Douglas basks in 4-star ranking; Parker criticizes farm policy

MONTPELIER, Vt. --Gov. Jim Douglas basked in a national magazine's "four-star ranking" of his business development record Tuesday while his Democratic challenger criticized him for doing too little to help the state's dairy industry.

Inc. Magazine reviewed the records of 26 governors seeking re-election and awarded Douglas and Democratic colleagues in Arizona, Kansas and New Mexico "four stars" because they represent "a true friend whose policies will benefit businesses over the short and long term."

The magazine cited Douglas as the second best governor in the country for his record on health care and also ranked Vermont best in the country for the amount it spends per pupil, $11,128.

The magazine said its report "reveals that the best governors are the least partisan. They are often Republicans in traditional liberal states," listing Vermont and Minnesota as examples.

Douglas welcomed what he characterized as an endorsement of his policies by the magazine.

"I'm really pleased that the leading magazine for entrepreneurs has recognized my leadership in leading Vermont toward being more business friendly," Douglas said in an interview. "I sought office four years ago on the theme, `Jim Equals Jobs,' and we've been successful."

Douglas did not embrace the magazine's praise for the high per-pupil spending, though, something that he believes should be reduced.

"That's good in terms of the quality and intimacy of our public schools but it places a tremendous burden on property taxpayers, that's why I believe it needs to be addressed," he said.

Democrats were much more dismissive, arguing that Inc. had relied for its rankings on issues that legislative Democrats led Douglas to embrace. On health care for example, Douglas proposed a reform plan that would have imposed a premium tax, which would have been paid by companies that provided coverage to their employees, said Bill Lofy, a spokesman for the Democrats' coordinated campaign who spoke Tuesday for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Scudder Parker. The Democrats also led on the push for a minimum wage increase, he said.

"When you look specifically at how they're rating the governor's performance, either he was following the lead of Democrats in the Legislature ... or they simply misread the governor's record, particularly on the issue of taxes when it comes to health insurance," Lofy said. "I think they would have benefited from a deeper analysis of the governor's record."

Parker tried to focus attention on an industry where he said Douglas had failed to provide adequate leadership, holding a news conference at a Fairfield dairy farm. Dairy farmers, who had a tough spring because it was so rainy, face the prospect of running out of feed for their animals by midwinter.

"These folks don't need more task forces and summits, and more loans won't solve long-term problems," Parker said. "They need creative thinking, help finding sources of feed, and more than anything else to know that the state, and their governor, are behind them 100 percent."

Parker's campaign said he would extend the emergency milk price support program that the state adopted this summer, committing to spending another $6 million to $8 million on it through the winter. In the meantime, he would work with farmers to determine how acute their shortage of feed is, help them pool their resources to get better prices, and organize a system for moving the feed to where it's needed.

Douglas said he has worked hard for farmers and he reiterated a call for Congress to provide emergency assistance that would help them buy feed for the winter. A spending bill is pending in Washington when Congress returns after the election.

"It's up to the Congress now to get past the partisan politics of the day," Douglas said. "We did the job in Vermont. They have to do the job in Washington."