For Vermont governor, success builds on success
MONTPELIER, Vt.—He's a Republican in a liberal state, a conservative governor in a place where Democrats make the laws, a political anomaly whose biggest strength may be his record at the polls.
Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas is no fiery orator, rising GOP star or tabloid-fodder politician. Gubernatorial sex scandals? Forget it.
All he does is win.
Douglas, who was elected to the Vermont Legislature at 21, has used nonstop campaigning, shrewd political skills and the power of incumbency to fashion a 13-1 record in statewide elections. He's the state's all-time leading vote getter, which some believe is why Vermont Democrats have yet to field a challenger in the Nov. 4 election.
"Jim's great strength is that he's a throwback to the old Aiken-Stafford kind of Republican -- a fiscal conservative but a social moderate, a guy who's very affable, has great self-deprecating humor," said Garrison Nelson, a political science professor at the University of Vermont.
"He's tough to get traction against. He's got this positive personality and he's very careful on his policies," said Nelson.
Douglas, 56, was elected to the state House of Representatives fresh out of Middlebury College.
After seven years in the Legislature, he was elected secretary of state in a 1980 and re-elected five times to that job, twice running as both the Democratic and Republican candidate. Next came eight years as state treasurer before his election as governor in 2002.
His only defeat at the polls came in 1992, when he challenged U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.
The gaudy record may owe as much to Vermont law and the power of incumbency as it does to Douglas' political skills and popularity.
Since Vermont elects its statewide officers every two years, governors, attorney generals and other incumbents live in a state of perpetual campaigning. They benefit from incumbency and the name recognition it confers.
Too, Vermonters are loathe to kick governors out. It's been more than 40 years since a sitting governor lost a re-election bid.
But even former opponents are impressed with his stump savvy.
"I've come to really respect his skills as a politician," said former Burlington Mayor Peter Clavelle, who lost to Douglas in 2004.
"Number One, the man's everywhere. In Vermont, retail politics is very important. The fact that you've seen and shook hands with the governor, and he may even know your name -- and he knows thousands of names -- it works," said Clavelle.
Clavelle, who got 37.9 percent of the vote, to 58.7 for Douglas, is no fan of Douglas' work as governor. Neither is state Sen. Doug Racine, who was narrowly beaten when he challenged Douglas in 2002.
In that race, Douglas polled 45 percent of the vote to 42 percent for Racine.
"Jim is a very effective politician who runs very negative campaigns, but does it with his surrogates doing most of the dirty work instead," said Racine, D-Chittenden.
"He gets away with it because he does it with his staff, his supporters. He's clever about it," said Racine.
But he said Douglas did a better job of defining himself -- and Racine -- for voters than Racine did.
"He's got political skills, no question about it. People like him. No question about that. I used to," he said.
Some attribute Douglas' electoral successes to his low-key demeanor, described by Nelson as something akin to "the nicest insurance salesman you've ever met." He may lack charisma, but he does his homework -- and his attentiveness wins votes.
"His personality and style are extremely appealing to voters," said John McLaughry, a former Republican candidate for governor and policy adviser to President Ronald Reagan.
"He's non-threatening, reasonable, modest, humble even, and he has as astonishing retention of people he's talked to. I hear stories all the time (from people saying) `I can't believe the governor came up to me and said how's your wife and kids,' I haven't seen him in eight years," said McLaughry.
Gearing up for this year's re-election bid, Douglas faces opposition from only one candidate -- Progressive Anthony Pollina.
Some believe Pollina's presence in the race makes him a Ralph Nader-style spoiler, scaring off Democrats leery that two challengers from the political left would splinter the anti-Douglas vote and help Douglas get re-elected.
Former foreign diplomat Peter Galbraith and House Speaker Gaye Symington have both said they're weighing runs, but neither has declared.
For his part, Douglas says he expects there will be a Democratic candidate.
He attributes his electoral success to the good will sown by all the chicken dinners, ribbon cuttings and events he attends, which he says helps him stay in touch with the concerns of people.
Being a Republican hasn't held him back, he says. Vermonters aren't as liberal as their politicians are, he thinks.
"When I talk to people, they don't talk to me about impeaching the president or changing the electoral college or legalizing pot or things that have taken a lot of time up here," he said.
"They talk about how expensive it is to go to the gas station or the grocery store, or how shocked they are when they get their property tax bills or how they can't afford a mortgage or an apartment of any decent size," he said.
Douglas' secret to success isn't secret; it's shoe leather and handshakes. Asked about his only loss, to Leahy 16 years ago, Douglas explained it in simple terms: "He got more votes."
