by Guy Page
With as much pomp and circumstance as the Vermont State House can muster, Gov. Phil Scott was inaugurated Thursday, June 5 into his third term of office as governor of Vermont.
A packed State House of legislators, family members, press and others gave Scott a two-minute standing ovation as he was ushered into Assembly Hall of the House of Representatives. With 16 State Police cruisers parked outside, a color guard of Vermont State Police presented the colors. Singer/actor/teacher Francois Clemmons performed a memorable rendition of the Star Spangled Banner.
In his inaugural remarks, Gov. Scott spoke frankly about the state’s self-imposed transitional challenges economic divide facing Vermont (reported by Journal-Opinion editor Alex Nuti-de Biasi in the JO newsletter):
“And when you are driving 500 miles in one day, you see this data reflects real communities. In an instant, the view goes from vibrant downtowns, healthy neighborhoods and bustling offices, to tarped roofs, abandoned homes and shuttered businesses.”
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“Together, we made the state’s largest-ever investment in substance abuse prevention, which is being deployed as we speak. It’s helping community partners give students meaningful things to do – like afterschool programs, clubs, sports and jobs – where they build healthy relationships, explore opportunities and feel valued. They are also critical to our treatment and recovery efforts, connecting people to services, sharing life-saving resources, and supporting families who desperately need our help.”
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“On one trip, we had planned to power up in Brattleboro. But the only charger fast enough to keep us on schedule had a line of cars waiting, which would have made me late for a few meetings. As Governor, I have State Police security, so I got another ride and was on my way. But others don’t have that luxury. Now to be clear, I still believe EVs are the right way to go. But we have to recognize that many are hesitant because it needs to be easier, more convenient and more affordable to make the switch. We have made great strides, but we need to make sure we are investing in the fastest chargers available. And with all the new EVs and electric heating and cooling systems coming online, we have some serious work to do to make sure our electric grid can accommodate it.”
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“I know a number of you are working to change this. For any legislators who ran on housing as a priority, I hope you join us at the table. Because in order to make the most of the hundreds of millions of dollars we’ve invested and build homes as quickly and affordably as we can, we need smart regulations that reflect the realities of today, and we need them this session.”
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“But we have to remember the decisions we make in this building have real-life consequences on people who don’t show up at fundraisers. Who don’t have the time to call, write, tweet or testify in the State House – because they are too busy working, trying to make ends meet, and raise their family.”
Categories: State Government
“Free and the Brave” … accentuating those words should be a slap in the face to lame liberals who discredit those ideals…
Seems things were working pretty well over here before all the political shenanigans and our legislators infatuation with Commiefornia’s Marxist model. Enjoy your weekend comrades.
Am I right that what’s being outlined here are the plethora of problems faced by our communities. The response of our culture is, as it always has been, pursue your happiness and help those in need around you. However the underling presumption has now become “you aren’t doing this properly” so government management is necessary…there’s apparently a broad consensus for this idea considering how we’ve voted. Our governor has now reiterated this with eloquent passion and our representatives have cheered their resounding agreement.
QUESTIONS: though community difficulties likely call for community action…why have we allowed government to become our go to community agent? Have the “solutions” improved? Is it necessary for citizens to acquiesce in elected officials using majority rule to commandeer the “fixer” role. Are we nurturing a guilty relief that now we don’t have to look to other’s needs because it’s the government’s job? Is this what our forbearers warned us about…the government becoming ascendant over the liberty/ responsibility of citizens?
Governor, I suggest parking your state owned EV and start using a previously used gasoline powered vehicle for your official transportation to demonstrate how frugal people can live.
Have to wonder about the paragraph concerning charging the car. There’s a bank of Tesla chargers just off Canal Street in Brattleboro. Were they all tied up? Or wouldn’t they fast change the state vehicle? Will this become a serious problem as the state makes people switch to electric cars?
“ I still believe EVs are the right way to go. But we have to recognize that many are hesitant because it needs to be easier,”
I’m not hesitant, I’m outright opposed. EVs are trackable, hackable and stoppable (if only everyone had EVs during the lockdowns)…sadly many of the newer ICE vehicles are too. If anyone thinks for one minute they are “saving the earth” by driving an EV, think again. EVs are simply not possible without coal and diesel, to make and transport and let’s not forget the open pit strip mining for lithium and incredibly finite sources of cobalt and nickel…and dare I say the inequitable way that many of these finite rare earth metals are obtained ie; child labor and slave wages. You ain’t savin’ nothin’!
AMEN!!!! I agree with you 100%
Any step backwards as we go forward with greater technology is just wrong. What qualifies as a step backwards – increased cost (cars, battery replacements, home charging stations, etc), convenience (time to recharge, waiting to recharge, and frequency charging is necessary). How will that look for all the people who live in Condos and town homes, apartments, and multi story highrises ? What will be the placement of stations in rural Vermont ? Is the electrical grid in Vermont prepared to recharge all Vermont cars as we get closer to 2030 and 2035 ? The problem with EV is not that we are gaining greener footprint ; it’s we put mandates in front of car mfg, Vermont citizens, to be using the EV vehicle regardless if all the snaggs are worked out or not, and there are plenty of snaggs regardless if it’s financially attainable for many Vermonters. Many Vermonters still are so tightly budgeted (especially in rural VT) that spending $5000 on a car is all many can afford. EV vehicles cost 10 times as much as cars many Vermonters are able to afford. Rual Vermont doesn’t have bus service , or any other public transportation that can easily get people where they need to go.
Gov. Scott doesn’t live in the same world I live in. He lives in a bubble attached to DC. I hear no birds, no bees, the trees are suffering and the air and water are poisoned but… EV cars!
Fixing what ain’t broke – horse and buggies were jes’fine – got us here.
What we accept… we get.
I do not accept HIS reality or HIS world.
I live in a DIFFERENT Vermont.
I choose to live differently.
Better legislate me into illegality!
Two comments.
First, why in the world are we not making it possible for gas station owners to have the charging stations. They are already set up for the traffic with bath rooms and coffee and food. It seems silly to have the charging stations where they other amenities we are used to won’t be there.
Second, Our leaders in Act 250 have forced, since 1970, all new housing to not have electric resistance heating. We need this to be reversed by the legislature right now. All housing subject to the condition that electric resistance heating cannot be used should be able to now put it in.
As an aside, Act 250 has been a major reason that we have not had as much new housing development as we needed. Can we agree that with respect to the problem of being short on housing, it is the people who have been the advocates of Act 250 regulation and control who have caused the problem and it appears they are the same people vowing to get us out of the problem today? How can we let them get involved without questioning their real motives.
“Investments” and “services”? What BS he spews! Let’s keep building MORE and MORE houses until we become New Jersey, bring back the billboards too! And picture EVERY EV as being a “coal fired” vehicle as excepting Hydro Quebec, THAT is what they ARE..Johnson’s right too. EV’s ARE “trackable, hackable, and stopable”, finally, a Government controlled vehicle! If I had the $50,000 for a EV I’d buy a refurbished 1970’s or earlier car or truck & drive a junker on the salted winter roads, these fools belong to a cult, just ask them about the “Younger Dryas Flood” that froze the Woolly Mammoths w/green grass still in their mouths & wait for an answer. The last Ice Age was only 15,000 or so years ago and there were NO man-made levels of CO2 in the atmosphere, “Climate Crisis” my BUTT!
How about writing a law that say, the state can only mandate electric powered anything and everything, to the limit of the power generated wholly in Vermont. — that will wake up the wokes who can’t think clearly. And none of them can.