OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Inaugural Address of Governor James H.
Douglas
The Vermont Way Forward
Mr. President, Madame Speaker, distinguished guests, my fellow
Vermonters:
Fifty years ago, on this same Thursday,
Robert Stafford presided, as Lieutenant Governor, over a joint assembly as
Vermont’s officers took their oaths and Governor Joseph Johnson delivered his
inaugural address.
Two years later, Governor Stafford would deliver his own
inaugural and note that, “There can be but one ultimate aim for all of us. It is to take the necessary action today
to make Vermont a better place in which to live in every spiritual, social and
economic sense for ourselves and our children.”
This unadorned, ageless declaration explains
succinctly the deep inspiration within him and reminds us today of our own
responsibilities.
Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in
honoring the extraordinary life of Robert T. Stafford.
***
I have had, on three occasions now, the privilege of
placing my hand upon our family bible and pledging, on my sacred honor, to
faithfully execute the responsibilities of governor.
Our oaths are taken, according to our customs and
traditions, in public ceremony—symbolizing the covenant into which we have
entered. We solemnize,
through our words, a relationship that has at its core the noble virtue of
trust.
Here today bearing witness to this convention are members
of our National Guard. These
extraordinary men and women represent all of those individuals, and their
families, who protect and defend the world’s most
dignified expression of self-governance.
They are here today to remind us of our proud past, the challenges of the
present and our obligations for the future. Please join me in thanking them and all
of the men and women of our armed forces.
***
For a second biennium the people of Vermont elected the
highest constitutional officers of one party, and a Legislature controlled by
another. Appreciating the progress
we made in the last session, they have no doubt concluded that such a balance
serves Vermont well.
Vermonters aren’t interested in partisan intrigue—they are interested in
results.
***
Over the last several years, we’ve taken major steps to
ensure each new generation of Vermonters enjoys greater prosperity and peace of
mind.
We began construction of this new, more secure, economic
framework by first articulating our economic development ethics—values that
guide all levels of our policymaking.
We rejected the notion that jobs
come at the expense of the environment, and that environmental protection must
be compromised to have economic progress, stating without equivocation that we
must have both. This third way—The
Vermont Way—is committed to both our environment and our
economy.
We then took aggressive action to address our immediate economic future,
made major commitments to putting
Vermonters back to work, and reversed Vermont’s image as a place unfriendly to
job creation by passing the state’s largest jobs package and following
the path outlined in my Plan for Prosperity.
***
We renewed our commitment to Vermont’s hardworking
taxpayers by passing only balanced budgets. Vermonters expect us to be
fiscally responsible and live within our means. The budget I present to you for the
coming fiscal year will once again be in full balance and reflect the priorities
of the people of our state.
Finally, by focusing on affordability—on those issues most affecting
working Vermonters—we’ve identified the means to address our changing population
and make our state more affordable and its families more prosperous.
Moderating the cost of living is a prerequisite to
achieving the prosperity and peace of mind within our reach. That is why full implementation of the
Affordability Agenda remains an essential priority, and we should begin by
following through on our commitment to making higher education more
affordable.
***
Our system of higher education must be a centerpiece of
our economy, producing the innovators whom we need to compete and succeed in the
21st Century.
We are a step closer to our goals thanks in large part to
the Legislature’s recognition of the problem and the hard work of our Next
Generation Commission. The
Commission has made some excellent recommendations and I thank them for their
inclusive, diligent effort.
Our task now is to build on these recommendations and
launch a comprehensive package of Next Generation initiatives this year.
***
We must fully implement Catamount Health, reforms already
regarded as the most far-reaching of their kind anywhere in the country. This will require flexibility and a
continued commitment to our common goals, but I’m confident that we can make
these landmark health care reforms a resounding success.
Catamount Health will change the lives of thousands of Vermonters by
insuring the uninsured and offering affordable premiums to those who otherwise
couldn’t purchase their own insurance.
Together, we faced the health care challenge head on, we put Vermonters
ahead of politics and delivered on our promise, and for that we can all be
proud.
***
We must do more to put homeownership within reach of every
Vermonter. That is why I propose
the New Neighborhoods Initiative to facilitate home construction through a
process that is predictable and less costly.
Young people entering the workforce need homes that are
safe and affordable. Growing
families ascending the economic ladder deserve the peace of mind and convenience
of a welcoming neighborhood near where they work and where their children go to
school. And the recruitment
of skilled employees should not be impeded by the lack of affordable homes.
***
Vermonters take pride in the work that we do; from
educators to excavators, we wake each morning with the same determination to do
our best to provide for our families.
In this biennium, we must send a strong message to Vermonters that hard
work matters and that we will not take more than is necessary to run state
government and fund our schools.
The oppressive property tax burden is the single greatest threat to
Vermonters’ renowned resolve.
Property taxes continue to increase at more than double the rate of
inflation—and growth in the family checkbook—at a time when the number of
students in our classrooms is declining.
We must work together to ease the weight of property taxes on working
Vermonters—without shifting it to another tax. To do that, we must cap property
taxes.
Dorothy and I are proud to have sent our boys to public school where they
received a quality education. I
believe we can cap property taxes without compromising the quality and success
of our public schools. We can
continue to increase our investment in these important institutions—but at a
rate that Vermonters can afford.
I have met with Speaker Symington and Senator Shumlin
and, while our approaches may differ, we agree the real culprit is unsustainable
increases in spending. Like our
health care reform efforts, we need to work together, explore all options and
focus on containing costs, not on raising taxes.
Vermont already has one of the highest income tax rates
and per capita tax burdens in the country.
Raising taxes to pay for education would intensify the problem, not solve
it. Raising taxes would be unfair to working Vermonters, discourage innovation
and threaten economic growth.
***
Making Vermont affordable is imperative. Keeping our families safe is equally
important. Two weeks ago, I was
proud to stand with Barre Mayor Thom Lauzon after the recent crackdown on drug
activity in his city. Mayor
Lauzon’s determination to hold drug dealers accountable is a model we have seen
work in other cities, like Rutland.
Working through the Vermont Drug Task Force, we look forward to
continuing our efforts in communities where the state can be a partner for
change.
In Vermont, we are fortunate to have a strong community
of law enforcement, firefighters, and emergency medical workers. Whether volunteer or career, they have
committed their lives to public service and, in turn, let us continue our clear
commitment to them. Please join me
in thanking Vermont’s first responders for their hard work and dedication.
***
Over the past four years, first with the Plan for
Prosperity, now with the Affordability Agenda, we have made steady, substantive
progress on the most difficult and complex issues facing Vermont families. While we must still address many
pressing challenges swiftly and in this session, we are now ready to look
forward – ahead of today’s affairs – to shape a future for Vermont that ensures
our prosperity for decades to come.
All of the
steps we’ve taken are part of a larger vision that has brought us to the early
edge of tomorrow, to the threshold of a renaissance that will – if we take care
to see it through – produce the greatest economic advancements of our
time.
***
Vermont has a legacy of leadership that stretches back to the state’s
founding. We will take that
heritage forward and become a leader in a new economic frontier – a system of
continual and substantial growth that harnesses our immeasurable intellectual
wealth. To do so, we must
bring together advancements in technology and education around the core of our
shared environmental ethic. We must
join the best of our past with a resurgence of Vermont’s well-known
resourcefulness and inventiveness.
Our future is the very definition of Yankee ingenuity and is rooted
firmly in our traditions. A
founding tenet of Vermont is creative adaptation – turning sap into syrup and
selling it as gold – and our future will be built on that principle.
Our approach will combine Vermont’s unparalleled environmental values
with innovations in education and a telecommunications infrastructure superior
to that found in the most modern cities.
I call this approach “The Vermont Way Forward” and it will position
Vermont squarely ahead of forces driving the global economy.
The Vermont Way Forward advances our traditional
industries through pioneering approaches to rural development. It protects our forests and fields for
time-honored uses and applies scientific innovation to speed the clean up of our
lakes and streams. And it
strengthens Vermont’s agrarian roots with technology that allows farmers to grow
locally but compete globally.
Our approach embraces our cherished natural environment
beyond its bountiful material resources and focuses our industry on one of the
greatest engineering challenges of this century: finding practical environmental
solutions that balance growth and resources around the world.
We will weave into our economy companies that share our sensible approach
to protecting the environment. We
will cultivate innovators in environmental engineering and become the center for
the solutions of tomorrow, building on Lieutenant Governor Dubie’s vision of a
Green Valley.
The Vermont Way Forward will be built by Vermonters and
emerge from markets that demand it; but, as a state, we must assemble the
foundation from which it will prosper.
Today, I present the primary elements of the Vermont Way Forward – a
four-part strategy of environmental leadership, job creation, technological
advancement and innovative education – a strategy that will allow Vermont the
opportunity to complete an economic transformation that no state has achieved,
but all will envy.
***
The Vermont Way Forward begins by reaffirming the importance of our
natural environment and our commitment to a balanced approach.
Overall, Vermont’s global environmental footprint is
quite light. We have developed a
responsible and growing portfolio of renewable energy sources. We currently
capture more greenhouse gas than we produce. We were the first state to
sign on to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, and my administration adopted
tougher rules mandating California Emissions Standards for cars and trucks.
Vermont has joined the 25 x ‘25 alliance to advance
renewable energy solutions with the goal to produce 25% of our energy from
renewable sources by 2025. And
state government is a leader in reducing greenhouse gases through my
Comprehensive Environmental & Resource Management program.
We have made enormous progress, but motor vehicles still account for 45%
of greenhouse gas emissions in Vermont.
To reduce emissions, lead us toward energy independence and expand the
market for environmentally preferable fuels, I offer four proposals:
First, I ask that you approve a percentage point reduction of the tax on
fuel-efficient and hybrid vehicles and reward Vermonters for making
environmentally friendly choices. I
request that you support a tax rate reduction on bio-diesel for individuals and
businesses that use it for transportation purposes, so we can cultivate the
commercial market f