MONTPELIER, Vt.—Testing the waters for a potential gubernatorial bid, former ambassador Peter Galbraith got a rousing reception in an appearance before legislative Democrats on Tuesday, telling them he's considering it but hasn't made up his mind.
Galbraith, a 57-year-old Democrat, said he was asked by state Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin to consider challenging incumbent Gov. Jim Douglas, a three-term Republican. He wouldn't say when he will decide.
So far, the only candidate to declare is Anthony Pollina, a Progressive. Douglas hasn't formally launched a re-election bid, although he has said he will seek a fourth term. The filing period for candidates in the Nov. 4 election, under state law, doesn't come until June and July.
The son of late economist John Kenneth Galbraith, Galbraith is a former U.S. ambassador to Croatia and chairman of the state Democratic Committee.
His only previous run for elected office was a failed 1976 bid for justice of the peace in Townshend, where he lives.
But he got a hero's welcome at the House Democratic Caucus, with an overflow crowd in a Statehouse committee room giving him a standing ovation when he was introduced and again when he finished his nine-minute address.
At that point, several people could be heard chanting "Run, Peter, Run" as others applauded.
In his address, he painted himself as an agent of change and a consensus builder, decrying America's loss of prestige internationally, the stock market's troubles and the threat of recession, saying GOP policies had sown the seeds for those things.
"While I certainly mean no comparison between the characters that I dealt with in the former Yugoslavia on the one hand and the struggles that take place here between the Legislature and the governor, nonetheless, I feel the same skill set -- the same negotiating, bringing people together, focusing on the results -- is what we need to have if we are going to move forward," he said.
He said he welcomed the prospect of a Democratic primary against Pollina, if necessary, and said a Vermont Leadership Fund set up by the state Democratic Party was a way for supporters to donate but not a vehicle for him specifically or a gauge for measuring support.
"It is not a substitute for a poll. It is simply a way for people who have expressed support and asked how they can contribute, so they can make a contribution.
"Should I become a candidate, I would do fundraising directly," he said.
Ian Carleton, the state Democratic Party chairman, called Galbraith the Democrats' strongest possible candidate.
"Peter Galbraith, in many ways, is the perfect antidote to what Jim Douglas has made this state suffer through for the last six years, which is a stalemate based on political expedience," Carleton said.
Asked about a potential Galbraith candidacy, Douglas spokesman Jason Gibbs said Douglas was focused on the legislative session ahead, not a re-election campaign.
"I'm pretty confident that in any scenarios we have before us, Gov. Douglas is in very good shape," said state GOP Chairman Rob Roper. "Whether that be a head-to-head race with Peter Galbraith or a head-to-head with Anthony Pollina, or a three-way race."
Pollina didn't immediately return a call seeking comment Tuesday.
