lthough his official gubernatorial cam-
Apaign kick-off isn’t until February 7 in

Winooski, Burlington Mayor Peter
Clavelle is clearly out there running. Last
month OITM caught up with him at a “meet
and greet” house party at the home of
Caledonia County Democratic Justice of the
Peace Linda Markin and artist and teacher
Marie Lapre Grabon.

Clavelle told the gathering of at least
50 people, including lesbians, gay men, and
straight folks, that to date he had visited 11 of
Vermont’s 14 counties and 30 towns, and that
his campaign had enrolled 300 volunteers. By
way of introduction, he went through the famil-
iar tale of his working class background, the
grandchild of French-Canadians who came to
work in the Winooski woolen mills. “I want
you know,” he said, “where I’m coming from
and who I represent.”

On the political front, no one was sur-
prised when he announced, “I am repulsed by
the Republicans at both the national level and
in the state. The Republicans represent the

wealthy and the powerful.” Clavelle combined
criticism of the Bush administration’s policies
with potshots at those of the Douglas adminis-
tration. “But I’m not running against Bush,” he
said.

In a brief review of his past accom-
plishments, Clavelle joked about the “voter-
inspired sabbatical” he was “granted” from
1993 to 1995. The mayor. was defeated at the
polls in what was widely viewed as a backlash
against Clavelle’s institution of domestic part-
nership beneflts for same-sex couples.

Among his issues, he said, is “sus-
tainable development, and by that I mean think-
ing about the future, about how our decisions
affect our kids and grandkids. I want to take an
integrated approach to development, including
education, jobs, equity, and the environment.”

He expects, he said, to have a spirited
campaign, because “Jim Douglas is no slouch”
at campaigning. But, he added, he intends to
take the “high road” and criticize the policies
and not the person. _

“The Republicans are on the wrong

Meeting  
and Greeting
with
  Peter Clavelle

road on health care,” Clavelle declared, citing
the elimination of community ratings as provid-
ing too much profit for insurance companies.
Likewise Clavelle critiqued the Douglas admin-
istration’s “poor excuse for an energy policy” as
“an embarrassment,” lacking any mention of
renewable sources of energy.

Clavelle added the traditional
Democratic issues of education equity — includ-
ing opposition to extending school choice
through vouchers (“It is important that we build
strong communities through our schools”), and
the promotion of sustainable economic develop-
ment (“Walmart is not sustainable economic
development. We need jobs that pay livable
wages.”)

The candidate-to-be invited questions
from the assembled voters. The questions cov-
ered a range of issues, beginning with elder
care. Clavelle suggested that reimportation of
drugs from Canada could not wait for permis-
sion from the FDA: “The FDA is not part of the
solution, they’re the problem,” he said.

Other questions touched on mental

 

 

Euan Bear catches up with Burlington’s mayor
and prospective gubernatorial candidate.

Mayer seem» fitiavafiie addresses a gathering mat month in taamwick

health care, the exorbitant cost of tuition at state
colleges, global warming’s impact on Vermont’s
ski resort economy, opposition to the impact of
wind farms on the landscape and birds, safe
schools, and how Clavelle would get to 50 per-
cent at the polls.

Asked about “the elephant in the
room,” potential primary opponent Peter
Shumlin, Clavelle said he and Shumlin had
both appeared earlier that day at an AFL-CIO
meeting in Barre. “He’s gotta decide. My gut
says he wants to [run].” Clavelle denied any
knowledge of whether Progressive Anthony
Pollina would run again for statewide oflice.

“The media have given Governor Jim
Douglas a free ride,” Clavelle charged. “The
only credible poll, done by WCAX, shows that
if we were in a head-to-head contest right now,
44 percent would vote for Douglas and 33 per-
cent for me. I am an underdog, it’s a position I
relish.” V

To learn more about Peter Clavelle ’s campaign,
click on his website ClavelleforGovernor.com