(Host) Governor-elect Jim Douglas says he plans to continue to commute from his home in Middlebury to Montpelier once he’s sworn into office in January. Douglas has been making the two and a half hour roundtrip for most of the past 22 years, when he served as secretary of state and state treasurer.
The big difference now is that Douglas will no longer be driving his own car. He’ll have a state trooper driving him in an official state vehicle. Douglas says he plans to turn his state car into a mobile office where he can use his computer, talk on the phone and receive faxes. Douglas says he discussed this issue with Governor Howard Dean at their recent meeting:
(Douglas) “His commute is shorter than mine, but he still has 45 to 50 minutes each way and he uses that time well. He said, your staff will present you with piles and piles of material. Things to read, memos on decisions to make, letters to sign. And he said, I certainly urge you to take advantage of that time productively because you just won’t be able to keep up with the workload otherwise.”
(Host) Douglas says he’s sure that there will be some occasions when he’ll need to spend the night in Montpelier, but he hopes to keep that to a minimum.