Symington For Governor

Background:

As Speaker of the Vermont House, Gaye Symington has a record of bringing people together to tackle tough issues and get things done. Running for office was never in her plans, but when she saw her town being split by the way schools were funded, she decided to get involved at the state level to make a difference. As a Representative (Jericho, Underhill and Bolton) and then as Minority Leader, Gaye worked in a nonpartisan way to make progress on critical issues like fair school funding, civil rights, access to healthcare, energy efficiency assistance for low-income Vermonters, workforce development, boosting higher education scholarships, climate change and growing our rural economy.
In 2003, realizing that the Legislature was not moving in a direction that reflected Vermont’s values, Gaye worked tirelessly to recruit new Democratic candidates to run for the House of Representatives. Her colleagues elected her unanimously to be Speaker in 2005 and 2007.
Before entering politics, Gaye was a senior fiscal manager for non-profits, started a whole grain bakery, and earned an MBA from Cornell University. Her work in the non-profit sector involved implementing accounting systems and sound fiscal management practices to strengthen the organizations for which she worked. She has a B.A. in art with a concentration in environmental studies from Williams College. Always curious to learn more, she has studied land use law, energy efficiency and solar design.

After moving to Jericho, Vermont in 1988, Gaye jumped into working on various projects in town. Over the next six years she co-founded the Community Center, volunteered for library and school activities, served on the board of the Vermont Community Loan Fund and the Vermont Education and Health Finance Agency, and was a founding member of the Mount Mansfield Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.
When the Legislature is not in session, Gaye can be found on the sidelines of AAU basketball games, Chittenden East Youth Football, and Mount Mansfield High School soccer and tennis matches, or on the Nordic trails at Bolton Valley Resort. She and her family still reside in Jericho.

Goals:

I’m running for Governor because I believe in Vermont. I know we have everything it takes to build a better future except a strong leader to point the way.

Jim Douglas has failed to deliver results for average Vermonters. Our job growth is the slowest in New England. Our roads and bridges are crumbling. Fuel and healthcare costs are out of control. The jobs being created don't pay enough for workers to afford a modest 2-bedroom apartment. In addition, we have no plan to build in-state sources of renewable power, we have done too little on energy efficiency and many Vermonters are struggling to afford health care bills and rising premiums.

After three terms in office, it’s time to hold Jim Douglas accountable. I have a positive new vision for Vermont. We can create great new jobs by building on our “green” reputation. We can grow our economy by investing in roads, rail, and high-speed internet access. We can generate clean energy and good jobs at the same time by developing renewable sources of power. We can transform our healthcare system by paying doctors to keep people healthy instead of just treating them when they are sick. And we can create a strong future for our state by expanding quality childcare and helping every Vermont child start school ready to learn.

These are just some of steps we need to take to create a stronger Vermont.

Issues:

Creating jobs that pay enough to afford the cost of living and addressing the growing income gap.

Developing renewable sources of power and boosting energy efficiency.

Continuing to reform our health care system so that Vermonters can get the care they need, when they need it at a price they can afford.

Grassroots Support:

Gaye Symington is running to shift Vermont into gear. And as DFA members know, that kind of change can only come from the grassroots.
Fortunately for Gaye, and everyone who wants to take our country back, the 2008 election is being held in a political climate unlike any we’ve seen before. Barack Obama’s historic presidential campaign has excited millions of new activists, especially young people. And in that climate of excitement and possibility lies our best chance to win.

By running a grassroots campaign, led by regular Vermonters in their own communities, Gaye Symington will turn Vermont's conventional
political wisdom on its head. Our goal is to talk to more voters than any gubernatorial campaign in history – over 200,000 conversations this summer alone -- on the way to winning the election. A key to achieving these ambitious goals is not simply to offer Vermonters a chance to get involved, but to lead our campaign. Volunteer County
Coordinators are already working hard in many Vermont counties as leaders and managers of our campaign. And we welcome the involvement
of DFA chapters state-wide. Together we have a chance to defy the talking heads and odds-makers and elect a real progressive Democrat as
our next Governor.

DFA Values:

Gaye Symington played a critical role in passing civil unions legislation. She was the architect of the bill that brought equity in school finding to Vermont so that children in poor communities would not receive a lesser education. She insisted that the state address the problem of uninsured and underinsured Vermonters Gaye Symington has always proposed funding mechanisms for her legislative initiatives with the goal of fiscal responsibility and equal sharing of the cost of state programs. She has strongly opposed the fiscally reckless policy of allowing the owners of Vermont Yankee to partially fund their decommissioning account and not provide a guarantee that they will pay the full cost of shutting down the plant.