"I'm For Doug"

I’ve known and worked will all the Democratic candidates for Governor, and it’s a very good group of skilled and committed people, but Doug Racine is my choice – for his honesty, vision, and compassion. Honesty about the challenges we face and potential solutions, vision for the future beyond our immediate difficulties, and compassion for the people and businesses who are affected by the public policy choices we make.

Whether it’s the environment, jobs, education, or fiscal balance, Doug has just the right mix of experience, leadership, and integrity we need at this time. Please join me in voting for Doug!

Several months ago, I started thinking about who I would support for our next governor; who could I believe in to be a great governor and worth committing my time and energy to help elect.

All of the Democratic candidates superficially have similar positions on education, energy, the economy, and the environment. Issue positions are important but not sufficient enough to decide who will be able to lead Vermont through the many challenges we face. I don’t want a governor who is just going to manage state government well. I don’t want a governor who is going to set their own agenda and just push it through or threaten vetoes. I don’t want a governor with vision and no strategy on how to get there. I want a governor and leader for Vermont who has many years of experience working collaboratively with all Vermonters to solve problems and is so confident and grounded in his values and beliefs that he will be able to lead people based on a solid foundation of principles no matter what unknown challenges face us in the future. Doug Racine’s long record of public service proves that he is this kind of leader and the best leader for Vermont. I’m supporting Doug Racine because he shares the same fundamental beliefs that I do—the people and environment of Vermont are our greatest strengths and best hope for a prosperous and sustainable future for all Vermonters; we need to listen, learn, and work collaboratively to do what’s best for Vermont in the long term; we don’t abandon our neighbors in need. I’m supporting Doug Racine because he is thoughtful and compassionate, he understands in detail the complexities of the issues facing Vermont and how these issues are interconnected, he thinks and plans for the long-term without ignoring the short-term realities, and he has demonstrated throughout his career that he works positively and effectively with the legislature and diverse groups. I especially appreciate that when I ask Doug a question, he doesn’t tell me what I want to hear; he tells me what he really thinks and what he believes in. I trust that, even if I don’t always agree with him on how to reach a goal, he won’t compromise his values and beliefs and will even show me a better way. I am confident that Brian Dubie will not be able to beat Doug Racine because Doug is so confident and grounded in his basic values. I believe Doug Racine will be one of Vermont’s best governors because he believes that valuing all people and our environment is critical to creating the best future for Vermont; he acts consistently based on his values; and he has the knowledge, skills, and experience to lead diverse groups to achieve positive goals. Join me in putting Vermont on track to a brighter future by voting for Doug Racine in the Democratic Primary on Tuesday, August 24.

Doug Racine means what he says and says what he means. In a time where politicians regularly tell voters anything they want to hear, just to get their vote, Doug Racine stands up for what he believes. You may not always agree with him, but you can be sure that if he says it, he truly not only believes it, but will stand up and fight for it. In a room full of unhappy State Employees, when asked if he would cut more jobs if elected, Doug Racine was the ONLY candidate to say, (I’m paraphrasing here) “while I believe the State workforce has dropped below what it needs to be to support the services Vermont needs, I cannot tell you I’ll never cut another State job. I just don’t know what the future will bring, so I can’t say that”. And that’s the truth. No one single State employee in that room could disagree with that statement and all respected him for having the courage to say it. You can count on what Doug Racine tells you.

Doug Racine is a consensus builder who can get the job done. While everyone was talking and talking about what Vermont needs for health care, Doug initiated S.88 to hire a qualified contractor to bring us three plans for health care equality with universal access. The Single Payer crowd hated it because the plan stated while one plan had to be a single payer, the other two did not. But the Single Payer versus non-Single Payer fight would be going on in another decade if we only chose one or the other. This bill calls for both. Doug was able to bring both sides together and get this bill passed. Once we have concrete ideas to discuss, we can pick and choose which parts best meet Vermont’s current and long-term needs and move forward from there…Doug Racine built enough consensus to get this bill passed. If ever we needed to bring people together, this is the time!

Finally, Doug Racine has beaten Brian Dubie in a State-wide race. He is the only candidate to do so. And he has the strong backing of an amazing grass roots network of hard working Vermonters who truly believe in him and are willing and able to roll up their sleeves and get him elected. Doug Racine is not only the right candidate for this job, he’s the best candidate too. That doesn’t happen very often. Lets join together and get him to work for us.

I am enthusiastically supporting Doug Racine. I’ve heard Doug speak several times, and I had the opportunity to meet him at a local gathering recently. He continually impresses me with his personal nature, his ability to answer tough questions, and his dedication to the people of Vermont. He is an aggressive candidate, and I think he has the ability to defeat Dubie, particularly with Joe Trippi (who worked with Dean on his presidential bid) heading his campaign. I also believe that the progressives will not run a candidate if Doug wins the primary, and we all know how essential it is that we are not divided this year!

I’m supporting Doug, because I think Doug has the best chance of winning, but also because I think he is the best person for the job. Doug is honest and heartfelt in his conversations, and he is an excellent speaker. He has solid ideas about how to save money while maintaining quality education and social services. His Localvore state tour is just one example of how tuned in he is with Vermonters. I’ve never been so active in the primary election before, but I think it is essential that we have the right candidate this year. Please support Doug!

Doug has always shown his leadership qualities by tackling the difficult issues of this state and having others join him from both sides of the aisle. With the stressful economic times this trait in our governor is sorely needed.

His last run was marred because of the three way race so now the people of Vermont have the chance to elect him again to be the governor of this state.

I am proud to support Doug Racine for Governor.
Doug has the intelligence, the experience, the integrity, and the temperament to be a truly distinguished Governor of Vermont.
He is a thoughtful person with instincts to lead to best solutions to our problems. He can work with a broad range of people, and even his political opponents will privately admit that Doug deals in good faith and on the merits.
Doug understands that we face serious fiscal problems, but that does not make it time to balance our state budget on the backs of those who can least afford to pay.
We can trust Doug Racine with the executive leadership of our state.

One of the many reasons I support Doug Racine for Governor is his integrity. While his stance on Health Care, the Economy and support of our most disadvantaged are important, none of that matters if you can’t count on what he says and Doug Racine only says what he believes. You won’t find him telling you what you want to hear. Witness him stand in front of a room full of State Employees, Teachers and other Labor folk, to answer the question, if Governor, would you cut more State Jobs. All four of his opponents unequivocally declared “no more cuts”. Doug Racine stated [and I'm paraphrasing here] “I can’t tell what the future will bring. I can say I think the State workforce has been cut below the level it needs to be to support the services Vermont needs. But I can’t say I’ll never cut another State job because I don’t know what might happen.” Now that is a stance that took courage considering the audience and the climate of the day. But Doug Racine says what he believes, not what he thinks you want to hear. That’s one of the main reasons I support him for our next Governor.

I support Doug as I have witnessed his compassion as a person and a public servant. He feels strongly about Vermonters being our state’s greatest asset, all Vermonters of all walks. I believe he is fiscally responsible while attending to the state’s most critical needs. His conviction in the health care reform, infrastructure attention and local economic development is sound and based on the long run of Vermont’s best interests for Vermonters. I am a Libertarian, however I do believe he will represent the people for the people of Vermont as our governor.

Make no mistake, long before supporting equal marriage rights became the fashionable political cause, Doug Racine was there. Back when most didn’t even think we should be pursuing the separate-but-equal compromise that became civil unions, Doug was vocal in his belief that full access to marriage was the right thing to do.

He isn’t afraid to tell us and his fellow legislators the hard truth. He has not and will not make decisions by taking a poll.

Doug has shown intelligence and backbone on all the issues I care deeply about.

Doug’s experience, intelligence and integrity are what Vermont needs. It isn’t jobs or the environment, it’s both and. Doug is a business person and understands budgets, priorities and how to bring people together to get things done. He has a long track record of working on issues like child abuse prevention, early education and health care that are critical to the state’s future. He will look at the long term impact of budget decisions, and where we need to invest for jobs, the environment and the future of our children. I am proud to support him for Governor.