Newcomer, political veteran vie in Dem primary

MONTPELIER, Vt.—Two Democrats are vying for their party's nomination for lieutenant governor of Vermont: Brattleboro lawyer and former House member Thomas Costello, and Nate Freeman of Northfield, a newcomer to statewide politics.

The two are competing in the Sept. 9 primary for the chance to take on three-term incumbent Republican Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie.

The only other statewide primary is that between Democratic U.S. Rep. Peter Welch and challenger Craig Hill of Montpelier, which Welch is expected to win easily.

The 40-year-old Freeman, a poet and entrepreneur who has an upholstery business and a side business making natural kitty litter, says he wants to bring new energy to the job of serving as the governor's understudy and presiding over the Senate.

In an interview, Freeman promised "creative leadership" and a "commitment to hard work," taking a shot at the incumbent lieutenant governor for working part-time as an airline pilot.

"We need a lieutenant governor who's going to take this on as a full-time job and be there to do the work that needs to be done," he said.

He also sought to make an advantage of the fact that he is 23 years younger than Costello, 63. "Right now there's a handful of people (who) are younger in politics, but none in a statewide position," Freeman said. "We need to start thinking about mentoring another generation of leadership. My campaign brings that opportunity."

Dubie is 49.

On issues likely to face lawmakers next year, Freeman said he wants to see the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant shut down when its current license expires in 2012. Lawmakers are expected to vote during the 2010 session whether to allow the plant to seek a 20-year license extension from the Public Service Board.

"We can't have that building falling down more than it already has," Freeman said, referring to the collapse of part of the plant's cooling towers a year ago. "That is something I feel strongly about."

Freeman called himself a strong supporter of development of wind power and hydropower resources. "We have to be getting into the energy system of the next 100 years," he said. He called for the creation of a state Department of Energy, which would combine energy-related programs now managed by the Department of Public Service and agencies of Human Services and Transportation.

On responding to sex crimes, which has been a big issue since the kidnapping and death of 12-year-old Brooke Bennett earlier this summer, Freeman said he would bring together prosecutors, victims' advocates and others involved in the issue to garner their recommendations. He said he opposes "Jessica's Law"-type mandatory minimum sentences for sex offenders.

Costello said in an interview that he would bring his experience as a legislator and lawyer to the job. He served two stints in the Vermont House, representing Rutland, the city where he grew up, in the 1970s, and served another three terms from Brattleboro in the 1990s after marrying and moving there.

Costello said that as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee in the 1990s, he had played a key role in crafting anti-drunken-driving legislation that he said had helped to reduce the carnage on Vermont's highways. He also was a leader in the effort to defeat a measure designed to relax regulation of Vermont's electric utilities and restructure that industry.

"I think these times are more stressful and anxious and difficult for ordinary Vermonters than any other times during my lifetime," Costello said. "And these times show a lack of leadership such that I've never seen before. And I believe that my experience as a leader, lawyer, legislator will result in positive changes to help Vermont families ... get through this crisis."

Costello said a centerpiece of his campaign is a proposal for a "reverse annuity" in which the state would pay elderly and some low-income residents' property taxes and recoup the money when those properties eventually are sold. He said the proposal would have to be revenue-neutral, due to the current precarious state of the Vermont's government finances.

He said he was leaning toward a no vote on extending Vermont Yankee's license. "They've got to demonstrate that they are able to operate it safely ... and to eliminate the waste, and they've not done so to this point," he said of plant owner Entergy Nuclear. But he promised that when the time comes, he'll make a "reasonable judgment based on the evidence."

On sex crimes, Costello said he believed that both mandatory minimum sentences and "civil commitments" -- a system under which some offenders can be locked up even after completing their prison terms -- should be tools available to the state.

Another issue Costello, a Marine veteran of the Vietnam conflict, said he would push is good treatment for Vermonters who return from military service in Iraq and Afghanistan. "We've got to find a way to make a special reception for them," he said.