(Host) Independent gubernatorial candidate Con Hogan says he believes that the partisan bickering between the Republican and Democratic parties in Vermont is an obstacle to finding good solutions to many of the key problems facing the state. Speaking last night on VPR’s Switchboard program, Hogan said the Legislature was unable to reach a compromise on changes to Act 60 because many lawmakers were unwilling to consider a bipartisan approach to the issue.
Hogan thinks the partisan nature of the session is spilling over into this year’s political campaigns:
(Hogan) "There’s a lot of distaste for the level of political acrimony that we saw deeply imbedded in this legislative session. We’re already seeing in the gubernatorial race beginning the discussion, and I think people are tired of it. They know we all know that we’ve got some problems that are deep enough and serious enough that we have got to start coming together to deal with some of these. And I think an independent governor will be in the best shape of anyone to truly find the common ground."
(Host) Hogan says his top priorities during his campaign will be finding ways to control health care costs, developing plans to stimulate the state economy and finding a consensus approach to reform Act 60.