(Promoted in keeping with our policy of promoting diaries by statewide candidates – promoted by GMD)

Today while touring local businesses and meeting with business owners in Jacksonville, Dover, and Wilmington, I called on Governor Douglas to put support back behind Regional Development Corporations and on Lt. Governor Brian Dubie to clarify his position on Regional Development Corporations.

It’s clear that Vermont needs more jobs, and our Regional Development Corporations and Regional Planning Commissions are on the front lines of supporting business growth and relocation efforts.

Yet under the “Challenges for Change” initiative, Governor Douglas proposed consolidating Regional Development Corporations and decreasing their funding.

I have spent much of my career in business, working to build a Vermont-based software company and now at Google, and I know how important it is to have local organizations that can be responsive to economic development opportunities.

Regional Development Corporations help spur economic development and create jobs across the state.  Companies like Dealer.com expand their operations with the help of their local Regional Development Corporations.

Job creation is a central focus for many Vermonters and while reducing state spending is necessary in these tough economic times, making cuts to groups that will help create jobs and grow Vermont’s economy is absolutely the wrong approach. These groups have proved their effectiveness and I believe they are necessary for moving our state forward.

So, Governor Douglas, change your position and put support back behind Regional Development Corporations.

Even your own Lt. Governor has been vague about whether he agrees with the current approach.

At a meeting with the Bennington Regional Development Corporation, Lt. Governor Dubie was asked about whether he supports Governor Douglas’ plan to cut funding and consolidate Regional Development Corporations.

His response, as reported by The Bennington Banner on April 22nd, was to claim he hasn’t been a part of the “Challenges for Change” initiative.  The Bennington Banner reported that:

Dubie, who said he is not “directly involved” in crafting Challenges for Change, said economic development should be a priority in Vermont.

The Banner went on to report that Dubie:

“…said he largely agreed with an op-ed piece penned by Bob Matteson, a longtime Bennington resident and former town manage, that opposed the consolidation.”

Where is the leadership?  Lieutenant Governor Dubie, please clarify for us whether or not you support consolidating and cutting the budgets of Regional Development Corporations.

(In keeping with our policy of promoting diaries by statewide candidates. – promoted by GMD)

This week is Teacher Appreciation week, and we should all reflect on those teachers who challenged us and made us think differently about the world. Unfortunately, we must also watch closely and speak out in opposition to a radical plan made by the Dubie-Douglas team that will compromise our strong public schools.

By most standards, Vermont’s schools are doing very well and our success is due to the remarkable work of our teachers and our community-based school system.

Nevertheless, Governor Douglas insists we need to radically change Vermont’s school system.  Under the umbrella of “Challenges for Change,” the Dubie-Douglas administration is claiming to improve educational outcomes and reduce costs by super-sizing school boards, creating cookie-cutter curricula, and fundamentally destroying the relationship between the community and education that has made Vermont’s schools strong.

This is not to say that change is not necessary.

With a diminishing school population, we must find ways to modernize our education system. In addition, while we have a very strong public school program, we can always find areas for improvement.  But the proposal offered by the Dubie-Douglas administration is not the change we need, and will only harm our schools, not improve them.

In these tough economic times, we must look for ways to trim budgets and lower costs. Anyone in the business world would tell you that the first place to look for savings is not at the point of delivery, namely our teachers, but instead on the back office and overhead administrative costs.  By consolidating such expenses, there are some cost-saving measures that can be implemented without putting our strong educational system at risk.

On my website I have proposed several areas in which we can reduce costs – including reducing the number of superintendents by two-thirds to reduce overhead – while making sure our current fiscal challenges do not compromise the future of our state’s children.

To read about how we can make smart reductions you can visit my website, http://mattdunne.com/issues/ed…

We all appreciate the teachers who worked hard to provide us with a quality education.  As we reflect on their influence on our lives we should also remember that it will be teachers who will be preparing the next generation of Vermonters.  This Teacher Appreciation Day, ask Governor Douglas and Lieutenant Governor Dubie to show their appreciation for our teachers, parents and students by rethinking these radical changes to our educational system.

(In keeping with our policy of promoting diaries by statewide candidates. – promoted by GMD)

Forty years ago Robert Babcock Jr. saw a problem in his community and decided to fix it.

Babcock went to Governor Deane Davis with a solution – organize and activate volunteers throughout all of Vermont to serve their communities and clean up Vermont’s highways.

This was the start of Green Up Day in Vermont.

That first year over 70,000 Vermonters answered Babcock’s and Governor Davis’ call to service. Since then, hundreds of thousands of Vermonters have continued that tradition.

Babcock proved that one person can change a community, but his idea didn’t turn into action overnight. It became a reality because of Vermont’s tradition and commitment to service.

This year also marks an important anniversary for another service program – Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA). This program began in 1965 and was based on an idea President John F. Kennedy had about volunteers working to fight poverty in America.

Under President Clinton, I was fortunate enough to serve as director of AmeriCorps*VISTA, and I saw first-hand the work that everyday people can do when they decide they want to engage and serve their community.  

Because I was raised with the Vermont tradition of public service and shaped by my personal experience working for AmeriCorps*VISTA , I have in the past and today strived to make service politics a focal point of my campaigns.

In my past campaign, we held service politics events across all of Vermont. Campaign volunteers and I took time to help those in need, gave back to the community and always remembered the Vermont tradition of public service.

Today I believe, just as strongly as I did during my last effort, this campaign shouldn’t just be about bringing new and fresh ideas to Montpelier, but also about inspiring people to become involved and active in serving their communities.

Tomorrow I will be answering Robert Babcock and Governor Davis’ call once again and, along with my campaign staff and several volunteers, participating in a service politics event for Green Up Day.

Please come out and join us Saturday at 9:00 AM at the registration hub at the Sustainability Academy at Lawrence Barnes School located at 123 North Street in Burlington.

If you can join me tomorrow morning in Burlington, please RSVP by emailing info@mattdunne.com.

If you can’t make it to Burlington, I encourage you to go to http://www.greenupvermont.org/… to find your local contact and a location in your community for Green Up Day.

If you would like to be a Dunne for Vermont Green Up Day or Service Politics captain in your community, please let me know by emailing info@mattdunne.com.

Over the course of the next several months we won’t just be running a campaign to change Montpelier, but also a campaign to change politics. Through service politics, we can make sure elected officials are hearing directly from local community nonprofit leaders who are on the front lines, and with our actions bring new people into the democratic process who are increasingly cynical about politics as usual.

One person with an idea and with the energy to change their community for the better can make a huge difference. I hope you will join us in helping better our communities and our discourse through public service.

Thank you,

Matt

www.mattdunne.com

(Continuing site policy of promoting diaries by officeholders and office-seekers – promoted by GMD)

Vermont is facing the greatest fiscal crisis in its history and the Douglas-Dubie administration’s response to address this crisis is spending $120,000 on web filtering software for state computers.

First of all…I in no way favor our state employees spending their work days focused on anything but their job, let alone pornography, but this is yet another example that the Douglas-Dubie administration just doesn’t get it.

To begin at the most basic level, slashing funding for our most vulnerable Vermonters and proposing to eliminate economic development programs that create jobs are bad investments in this state’s future.  When you take into consideration that the state instead is spending money on filtering software – software that has been shown to be ineffective – it becomes borderline reckless.

This proposal does not help create jobs and grow Vermont’s economy. It also furthers the growing schism between the administration and those serving our state.  It is yet another example of the misplaced priorities and the damaged culture in Montpelier that makes rushed and panicked decisions that don’t create 21st century jobs or move Vermont into a new era.

If there is money for this, where else is there money wasted that could be used to invest in our economic future?

I put forward a proposal to replicate technology approaches used in Washington, D.C and Los Angeles, cities larger than the state of Vermont, to save millions of dollars.  On the issues section of my website (www.mattdunne.com) I’ve outlined a proposal to explore cloud computing solutions that can save money and improve performance.

This idea was proposed over a year ago, and it was ignored.

The filters won’t create jobs here in Vermont.  A change in leadership which brings innovation, fresh ideas and a new approach will.

Finally, the current debate on this issue reflects the damaged culture in Montpelier.  The thought that this software will be used for spying on state employees (which it can do), generating a report every time someone is on-line for more than 15 minutes, demonstrates how little trust remains between the administration and those serving our state.

Frankly, given the terrible state of Vermont’s state websites (the legislative website has consistently been ranked as one of the lowest in usability and e-governance in the nation) I can’t imagine spending less than 15 minutes finding anything, including properly registering a concern over how a policy decision is being handled within an agency.

As we move to transform Vermont into a 21st Century Government, there must be trust between the CEO of the state and the civil servants who will be carrying out the a new approach to delivering services to Vermonters.  We can be much more efficient and deliver better results, not through fear and threats of 1984-like tactics, but by bringing people together around a clear vision, transparent measures of success and empowering people to succeed.

That’s what we did when I was director of AmeriCorps*VISTA, an $85 million 6,000 person organization nearly the size of Vermont state government.   We were able to establish a foundation of trust throughout the entire organization.  Because of that, we were able to improve recruitment efforts to the highest level of participation in the history of the program.

As mentioned before, no one wants state employees using their time inefficiently or using state property to search inappropriate content.  But the filters issue only highlights the need for new leadership and fresh ideas in Vermont.  It exemplifies what is wrong in Montpelier and why we need change to bring our state into a new era.

(In keeping with GMD’s policy of promoting all gubernatorial candidates’ diaries to the front page, here is the latest from Matt Dunne – promoted by Sue Prent)

The Douglas administration has taken reckless advantage of the worst fiscal crisis in Vermont’s history to advance its own ideological agenda, using the Legislature’s well-intentioned “Challenges for Change” initiative as the vehicle to accomplish this.

I do not envy the position of my former colleagues in the House and Senate. We are facing the biggest budget deficit in history and at the same time Vermonters across the state are struggling. We need to rethink the way we do government so that we are using our limited resources as effectively as possible. However, in passing a budget that includes unnamed, massive cuts, the Legislature trusted that the Douglas Administration would come forward with recommendations that involved a thorough analysis of the implications and incorporated input from the affected stakeholders, and expected it to be clean of initiatives that smacked of partisanship. It is now clear that this trust was misplaced and the result is panic.

A family with an autistic child stopped me in the Statehouse, literally unsure how they can keep working at their jobs if support for their family is slashed as proposed. Communities are holding emergency meetings to determine how to fight the immediate closing of their schools. Planning commissions are poring over thick documents to find the policies slipped into the “Challenges for Change” plan that will gut environmental protections in the guise of “efficiency.”

Vermonters must engage with the Legislature now to assist in determining what is good policy, what are responsible budget cuts, and what is simply a “Trojan Horse” for an outgoing adminstration’s conservative agenda that could do irreparable damage to our valued way of life.

I have often been involved in difficult budget decisions during my 11 years in the Vermont legislature, my experience in business and academia, and my tenure as the head of AmeriCorps*VISTA (a 6,000 employee public sector organization). In my opinion, and based on these experiences, I believe that the Challenges for Change proposal represents:

1.) Radical change imposed under too short a timeline – With this legislation, neither lawmakers nor the public have sufficient opportunity to consider the wisdom and the impact of the proposed sweeping changes. With very short notice, entire programs with successful track records have been targeted for massive budget cuts or elimination.

2.) Penny wise and pound foolish government – The current fiscal crisis is being manipulated to privatize key aspects of state government and eviscerate important programs at a time when they’re needed most. For example, the state funding support for the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, which is a program that has actually created real economic growth and jobs, has been proposed for elimination. Beyond serving a need for effective economic development, this approximately $200k investment brings in well over $1 million of additional economic development support. Many other proposals to save money by “contracting for services” have no supporting evidence that this approach will achieve savings. Given the massive growth in temporary employees and contractors over the last few years, there is little confidence that this is anything but privatizing for its own sake. In fact, if history is any example, privatization may result in increased costs.

3.) Hidden agendas – Under the umbrella of “Challenges for Change,” the administration has pushed forward its long-envisioned proposal to massively restructure education in our state by super-sizing school boards, creating cookie cutter curriculum, and fundamentally destroying the relationship between the community and education that has long made Vermont’s schools strong. . . all to achieve only a paltry 1% cost savings. I commend the House education committee for standing strong on opposing mandates that will hurt children and our communities. There are many ways to reduce costs in Vermont education without rolling out a master plan for top down school consolidation and the elimination of the options parents currently have.

4.) Missed opportunities – There is not a front-line state worker who doesn’t have ideas on how to save tax dollars and run government more efficiently. The administration has clearly ignored recommendations that could reduce costs without cutting core services, leaving communities reeling, or destroying effective job creation programs. As just one example, over a year ago, VSEA employees and I recommended moving to cloud computing (http://bit.ly/2mwVfL) for our basic state business software. The cities of Washington D.C. and Los Angeles, both with larger populations than the whole state of Vermont, have switched to this efficient technology and saved millions of dollars. There are compromises with this kind of technology, but it can achieve back office cost reduction in a way that will not hurt the fundamental delivery of services. In fact, there is evidence that this kind of solution strengthens the ability for public employees to engage and serve the public.

5.) Dividing and trying to conquer – Cynically, the administration’s rollout of Challenges for Change has pitted state employees against the most vulnerable populations and economic development initiatives.

To reiterate, we absolutely need fresh thinking, transparency, and real change in the way we run government in Vermont. To make change happen, however, we need to engage stakeholders in the process, identify clear goals and then move towards those changes together. That is the Vermont way.

Moreover, if I learned anything from my nearly two decades of executive management experience, it is that in order to be successful in making effective transformational change, an organization needs to operate from a basis of trust; a belief that there are not ulterior motives, hidden agendas, or backroom deals. This administration and its process of rolling out the Challenges for Change proposal has damaged whatever trust might have remained between the Douglas administration and Vermonters.



There is no better example of why there needs to be change in Montpelier.

(Once again, in keeping with GMD’s policy of promoting first-hand diaries by the candidates to our front page, here is the latest from Matt Dunne. – promoted by Sue Prent)

The campaign team was delighted to see a new analysis of the WCAX poll this week. As many of you on GMD recognized when the results were first released, the margin of error in the poll meant that the pure ranking of candidates was not necessarily a true picture of the field.  

University of Vermont Political Science Professor Anthony Gierzynski shows that the Vermont Governor’s race is still wide open, and that when the margin of error is taken into account, three of the Democratic candidates are statistically actually tied with Brian Dubie.

http://bit.ly/cZ3UzT

When I got into this race, everyone knew that it would be a challenge early on to compete with the other well known candidates who have been on the statewide stage for years.  We were pleasantly surprised to have such strong numbers so early on in the race.

Those of you in the netroots have been a critical part of sharing candidate positions and visions across the state, demonstrating that elections do not have to be dependent on incumbency or spending large sums of money. We can have an election about who has the best experience and ideas to move our state into a new era. Regardless of who you support, thank you for bringing a refreshingly deep discussion to this important election.

As the campaign moves into the next phase, we will be building the kind of grass roots outreach efforts that Vermonters expect. Many of you helped with  our quiet effort to engage thousands of Vermonters coming out of the polls on town meeting day. You can expect more of these volunteer driven efforts as Vermonters become increasingly ready to engage in a conversation about our state’s future.

I hope you will join us in this exciting year by signing up on our newly revamped website: http://mattdunne.com/

Matt  

(Continuing the policy of promoting diaries from officeholders and officeseekers, with some copy bumped below the fold – promoted by odum)

February 7, 2010

A year ago we had great hopes for serious healthcare reform on the national level.  However it’s becoming more and more clear, especially after the recent election in Massachusetts, that we cannot count on Washington to do the job we need to do ourselves here in Vermont – transform our healthcare system.

Let’s face it.  Healthcare costs are driving most of the financial problems in our state.

Bankruptcies?  Healthcare.  School budget increases?  Healthcare.  Teacher pension fund?  Healthcare.  Small business costs?  Healthcare.  Most of the state budget deficit?  Healthcare.

We can cut back on reimbursement to providers from state programs; we can slash low-income children off the rolls; we can lay off teachers; we can raise taxes; we can force everyone to have high deductibles.  All will be short-lived fixes unless we fundamentally change the system.

Over the last two decades, Vermont has tried a variety of small changes here and there to solve the looming healthcare crisis. It is now clear that they have failed, and in some cases have made things worse, as we have subsidized more people’s care without effectively addressing the core cost drivers.

The Vermont legislature is now facing a horrible decision: Will we stop serving our citizens or will we cause even more cost shifting for hospitals by cutting reimbursements below what it costs to do a procedure?

If we raise taxes today to cover the deficit caused by healthcare costs and do nothing to change our system, we will find ourselves in exactly the same situation next year.

Instead, we can do what large businesses do and self-insure Vermonters under one system to increase our buying power, reduce administrative costs, and guarantee that everyone pays and everyone is covered.  The fact is that some large companies employ and cover nearly as many people as we have living in Vermont.

When I was the head of AmeriCorps*VISTA, I self-insured all 6,000 people working for me, not because it was the right thing to do. . . but because it saved money. We then used those resources to achieve our core mission.

With one large pool, the state will then have the buying power to change the way we reimburse for medical care — rewarding doctors, hospitals, and citizens for prioritizing healthcare activities that lead to health outcomes, rather than paying per procedure. Hospitals like the Cleveland Clinic and the Mayo Clinic have demonstrated that better care can come at dramatically lower cost. We can bring these demonstration projects to scale.

When I was in the Senate, I proposed adopting an electronic healthcare record system similar to what VA hospitals have been using for years. We successfully created VITL organization, but unfortunately, four years later and despite financial support from Senator Leahy, the administration has not finished the job. This system would allow hospitals to share information with each other. This will allow us to measure the effectiveness of our healthcare providers, reduce medical errors, and help prevent expensive and unnecessary mistakes.

If mechanisms are not found to cut the ever-spiraling costs of medical procedures, prescriptions drugs, and hospital visits, our towns will continue to run deficits to devastating effect.  Vermonters will continue to go bankrupt.  Our business growth will be stifled, prolonging the recession.  Taxpayers will be saddled with huge tax increases. Our hospitals and doctors will be focused on uncertain revenues and paper work, not making people well. And our ailing friends, neighbors and relatives will continue to suffer because they cannot afford, nor will they seek out, even the most basic of healthcare.

Now is the time for Vermont to use its scale, sense of community and our in-state expertise to lead the nation in healthcare reform. As urgent as it is, such a change will not happen overnight. The legislature must take steps now, like initiating a statewide hospital budget, so we can start to achieve real cost-containment in the near future. Vermonters must let our elected officials know that change must start this year and demand real leadership on this issue for the future. We cannot wait any longer.  

(Continuing the policy of promoting diaries from officeholders and officeseekers, with some copy bumped below the fold – promoted by odum)

In a state known for optimism, cynicism is growing in Vermont. What used to be concerns about just Washington, DC are now coming to the Green Mountain State. Corporations misleading regulators and a perceived revolving door between the administration and embattled companies are creating uncertainty about the positive political traditions in our state.

Vermonters have tried to do something about these concerns. In the 90’s, I was proud to be a part of passing comprehensive campaign finance reform. Unfortunately, the US Supreme Court threw out our laws. More recently, this same Court took the egregious step of deciding that corporations have the unlimited ability to influence elections.

Vermont candidates have also attempted to set standards for transparency, including Governor Douglas’ repeated calls for financial disclosure by candidates running for statewide office. While many of us did not like the way it transpired, one thing was clear: Vermonters wanted that transparency.

All of this comes at a time when we are entering a very competitive campaign season for Vermont statewide offices. We currently have no laws on the books establishing campaign contribution limits, companies like Entergy that have enormous interest in the outcome of the race have been told they can spend as much as they want on influencing this election, and we have no laws outlining what and when a candidate should disclose about his or her personal finances. As a result, we find candidates focusing on issues of disclosure when they should be focusing on the other important issues facing our state.

 

That’s why I am calling on the Legislature today to continue Vermont’s tradition of reflecting our citizens’ faith in the democratic process and pass legislation to address the following critical issues:

1. Codify campaign finance laws. S.92 passed the Senate last year and must be a priority for this session. With the intensity of upcoming statewide races and groups outside of Vermont lining up to get involved, we need campaign finance laws that will stand up in court.

2. Add to this legislation a statute that will limit spending by any corporation that does business with the State of Vermont, directly or indirectly, and in a severable section, limit spending by any corporation that has a nexus with the State of Vermont. While this does not address all of the problems with the Supreme Court decision, constitutional lawyers have advised me that there is room in the Citizens United decision to allow limitations on those corporations with a direct or indirect contractual interest with a government. Vermont should push the limits of the decision, attempt to bring some sanity to our election process, and not allow large corporations to attempt to buy the next election. For large out-of-state companies like Entergy, a million dollar investment in attack ads would be a small sum to spend in order to avoid accountability for a cleanup and to enable continued operation in our state. With one candidate clearly aligned with Entergy, we need to be sure the rules clearly protect us from such a deluge. In the past, I would have simply asked Entergy to commit to not abusing the new loophole. Unfortunately, my trust that they will do the right thing, even if they say they will, has waned.

3. Pass “Douglas standard” legislation to clarify that all candidates for statewide office must disclose their personal financial interests. We have seen that Vermonters do want to know the financial profile and interests of their statewide 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. In this important election year, we need to pass legislation–the Douglas standard–requiring personal financial disclosure for all candidates as well as establishing clear rules for disclosure in order to bring us in line with most other states and the requirements for Federal candidates.

An open seat for Governor and Lt. Governor this year provides an opportunity for Vermonters to engage in the political process and carefully choose who will lead us into the next era. Unfortunately, if we do not act quickly on legislation to restore faith in the political process and prevent a large corporation with vested interests in our state from pouring money into Vermont to disrupt our democracy, a contest focused on the future and important issues is likely to be compromised. Moreover, our passion for participatory democracy, long a hallmark of Vermont, could be consumed by the darkness of cynicism.

Fortunately, some of the other candidates in the race for Governor have already voiced support for campaign finance reform. Today, I call on all of the statewide candidates, from all political parties, to come together to support these three legislative priorities and for the Legislature to act quickly.

In any contest, the most important element is to have clear rules. But this isn’t hockey or reality television. The democratic process itself is at stake.  

(Continuing the policy of promoting diaries from officeholders and officeseekers – promoted by odum)

The situation at Vermont Yankee continues to deteriorate.  Entergy Nuclear executives misled Vermonters about the existence of radioactive tritium leaks in their underground pipes, causing unknown and potentially disastrous contamination of our groundwater.  Cleanup costs are skyrocketing upwards.  Today, the New York Times picked up this damaging story.  

Enough is enough. It is time for action.

Will you join me and other Vermonters in calling for immediate, clear, and decisive action on the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant?  Can you take two minutes to call the Governor and your legislators to ask them to move quickly?

The Governor’s direct phone number is (802) 828-3333, and you can find your legislators and look up their contact information here http://www.leg.state.vt.us/leg…

Having served as a Vermont lawmaker for eleven years, I know how meaningful it is to hear from constituents on critical issues.  We can make an impact.

I held a press conference a week ago to call for immediate clarity and action from the Governor and/or the Legislature so we can start the urgent process of planning for a post-Entergy Vermont.  Over the last week, I’ve been delighted to see other candidates, particularly Deb Markowitz, and concerned citizens taking action to demand movement and progress on this issue.  http://www.greenmountaindaily…. Your calls will be a direct and forceful addition to these efforts.

Unfortunately, Montpelier remains at a standstill.  The Legislature has not voted, and Governor Douglas and Brian Dubie are simply buying time.  How long do we have to wait?  

We owe it to our business community, our electricity rate payers, and the workers at the plant to take decisive action in three ways:

(1) Make it clear that Vermont Yankee will be decommissioned as planned in 2012.

(2) Prepare to hold Entergy accountable for the clean-up and health of those who may be affected.

(3) Act now to develop in-state renewables that can create jobs, including several bio-mass plants, while planning for contracts to minimize energy disruption.

Please join us in bringing this issue to a conclusion so we can move forward to our energy future.

Matt

(Continuing the policy of promoting diaries from officeholders and officeseekers. Some text moved subfolda to conserve real estate on the FP. – promoted by kestrel9000)

For over a decade, our nation has honored Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday and participated in community service.  I have my own reasons.  My father risked his life fighting for civil rights down South, and was sentenced to jail for two years where he was assigned to a prison chain gain and went on hunger strikes to protest being thrown into solitary confinement without cause.   So on MLK day, I feel as if I am honoring both my father and Dr. King by making sure I take time to help others in my community.

Today, many Vermonters are struggling.  Nonprofit organizations who support low-income Vermonters, provide retraining to the unemployed, and give support to children are stretched beyond thin.  The populations they serve are growing at the same time that their revenue sources are cutting back on philanthropic giving.  Worse, those that get public funding are learning about massive reductions in the coming year.  

Fortunately, serving others is a strong Vermont tradition. When I was the head of AmeriCorps*VISTA, I learned that Vermont had more Returned Peace Corps Volunteers and VISTA alumni per capita than any other state. “Why?” I was asked.  “What is it about Vermont that makes it, “The Service State?”

My answer: we understand at a fundamental level the importance of community, particularly during hard times.  This might explain why we have such strong volunteer support for our nonprofits; why Green Up Day so quickly became a state tradition; and why we are known throughout the world as a leader in social entrepreneurship.

But this is not a recent phenomenon. As Calvin Coolidge wrote in his most famous speech about the state of his birth:

“I love Vermont because of her hills and valleys, Her scenery and invigorating climate, but most of all because of her indomitable people. They are a race of pioneers who have almost beggared themselves  to serve others.”

Those of us in public life have a particular obligation to lead by example.

As Dr. King said, “Everyone can be great, because everyone can serve.” Now more than ever, we have the opportunity to come together on this national day of service and show the country how, once again, the small state of Vermont can lead a nation.

This Monday, I hope Vermonters will join me as we give back to the State we love.  Under the leadership of the “VISTA Mayor” Peter Clavelle, Burlington’s CEDO became a national model for public private partnerships that support a broad spectrum of nonprofit organizations to strengthen a city.  I will be joining the CEDO activities in Burlington, but you can find projects near you at http://vtcncs.vermont.gov/MLKDay

Martin Luther King and my father knew that their sacrifices were more than just about voting and sitting in the front of a bus.  They were about finding the passion in all of us to ensure all people are empowered to succeed. If there was ever a state that could achieve this dream, it would be the service state of Vermont.

Please also remember those in Haiti who are enduring some horrific problems. While most of us can’t be there in person, giving to organizations that can will make a big difference at this time and is also a superb way to celebrate Dr. King’s live. As MLK famously said, “An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” To find a relief organization click here: Crises Response Page.