Gubernatorial candidates agree, economy is top issue

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(Host) All three major party candidates for governor agree on one thing – the condition of the Vermont economy is the most important issue in their campaign.

But they have different ideas about how to create more good paying jobs in the state.

VPR’s Bob Kinzel reports.

(Kinzel) All three candidates, Republican incumbent Jim Douglas, Democrat Gaye Symington and Progressive Anthony Pollina, all say that the Vermont economy is the number one issue on the minds of voters.

Gas and heating oil prices are soaring, the state’s unemployment rate for May was the highest its been in 15 years, the national economy is in a major slowdown and IBM has just announced that’s its cutting 180 jobs.

When Jim Douglas was elected in 2002, one of his campaign slogans was Jim = Jobs.  During the last 6 years, there’s been very little job growth in Vermont’s private sector – virtually all of the new jobs have come in three areas: government, health care and higher education.

Gaye Symington says this record reflects a lack of leadership on the part of the Governor:  

(Symington) "It’s time to begin to hold him accountable for the fact that we have the slowest job growth in the northeast region it is not simply a national issue. I believe that Vermont is suffering from a lack of leadership and we’re missing opportunities to really step up to our challenges rather than just standing by."

(Kinzel) Anthony Pollina has proposed eliminating the capital gains tax exemption to help finance a major transportation bond.  Pollina says the plan will improve the state’s infrastructure and help create a lot of new jobs. It’s an approach that Douglas opposes:

(Pollina) "So Vermonters are rightfully very frustrated and they’re very concerned about their present day ability to meet their expenses and they’re really concerned about the future and I think they’re very concerned about a state government that has been unwilling to move forward and make the investments in infrastructure or in people so this is in fact the issue."

(Kinzel) Douglas says his major goal has been to make Vermont more affordable.  He argues that this is the best way to attract new jobs to the state and he says the Democratic agenda at the Statehouse undermines this approach.

(Douglas) We’ve made a little progress eventually in some areas. We’ve been able to get the Legislature to focus so we were able to get the E-State Initiative some permit reform so efforts to move our state’s economy in the right direction but mostly what we’ve seen is a House of Representatives that has voted to raise at least half a dozen taxes and resist my efforts to bring down the burden of the property tax. Individual families and employers in Vermont need an environment that’s more receptive that’s more pro economic growth."

(Kinzel) How will economic conditions affect the gubernatorial race?  Middlebury College political science professor Eric Davis says Jim Douglas should be somewhat concerned:

(Davis) "Voters all over the country and certainly in Vermont as well as very dissatisfied with the condition of the economy right now and voters who are dissatisfied with economic conditions often place the blame for that on incumbent politicians whether or not anything those incumbents did or didn’t do is directly responsible."

(Kinzel) Davis says if the state’s unemployment rate and energy prices continue to climb in the coming months, Douglas’s support among independent voters could drop because these voters will be looking for someone to blame for their economic anxieties.

For VPR News, I’m Bob Kinzel in Montpelier.

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