Where democracy and good governance thrive

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Good leaders know how to manage the drama without thwarting the democratic process. Vermont has well-meaning, able leaders — Senate President Pro Tempore John Campbell, a Democrat, Lt. Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, and House Speaker Shap Smith, a Democrat — who succeeded in doing just that in the last legislative session.

Though the Vermont Statehouse isn’t perfect, the political atmosphere in Montpelier is a bright sunny day compared with the storm of throw-the-bums-out radicalism that has swept the nation and several states in New England. Many Granite State Republicans object to Tea party activists in power in the New Hampshire statehouse who have attempted to repeal sound government policies and subvert Statehouse protocol. Lawmakers, for example, threw members of the public out of hearings and changed meeting times to avoid public scrutiny.

That kind of fractious behavior is unthinkable in the Vermont Statehouse. There is a reason why there were so many fond farewells and group hugs on Friday when the Legislature adjourned last week; why Rep. Mark Mitchell, D-Barnard, received a standing ovation when he explained that he is ill and retiring from office; and why Speaker Smith described the House of Representatives as his second family.

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As a rule, Vermont legislators have personal integrity, and they take their duty to constituents and to the state very seriously. They work hard, regardless of party, to come to reach common goals in the committees of jurisdiction. It’s in the crucible of the committee that legislators work out their differences and engage in philosophical discussions about policy. What you see on the House or Senate floor is the culmination of weeks of diligent negotiation among lawmakers.

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http://vtdigger.org/2011/05/09/goodbye-to-the-golden-bubble-why-they-care-2/

no one knows the Vermont Legislature better than Annie.