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High Profil

BY PAUL OLSEN

e three-way race to be
Vermont’s next Lieutenant
Governoris likely to be one of

the most spirited campaigns in the
state this year. With different leader-
ship styles. divergent opinions
regarding the role of government.
and opposing views on the future of
civil unions, Republican Brian
Dubie. Progressive Anthony Pollina,
and Democrat Peter

Shumlin offer gay men and lesbians
clear choices regarding the future of
Vermont.

For the second time,
Republican Brian Dubie is running
for Lieutenant Governor. Two years
ago, he largely based his campaign
on an anti-civil union theme. He lost
to Lt. Gov. Doug Racine who is run-
ning for Governor this year. Dubie
graduated from the University of
Vermont. currently serves in the
Vermont Air Guard, and works as a
commercial pilot. His electoral expe-
rience includes serving on the Essex
Junction School Board.

Progressive Anthony
Pollina founded Rural Vermont, a
farm advocacy organization; worked
for U.S. Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT);
and most recently served as policy
advisor for the Vermont Public
Interest Research Group. In‘his 2000
run for Governor, Pollina’s support
for gay marriage distinguished him
from his opponents, Democratic
Gov. Howard Dean and Republican
Ruth Dwyer.

Democrat Peter Shumlin
graduated from Wesleyan University,

‘ served in Vermont’s House of

Representatives from 1990- l 992,

and has represented Windham
County in the Vermont Senate since
1993. In 1997, he was elected’
President pro-tempore of the State
Senate. In addition to his work in the
Vermont Legislature, Shumlin owns
and operates a small business‘ with
his wife.

Both Pollina and Shumlin
point to their support for gay rights
as reasons why Vennont’s gay and
lesbian community should support
their candidacies. “I’ve been a sup-
porter for years of equal rights for
all Vermonters,” Pollina said in an
interview. “I was a strong supporter
ofthe civil unions law and I also do
support the right to marry.

“I have years of experi-
ence as a community organizer,
coalition builder, and legislative
advocate,” Pollina added. “There is
no doubt in my mind that I can turn
the Lieutenant Governor’s office into
a real voice and advocate for
Vermonters. I have worked a lot with
kids over the years and have com-
mitted myself to continuing to work
with all kinds of kids, certainly with
kids in the queer community who we
know are exposed to a great deal of
harassment and bullying in schools.
There’s a lot of work that we need to
do in our schools to build respect
and make our schools safe for all of
our kids.”

Shumlin believes his leg-
islative record warrants evaluation
by the gay community. “I don’t think
you’ll find a candidate who has
fought harder to help build a tolerant
state than myself,” he said.

“One of the things I’m
most proud of about my thirteen
years of public service in Vermont is
my role as President Pro-tempore of
the Senate when I succeeded in pass-
ing the civil union law. I was really
proud to be in a position to move
forward a civil rights issue that is so
basic to human dignity and to be at
that place in history at that time.

“We have a lot of work left
to do,” Shumlin added. “Vermont
has led the country in civil rights for
gay and lesbian Vermonters. We are
incredibly proud of what we’ve
achieved but we cannot underesti-
mate the challenges before us.

There ’s still tremendous hatred out
there. there’s tremendous discrimina-
tion, and there’s tremendous anger at
those of us who fought the fight. The
Lieutenant Govemor may well be

 

e, Three-Way Race For Lt. Governor

 

Top right, Anthony Pollina. Above left, Peter Shumlin, right, Brian Dubie.

the person who protects everything
we have fought for through tie-
breaking votes [in the State Senate].
I will never compromise on
Vermonters’ civil rights and I have
proven it.”

For his part, Republican
Brian Dubie points to his work on
the Essex Junction School Board as
evidence of his support for the gay
community. “There will be no one
who is more concerned about vio-
lence or discrimination than Brian
Dubie,” hedeclared in an interview.
“I proposed and initiated [a policy]
that treated sexual orientation in our
schools like we treat religion. We
can and should talk about religion in
a historical context for tolerance and
understanding and that’s the frame-
work in which I proposed we take

when talking about sexual orienta-
tion.”
In a recent interview with
Vermont Public Radio (VPR), Dubie
addressed a number of other issues
of concern to gay and lesbian
Vermonters. On VPR’s Switchboard
program Dubie said that although he
opposes gay marriage, he is opposed
to discrimination against gay men
and lesbians. “I believe marriage is
between a man and a woman and I
believe in a Defense of Marriage Act
that would describe that,” he said. “I
still think that that is a reasonable
thing to do and if I had the opportu-
nity, that’s the kind of legislation
that I would support.
“I’m an airline pilot,”

Dubie said when explaining his
opposition to discrimination. “I

probably work with more gay and
lesbian people than most Vermonters
will ever meet in their life. I’ve
flown airplanes with transsexuals,
I’ve flown airplanes with gays, and
I’ve worked with a lot of lesbian
people. We have a zero tolerance
policy at work on harassment.
Without a doubt, no Vermonters of
different sexual orientations or reli-
gious beliefs should feel threatened.”
On November 5, Brian

Dubie, Anthony Pollina and Peter
Shumlin will face off at the ballot
box. If no candidate receives more
than 50 percent of the vote, the
Vermont Legislature will decide the
outcome of the race by secret ballot
in January. V

The
three-way
race

to

be
Vermont’s
next
Lieutenant
Governor
is

likely

to

be

one

of

the

most
spirited
campaigns
in

the

A state
this

yean