(Host) Governor Jim Douglas leaves office this week after eight years with a legacy as a skilled campaigner and moderate Republican whose tenure was marked by battles with Democratic lawmakers.
He will give his farewell speech to a joint assembly of the Legislature tomorrow in Montpelier. On Thursday, Governor-elect Peter Shumlin will be sworn in as his successor.
Douglas, who opted not to run for a fifth term as governor last year, has been a fixture on Vermont election ballots since 1972.
Political observers say he will be remembered for his tireless campaigning and ability to remember names and faces, skills that helped him buck the tide as a Republican in a left-leaning state.