Clavelle Launches Gubernatorial Bid

BY PAUL OLSEN

urlington Mayor Peter Clavelle came
Bacross the river to his boyhood home

to announce his plan to unseat incum-
bent Republican Governor James Douglas in
November. In a speech to a group of 500 sup-
porters in Winooski’s Champlain Mill, Clavelle
said the race is about either letting “a
Republican minority become entrenched in
Montpelier or electing a government that truly
represents all of us.”

Clavelle, 54, is currently serving his
seventh term as mayor of Vem1ont’s largest
city. He was first elected in 1989 as an
Independent. Afterjoining Burlington’s left-
leaning Progressive Party, he was reelected in
1991. His 1993 mayoral defeat is attributed, in
part, to his support for the extension of domes-
tic partner benefits to city employees. After a
2-yea_r‘hiatus, Burlington voters“ returned him
to office. - ‘

Prior to announcing his candidacy for
governor, Clavellejoinedthe Democratic
Party. His campaign web site calls for “bold
leadership, a clear vision, and a commitment to
make government work for ordinary citizens.”
His priorities include health care for all
Vermonters, a sustainable economy, a rational
energy policy, and a healthy environment.

At his campaign announcement
speech, Clavelle said Vennont is a wonderful
state that can do better. “With this goal of mak-
ing this state better for us and our neighbors
today, and for our children and grandchildren
tomorrow that I announce, here in Winooski,
that I am running to become Vermont’s next
governor,” he said to spirited applause. “What
I have done in my 30 years of public service is
committed myself to building stronger commu-
nities, stronger communities where everyone
has the chance to build a better life for them
and for their family. Together we have made a
dramatic difference in the life of the people of
the city of Burlington.”

In an interview with OITM, Clavelle
said he hopes to earn the support of gay and
lesbian Vermonters. “I will bring a record of 30
years of experience to the governor’s office, a

. vision for Vermont that I think is lacking today,

and a proven record of addressing and taking
on the issues that are important to Vem1ont’s
glbt community,” he said. “Protecting workers’
rights, creating jobs with livable wages, afford-
able housing, protecting the environment, and
standing up for civil rights for all of us.”

When questioned on specific issues
currently facing the Vermont legislature,
Clavelle said he supports strengthening the
state’s anti-harassment laws in schools, sup-
ports the use of marijuana for medical purpos-
es, and opposes discrimination on the basis of
gender identity. “I’m not familiar with that par-
ticular bill but certainly every Vennonter
should be protected from discrimination,” he
said. '

Clavelle supports Vermont’s civil
union law and opposes the Federal Marriage

  

Amendment which would make.gay marriages
illegal nationwide. “I am opposed‘ to the effort
ofthe Bush administration-to amend the (U.S.)‘
Constitution,” he said. Clavelle also opposes a
‘similar amendment to the Vermont J
Constitution.

The mayor’s campaign strategy
seems to be aimed at aligning first-terrn Gov.
James Douglas (R) with President George W.
Bush. “Our current Governor leads George
Bush’s reelection effort in Vennont,” Clavelle .
said in his campaign announcement speech.
“Our current Governor is long on rhetoric and ‘
short on action, action that will really help
Vermonters. Vermont must do better. As
Governor, I will not be the cheerleader for
George W. Bush.” V

Paul Olsen lives in C olclzester and also writes ,5’
for the Boston-based In Newsweekly. ‘

orrner state Senator Cheryl Rivers, a
FDemocrat, formally announced her can-

didacy for lieutenant governor as we
were going to press. Rivers has been endorsed
by openly gay state Representative Bill
Lippert ‘(D-Hinesburg). Rivers was in the
Senate for 11 years, and was the first woman

elected to the Senate from Windham County.

F orrner state Sen. Jan Backus also
has been running since last October, although
she has not yet held a formal campaign kick-
off party. Backus is working with Orange
County Democratic Party activist Linda Weiss,
who engineered state Sen. Mark McDonald’s
return to office two years after he was defeat-
ed following his vote to support civil unions.
Backus served in theistate Senate for a decade
and has run two statewide campaigns for U.S.
Senate, in 1994 and 2000.

Both women are focused on health

care issues and on defeating current Lt.
Governor Brian Dubie, citing his opposition to
civil unions and women’s right to choose
abortion, and his support for school vouchers.
At a campaign appearance in Franklin County,
Backus asked rhetorically whether Vermonters
wanted a man with those beliefs to be casting
tie-breaking votes in the Senate. However,
with the Senate currently split 19 Democrats
to 11 Republicans, tie-breakers appear unlike-
ly, at least this session.

The campaign buzz suggests that
Rep. Steve Hingten (P-Burlington) isjoining
the field of lieutenant gubernatorial candi-
dates, and Progressive Anthony Pollina’s plans
are still a question mark. The Progressives say
they offer an alternative to politics as usual
under the Democrats and Republicans, while
Democrats. point to the splitting of votes
between Democratic and Progressive Party

candidates as responsible for the election of
Dubie and Republican Governor James
Douglas.

Other Campaign Notes
And in a long-awaited announce-

ment, former Governor Howard Dean put an
end to his active campaign for the Democratic
Party nomination for president of the United
States. The now former candidate thanked his
many supporters, celebrated his campaign’s
success in restoring a backbone and a sense of
mission to the national Democratic Party, and
vowed to keep presenting issues. Dean
declined to endorse any other candidate for the
moment, declared he would not run as a third-
party or independent candidate, and urged his
supporters not to vote for any third-party

candidate.
Meanwhile, the Vermont Freedom to

Marry Task Force has apparently begun its

Lieut. Governor Campaign Heats Up,

campaign to replace civil unions with equal ,. ._

marriage (see Sherry Corbin’s opinion piecejg;

this month’s Views section). As we reported" '
last month, state Rep. David Zuckerman (P-

Burlington) introduced a bill that would allow 

marriage licenses to be issued to same-sex

couples. Couples with civil unions could con-' ,

vert their status to marriage by filling out an
application. The bill is notexpected to be dis-
cussed this session.

In poll results announced last month

by the Human Rights Campaign, 87 percent of K

the glbt respondents were registered voters,
and about three-quarters voted in the last elec-
tion, with 81 percent voting in the last presi-
dential ‘election. We’re here, we’re queer, and
we’re going to the voting booth.

Stay tuned. It’s going to be a long
and bumpy ride.V