Governor Peter Shumlin is expected to be elected as the new chairman of the Democratic Governors Association at their annual meeting next Tuesday.
Shumlin’s election by the nation’s 20 other Democratic governors is virtually assured. Outgoing chairman Martin O’Malley of Maryland has endorsed Shumlin and no other challengers have emerged.
Former Vermont governors, Richard Snelling, Howard Dean and Jim Douglas all served in leadership roles for national gubernatorial organizations and now Shumlin wants to join that list.
"I feel that it’s a real opportunity for us to not only learn a lot from other governors what’s working well what’s not working well that’s where I get some of my best ideas," said the Governor.
And Shumlin hopes that other governors will keep an eye on Vermont’s plan to implement a single payer health care system in 2017.
"So I’m not going out as a gospel preaching to other governors of what I think they should do," said Shumlin. "But it is an opportunity for us to share what we’re doing and why it’s going to help grow jobs and economic opportunities and just as I rely on the other governors for great ideas I think when we have a great idea in Vermont it’s important that we share it.
Shumlin says he’ll have very limited fund raising duties for the DGA and he’s confident the job won’t take much time away from his duties in Vermont.