I have taken a very close look at running for governor of Vermont and decided against it. Met with potential campaign managers, digital directors, community leaders, and folks of every stripe. After 30 years around politics, policy and media, it was a bracing experience to understand what goes into a modern campaign. 

I thought we could run a professional and dignified campaign on an agenda of transforming Vermont into the modern state it needs to become for its citizens. 

The reasons to run are below. But I came to a “No’’ decision for now because to run for governor you have to be ALL IN. If you can’t treat it as a full-time job, you shouldn’t do it. 

Also – The system is broken. To be a serious candidate, you must spend four hours a day calling rich people and asking them for money. While national candidates like Bernie have proven otherwise, Vermont is too rural to raise all your money on line. The money you raise goes to pay campaign staff and buy advertising from TV and radio stations and Facebook at exorbitant prices. That process inevitably compromises your views. And that hurts your ability to have an honest discussion of what we need to do. 

Lastly, the current candidates are good. It looks like Governor Phil Scott will face Democrat Rebecca Holcombe or Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman. All are smart and best of all care deeply about Vermont and its future. They will have a vigorous discussion about the future. 

So I am passing this time around and reserving the right to run in two years. I will keeping pushing my ideas/proposals on this blog and speaking out more forcefully on the direction I believe Vermont needs to take. 

Here is why I wanted to run:

• Vermont is in neutral. We have not yet agreed upon the need to transform the state from a agricultural/tourism economy to a 21st century innovation society. Until we agree on that, we will head toward the economic cliff of aging baby-boomers and those dependent on social services for their welfare. 

• We cling to a political sacred cow of large-scale dairy farming, which produces an unhealthy product wanted by few customers through a process of animal confinement and water pollution that threatens our drinking water and ecosystems. Regenerative ag is the future. 

• We see progress only in terms of taxes vs. no taxes. Carbon tax vs. no carbon tax. Minimum wage hike vs. no minimum wage hike. Such paralysis means we go backward. We can do better. 

• We are argue over whether people are leaving for Florida or not, ignoring why we need 20,000 new people to come here. Four Syrian families in Rutland? We need 20,000 new Vermonters from whatever country. They will start businesses, fill our schools, build homes, start new clubs and communities. They will enrich and reinvigorate our culture, the way the hippie refugees did in the 60s and 70s.

• We need to lead in our politics. I remember when Dick Snelling, a Republican governor, walked over to the office of Democratic House Speaker Ralph Wright and asked his help in raising taxes to fill a budget gap. We seem to have lost that willingness on both sides to work together.  

• Diversity is not a box to check. It is a business model. You can’t create a new future with the people of the past. Women and people of color should be all over state government and business. To say it is too hard is a lazy excuse. Our congressional delegation is all men. Too many white men are running for office because women still handle most of the domestic duty. That needs to change. A white male needs to step aside for a woman in a statewide race this year. 

• Transparency is essential. Too often state government is limiting public access to government records. 

• The climate emergency. I am not a perfect liberal Democrat on several issues, including this one. I don’t think Vermont can afford a carbon tax, although I think it is the right policy nationally. But we can lead on climate resiliency. We can require net zero buildings, resiliency in all construction and make massive investments in efficiency. Shut down our fossil fuel economy now and innovate to electric. 

• Redo the tax system – Start with the Schubart commission proposals. Stop subsidizing wealthy white people like me with home mortgage deductions and current-use tax breaks. 

• Health Care – Let’s get honest about the new Big Tobacco – soda and giant food companies, Google/Facebook/Amazon. Our addiction to screens and processed food are killing us and destroying our economy and our citizens. These companies should either stop pushing this junk on Vermonters or at least pay for the privilege. Pay doctors and hospitals for health, not tests. If OneCare can’t do it, tell UVM to find a better way. 

• Democracy – Big tech is a threat to our Democracy. Urge schools to ban cell phones during class time.  And urge Leahy/Sanders/Welch to support the breakup and strict regulation of these companies. Capitalism is a means to a healthier society, not the blind enrichment of the few. 

• Commission on the Future of Vermont – We need a shared consensus on where we go from here. Gather the best minds of all ages and persuasions and have at it. Report back to the legislature in a year and move the state forward. 

There is lots more around innovation, rural economic development, coding, the importance of UVM and more. But that is the beginning of a platform in 2022.