better way to provide services for those most vulnerable.  In addition, as in the rest of state government, I believe we need to have performance measures so that our programs can be held accountable for results.  In this way we can demonstrate the success of our investments of tax dollars, and we can eliminate programs that do not work.

RACINE:

Vermont is facing a historic budget deficit. Families, businesses, and individual Vermonters are struggling to make ends meet. At a time when government services and investments are needed more than ever, the decisions being made in Montpelier are making needed services less available. This is the wrong path for our state.

Vermont’s economy must be strengthened and diversified for the long term. And we must not forget that Vermonters are not just taxpayers – they also depend on the state for a wide range of services. An economy like this means difficult choices and shared sacrifices. We must have an honest and open conversation about our budgetary choices and their implications.

During my years in the State House, I have seen many examples of creative ways to balance the need to support services and cut spending. Faced with a similar budget crisis in 1991, Governor Snelling, myself (as leader of the Senate), and then Speaker Ralph Wright, developed a plan to spread the pain of the recession evenly through a roughly equal balance of temporary tax increases and budget reductions. In contrast to the slash-and-burn approach exercised by Governor Douglas, we acknowledged that balancing the budget through spending cuts alone places the entire burden of the crisis on those receiving government services. Under our approach that year, Vermonters faced temporarily higher taxes. Our neediest neighbors were protected, state services we all depended on were maintained, and the state continued to invest in our economic future. Everyone contributed to the solution.

The promise of the tax increase being temporary was kept. Vermonters facing the temporary increase did not leave the state. In time, our economy recovered and expanded. The situation today calls for the same combination of realism and optimism, and for leaders who champion the principle of shared sacrifice producing shared rewards. I am willing to be one of these champions, and as Governor, I will ask all Vermonters to pitch in and move us toward a brighter future. At the same time, we must be innovative in the management of state government to achieve greater efficiencies.  Priorities must be set and prudent cuts can be made.  The state must also be a partner with schools, non profits and other organizations to help them find their own efficiencies.

I am confident that, if we take this balanced approach, Vermont will emerge from this recession with an economy that is ready to expand. We must not let the politically-motivated, anti-government agenda of Reagan, Bush, and Douglas control us – especially when all the facts tell us that their fear-based message is not true. Seeking to increase revenues in times of recession makes sense, especially when you consider the impact on Vermonters of cuts that go beyond the fat to the muscle and bone. Relying on budget cuts alone will leave us weaker in the years to come as the nation emerges from this recession.

If we are honest and straightforward about the challenges we face, and if we are creative and forward thinking in our solutions, Vermont’s economy can survive this budget crisis and thrive in the new century. I am ready to provide the leadership we need to find realistic, optimistic solutions to lead our state forward.  

SHUMLIN:

As long as I have been in public service I have been loyal to my belief that it is the job of government to level the playing field between those who have and those who don’t.  Like the rest of the country, Vermont is experiencing some tough economic times which puts even more pressure on our most vulnerable neighbors.  There are lessons to be learned from this economic crisis.  As a business person and a manager I believe we need to take a look at the social services we provide to determine where we are failing and begin to build a more solid foundation for those who need it.

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RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT (generally):

• Question 1: Over the past two centuries, politicians ranging from Winston Churchill to John F. Kennedy have repeated or closely paraphrased the following:
  
  “The true test of society is how well it treats its prisoners and old people.  The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons and the test of a society’s quality and durability is measured by the respect and care given its elderly citizens.”  
  
  As Governor, will the following dictum.–
  
  The test of civilization in Vermont government is best judged by entering its prisons, and the test of Vermont’s durability is measured by the respect and care of our elderly citizens
  
  — be
  
  1.  Something you say to yourself everyday;
  
  2.  A guiding principal for your administration;
  
  3.  A primary challenge to be addressed by your leadership as you serve as Governor; and hopefully, the measure of your legacy as Governor when you leave office; or
  
  4.  Nos. 1, 2 and 3.
  
  5.  Other
• Question 2: The overcrowding of Vermont prisons has led to the irresponsible and immoral transfer of  inmates in Vermont’s custody to out-of-state corporations or State prisons. What will you do to correct this bad public policy and, more importantly, what will you do to lower Vermont’s over-population of prisoners?  What must Vermont do under your leadership to continue to keep our prison population down in the most responsible manner possible?
• Question 3: Women in prison are a unique population that is growing at an alarming rate.  Women in prison is overwhelming driven by substance abuse, lack of educational and economic opportunity and a disproportionate number of female inmates are primary caretakers of children.  What will your administration do to find alternatives, such as reparation, treatment, job training or community service, as opposed to incarceration for non-violent offenders, particularly primary caregivers?
• Question 4: What reforms must Vermont make to avoid more tragedies such as the recent negligent death of Ashley Ellis, which was caused by a private prison contractor, or the similarly unnecessary death of Robert Nichols in the custody of the State, which was also caused by a private corporation’s negligence and lack of oversight by the Department of Corrections.
• Question 5: What is the State doing correctly to make government responsive, accessible and transparent to Vermonters and which needs to fostered and what is the State doing incorrectly, which makes government less accountable, that must be changed?
• Question 6: Under the Douglas/Dubie administrations of the past eight years, the Dep’t of Public Service and Public Service Commission effectively became an advocate for large utilities such as Verizon while taking an adversarial position rate payers and Vermont’s economic growth.  How quickly will you remake the PSB to reflect the utility needs and essential economic priorities of the citizens of Vermont rather than those of the companies it supposedly regulates? Will you appoint new members who will be responsible to their sworn duties to protect consumers and uphold state law?
• Question 7: What can Vermont do to protect or enhance the integrity of its voting system?
• Question 8: How will you fund retirement obligations for state employees and teachers? (this questionnaire was written and sent to candidates before the recent deal between legislative leaders, the Treasurer and the Vermont NEA was announced)
• Question 9: How many millions of dollars of State of Vermont resources should we spend investigating, arresting and incarcerating people for smoking, possessing or growing marijuana?

BARTLETT:

1. All of them, so #4, except I would change “care of our elderly citizens” to “care of our vulnerable citizens.”

2. & 3. I am committed to dramatically reducing our prison population by instituting a diversion system for offenders with substance abuse problems. It makes no sense to lock people up for relatively minor offenses and deprive them of family and community support only to release them after they serve their time. This is especially important to women.

I believe the way to reduce crime is by reducing substance abuse. The best way to treat substance abuse is through a system of wrap around services that allow people to stay with their support system of family and community.

By keeping men and women out of prison and in treatment, we will reduce state spending because Medicaid covers part of the cost of care.

A robust diversion program will save money and open up space in in-state facilities, which should eliminate the need to send prisoners out of state. I believe it will also reduce the number of people who re-offend.

4. We need our mental health community and health care community to be the ones responsible for the contracts with our Vermont Correctional System.  If Vermonters were taking care of Vermonters, there would be fewer issues.

5. I will present to the legislature a bill for enactment within my first 100 days of office to:

Mandate ethics training for all government workers.

Require state regulators to wait two years before going to work for industries they had regulated.

Require industry employees to wait two years before going to work for the Vermont government in a position in which they regulate the industry they just left.

Prohibit free meals and gifts to all elected officials, the sole exception being from family members.

Require a two-thirds vote by the legislature to reject the independent commission’s proposal for redistricting of state House and Senate districts.

Implement a 1-800 number for Vermonters to call any division of state government toll-free.

Gather all information on state spending and other activities on one, easy-to-use and searchable website.

6. A governor can appoint the commissioner of the department; you have to wait for the terms to expire for the members of the public service board.   As soon as the appointments can be made, Vermonters who represent our common needs will be appointed.

All of my appointments will be based on the skills and knowledge of the individual for that specific job and not political appointments.

7. The system we have works well. We have a paper trail, effective absentee balloting and accommodations for voters with special needs.

8. Jeb Spaulding formed a commission to study this issue.  The teachers have just reached an agreement that will deal with their fund issues.  The state employees are still working out their issues.  As the cost of health care has grown, the unfunded obligation of the funds has grown.  We have to make some changes to make sure we can pay the bills in the future.

9. I am not interested in changing our current drug laws. I do believe that we have people with substance abuse problems who need help. When it comes to drugs, both legal and illegal, I want to use state resources to help those who have problems.  Currently we spend very little on the issue of small amounts of marijuana.

DUNNE:

Corrections

My approach to the issues faced in prison comes from a very personal place.  At the age of 20, my father was sentenced to two years in prison for nonviolent protesting of segregation in the South.  He was beaten, forced to work on chain gangs, and assigned to solitary confinement on trumped-up charges.  Prisons are not intended to be country clubs and the people incarcerated have committed crimes worthy of prosecution, but my most devastating moments as a State Senator were when we were required to pass in statute a minimum temperature for a prison cell, address horrendous sexual abuses by guards, prevent forced injections, and have the Bush administration describe our state hospital in terms better fit for a gulag. This is not Vermont.

On a financial front, the cost of corrections now exceeds all of higher education combined.  A large number of those incarcerated (and a majority of the women in prison) committed non-violent crimes related to addiction. Ironically the drug and alcohol recovery center in Burlington receives an annual appropriation from the state equal to the cost of one person in prison for one year. With a vast majority of our prison population in for a limited sentence, we must do everything we can to make sure that the transition out of prison is successful and reduce the likelihood of returning.  

The next administration must take every step to ensure we are not doing ourselves longer-term damage through the treatment and sentencing of convicted felons.  A core outcome measure in my administration will be reduced recidivism rates and avoided incarceration by nonviolent first offenders.  Having served on the board of Windsor County Court Diversion, I know the power of alternative sentencing to save money and turn lives around,  particularly at a young age. We have the opportunity to resolve the embarrassment of the state hospital through a partnership with the VA and Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical center that should not be stalled by parochial concerns.  We can have a corrections system that embodies a culture of rehabilitation and service, not retribution and abuse.

In regards to sentencing, it disturbs me that in many cases punishment for nonviolent crimes clearly related to addiction is harsher and results in longer prison terms than punishment for child sex offenders and violent abuse. We have opportunities to hold people accountable to the law without increasingly filling our prisons with non-violent offenders who committed crimes related to marijuana, mental health, and substance abuse.

Transparency

Vermont ranks 49th out of 50 states in transparency in general, 50th in using the internet to serve citizens and most recently 48th in transparency of the use of stimulus money — just below Alaska.  Unfortunately, by those measures, the current administration is doing very little right.  

49th in the Integrity Index (2008):

http://www.bettergov.org/Integ…

Tied for last (with Idaho and Michigan) and receive an “F” in its financial disclosure requirements for legislators, according a study by the Center for Public Integrity (June ’09)

http://www.publicintegrity.org…

Worst legislative website:

http://www.congress.org/news/2…

48th in Stimulus transparency:

http://www.goodjobsfirst.org/n…

The good news is that the cost of providing access to budget information, video of public proceedings`and public documents has dropped significantly over the last several years.  With a shift in culture and use of readily available technology, we can make state government searchable, accessible and interactive. In this day and age, there is no reason why state government can’t approximate the openness and accessibility Vermonters expect of their local government.

Department Public Service and Public Service Board

Under my administration, we will bring the “Public” back as the rightful focus of these enterprises.  The reason these entities exist is to protect the public from natural monopolies.  The work is complex and the landscape changes quickly. As we have seen, however, the decisions and recommendations made by these entities can have dramatic impacts on consumers and even public safety.

This does not mean that DPS and PSB can’t engage the business community in a positive, clear and predictable way.  A functioning Department will set clear objectives for advancing telecommunication and energy goals for the state, and can work to achieve those ends. These strategies in the past have lead to the creation of Efficiency Vermont and can further lead to templates for cooperative community energy development, fiber to the home, smart grid utilization, net metering and even an electric car network. However, when it appears to be simply favoring incumbents or corporate entities without consideration for the public or fiduciary liabilities or even alternative structures for delivering basic utilities, the program is failing its core mission. The importance of these entities is clearer after the last 8 years than ever before. We missed opportunities to purchase the dams on the Connecticut River, allowed poor transaction of our landline carriers, prevented important wind projects and clearly did not go far enough in investigating Entergy’s planned activities and the liabilities associated with the spin-off proposal.

The Department would certainly be restructured.  As to the Board, in all of my judicial or quasi-judicial appointments, I would not appoint based on the politics or ideology of the individual.  I would look for the best possible people to understand the complex issues and appropriately weigh the law within the clear charge of adjudicating in the public’s best interest.

Teacher Retirement

The teacher retirement problem, like most fiscal problems in our state, comes from the escalating rise in healthcare costs.  Twenty years ago, a vast majority of the resources coming out of the teacher retirement went to cash benefits for retirees and a small percentage went towards healthcare.  The cost of healthcare has continued to increase over time and a couple of years ago the lines crossed and now healthcare costs are a majority of the outflows year after year.  As long as the cost of healthcare in the state continues to rise in double-digit rates, the problem in the retirement fund will not go away.  While short-term fixes will be difficult in this environment, what I do know is that increasing the amount teachers pay for their healthcare coverage is a short term solution and shoving the problem onto the property tax will make minimal difference except change the burden to the most regressive tax possible.

Regaining Confidence in the Election Process

Confidence that your vote will be counted is fundamental in a democracy. Unfortunately, for reasons that have little to do with Vermont election practices, this confidence has waned among Vermonters and around the country.  As a result, we need to take steps to reassure voters even when to some it may feel like overkill.  

I’ve spent most of my career in the IT industry and unfortunately it has caused me more concern about the possibility of systems failing.

My hometown still uses paper ballots, a process that gives me the highest level of confidence, even when recounts are required. I am not an expert in election law, but in towns that use optical scanners I believe it is reasonable to request confirmation on the screen or on paper to validate that the vote has been recorded accurately.

Perhaps more importantly, we need to pass legislation now to establish clear campaign finance laws, push back on the recent Supreme Court decision, and ensure we have financial disclosure for all statewide candidates.  

Since the Supreme Court threw out our campaign finance laws four years ago, we have had nothing official on the books.  While I have confidence that the Democratic candidates will abide by the agreed upon rules, the focus this race will receive from outside of the state will generate a temptation for others to challenge the fact that we have no statute on finance limits, and then to fight over the law after the election is over.  We must pass clarifying legislation this year so there is no doubt.

The recent Supreme Court decision to destroy years of precedent over spending limits and how corporations are treated, also requires us to act now.  We should immediately pass legislation to limit expenditures by any corporation that does business with the state, directly or indirectly. In addition, we should require disclosure of the source of funding for any advertisement or promotion including the list of corporate contributors to a PAC. While not a solution to the problem, it would prevent certain corporations with a direct vested interest in the political outcome from attempting to buy an election.

Finally, we have seen in recent years that Vermonters do want to know the financial profile and interests of their candidates.  Unfortunately, the lack of rules has led to uncertainty about when and what kind of disclosure is expected, giving advantages to some candidates over others.  We now need to pass legislation in this important election year to require personal financial disclosure for all candidates, as well as clear rules for disclosure in order to bring us in line with most states and the requirements for federal candidates.

MARKOWITZ:

1. I have served on the board of the Central Vermont Community Action Agency for over ten years, and have seen first hand that Vermont’s social service agencies have been successful in reducing generational poverty.  As Governor I will support innovative programs like tangible assets, workforce development and head start that help Vermonters rise out of poverty.

As governor I will lead the effort to plan ahead so that we are prepared to serve aging Vermonters.  According to the United State Census Bureau, the number of Americans who are fifty-five and older will nearly double between 2010 and 2030, from 20% of the population) to 31% of the population. We don’t even have to wait that long to see the effect of the “aging of America;” between 2010 and 2015, the number of Americans ages 85 and older is expected to increase by 40 percent.  We need to be ready.  As Vermont’s population ages, the demand for accessible housing, quality medical services and first-rate long-term care will grow. As Governor, I will support services that help seniors stay active, healthy and engaged.  I will support efforts that keep seniors in their homes.  This is not just important for a good quality of life, but it is less costly than long-term care.  I will support senior centers and adult day cares and will encourage innovative

projects that bring the young and old together to enrich each other’s lives.  Many of our seniors remain active and healthy and I know what a great resource seniors can be as volunteers in our schools, in our communities and as volunteers with our political campaigns.

I believe that societies are judged, in part, by the way they treat their young – and their old, and by the way they respond to those individuals who violate the social compact. As governor I will stand up to those who wish to dismantle our social safety net and I will lead efforts to rethink our criminal justice system.

2. First, as Governor I will be sure that our state police have the resources they need to protect Vermonters from violence and crime.  I will continue to support violence prevention programs that have successfully reduced incidents of domestic violence and child abuse in Vermont.  As for those citizens who have broken laws, I will support efforts to direct appropriate offenders to restorative justice options that will keep them out of jail while requiring them to take personal responsibility for their actions and to make amends by paying back the victim and the community.  

The majority of our nonviolent offenders are in jail because of a drug related offense. As governor, I will support efforts to get nonviolent offenders out of jail and into treatment programs.  By requiring treatment, job training, and help with literacy skills we will have greater success in preventing recidivism and transitioning offenders back into the community.  By getting these offenders out of jail we will save money and open up beds so that prisoners will not have to be shipped out of state.

3. The vast majority of women in prison are there because of drug related crimes.  Please see my answer above.  Note also that it costs the state more to keep a person in prison for a year than it would take to send a person to Harvard University.  At a show of art created by women in our prison, one of the offenders told about her experience trying to find housing in order to get out of jail on early release.  Because she had very limited access to a telephone and because the transitional housing was already full it took her nearly a year longer to be released.   This shows investments in transitional housing alone can end up saving tax dollars by making it possible for offenders who are eligible for release to find housing

4. We must hold our health care providers accountable even when they work in our prisons. I was shocked by the death of Ashley Ellis and angry that there were no repercussions for the people involved in events leading up to her unnecessary  death. We need a realistic conversation throughout state government about the use of private contractors, but it is especially important when lives, both prisoners and officers, are at stake. Accountability is lost in these cases too easily.

5. I’m proud that the Secretary of State’s website is one of the most surfed sites in state government. Over 60,000 hits a day and over 1.3 million per month. I wish that transparency and interaction happened everywhere in state government. When I came into office, the tools businesses needed to grow and create jobs were only available by driving to Montpelier. We grew our web presence and now our office is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Vermont should be open for business 24 hours a day too. Growing the number of services and interactions Vermonters can have with its government will create effective and efficient services. I did it in my office and I know we can do it in many of places where it may be lacking.  For example, our budget should be on line so that Vermonters can know how their tax dollars are being spent.

6. The Department of Public Services and the Public Service Commission should create a  level playing field for consumers and be a watchdog for egregious abuses. It has not been. My appointees would understand how important their role is and live up to that role. Fairpoint is a major example of why industry regulation must be fair and unbiased.

7. In Vermont we have one of the very best election systems in the nation.  Everybody votes on paper ballots and we make it easy to vote and hard to cheat.  We must do a better job, however, getting our ballots to military and overseas voters.  To that end, we must change the date of our primary so that we will have 45 days to transmit the ballots as required by Federal law.

8. I want to begin by applauding the Vermont NEA, the state Treasurer and the administration for coming together to agree on a sustainable approach to maintaining a healthy teacher pension fund. The agreement provides significant savings in the short and long term, while, at the same time, provides stability and improvements to the teacher retirement plan.  Under the existing system, teachers may retire at any age once they have 30 years of service. The new plan changes this to the “rule of 90.” That is, teachers could retire at age 65 or when a teacher’s years of service added to their age equals 90, whichever comes first. Teachers could choose to retire at 55 but they would face penalties, as they do now. Notably, this rule would not apply to anyone now 62 or with 30 years’ service at any age.

The new plan also requires teachers to pay five percent of their annual salary into the pension fund.  This is an increase of about one percent and under the new agreement teachers who work 15 years would get a retiree health benefit of 60 percent, at 20 years 70 percent and after 25 years, 80 percent of a two-person policy that gives a spousal benefit for the first time.

9. We need to make sure drugs are kept out of the hands of children. That is important to me as a parent of teenagers. Children are easily influenced and cannot make sound judgements about activities that adults understand the consequences with more depth and age. I think our current enforcement policy should be revisited and a sound balance developed.

RACINE:

As Governor, one of the top three priorities I have identified, along with creating jobs and reforming health care, is to return to efficient, effective, and responsive government.  I want to take a hard look at our executive branch: how it functions, who it responds to, and how it works with our other branches of government.  Over the last eight years, we have seen the consistent erosion of the executive branch such that it is no longer responsive to its citizens nor operating with their best interests in mind.  That will change under my administration.  We must discard what is not working, keep what is, and come up with new ideas to create new opportunities. We must examine every aspect of our government and ensure that we are not wasteful, and that we are compassionate. We must insist on competency, service, and fairness. Our government must work for us – for all of us.

With regard to the integrity of Vermont’s voting system, I have to say that touch screen machines make me very nervous. I do not see a need or a reason to have these machines in Vermont. I believe that we should vote with paper ballots – we should make our mark on paper and that paper ballot should be the paper trail. I believe that touch screens leave too much opportunity for meddling with our votes and also that they may actually dissuade some voters who are not comfortable with computers from voting.

Our Corrections policies have received a great deal of attention from the legislature in recent years in an attempt to reduce the prison population and costs.  We need to do more.  I will seek to reduce the number of non-violent offenders who are incarcerated.  Much more needs to be done to create a more extensive system of community based substance abuse treatment programs around the state.  This would help those whose offenses are related to addictions get the help and treatment they need to turn their lives around.  Simply locking them up is no solution.

I have grave concerns about inmates who are not being treated with human dignity in our prisons.  I will focus needed attention on making certain that the physical and mental health needs of our inmate population are properly met.

SHUMLIN:

1. Two and three

2. Vermont has the distinction of locking up more non-violent offenders than any state in the nation. As a result, the second fastest growing area of our state budget (after our broken health care system) is corrections.

What do we know about our non-violent offenders?  Ninety-seven percent of them had difficulty learning to read and most still have difficulty reading.  Ninety-four percent have substance abuse problems.  How much does it cost per year to house non-violent offenders in one of our jails? Between $40,000 and $60,000 per inmate.  This doesn’t make sense.

Instead of putting non-violent offenders in jail we need to help them deal with their problems.  As governor, I will implement a reorganization that includes enhanced community based mental health and substance abuse counseling along with education and job training to help this population become productive members of our society.  Second, we need to catch the problems before they begin.  Kids who get a good start early in life are less likely to end up in jail when they get older.  Therefore, I will invest in early childhood programs especially those that target kids between the ages of 0 and 6 years old.  We can fund these programs with the savings we reap by keeping our non-violent offenders out of jail.

3. As governor, nothing will be more important to me as keeping Vermonters safe – including those in our corrections system.  These tragedies are completely unacceptable and I will strive to ensure that nothing like this ever happens on my watch.

4. We must remember that state government is here to serve Vermonters.  Our state employees are dedicated and hardworking.  They should be applauded for the work they do, especially during these tough economic times when they are being asked to do more with less.  As governor, I want to help our dedicated workforce make government more responsive and accessible – after all, good government starts at the top.  To that end, I will appoint agency and department heads who will partner with our state employees to carry out the mission.   In my administration experience will be valued over politics and that will lead to a better functioning state government.

5. There are few people currently serving in the Legislature who have been more critical of the Department of Public Service – which behaves like a wholly owned subsidiary of Entergy Louisiana – than I.  One of my first priorities will be to appoint a commissioner whose primary responsibility is to protect the public interest. This will be essential after Vermont Yankee is closed as scheduled, which I intend to accomplish, and we move toward a renewable energy portfolio.  As governor, I will move quickly to put our entire regulatory process in the hands of consumer advocates that we can believe in.

6. Stick with paper ballots that have served Vermont well for more than 200 plus years and implement same day voter registration.  Most importantly, I have sponsored a bill to do what we can to mitigate the extraordinary horrendous decision recently handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court which will allow corporations even more opportunities to buy our democracy and our politicians.

7. The Speaker and I have worked together over the past few months with the NEA to fashion a collaborative plan to put the retirement system on a sustainable foundation so that it will be able to meet the promises that we have made. This collaborative effort, which we announced recently, is an example of the kind of leadership that you can expect from my administration as we end the war of words against our teachers, school children and school boards.

8. I am a sponsor of the current decriminalization bill and I feel that our resources should be devoted to substance abuse prevention.  

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