By Guy Page

Thomas Salmon – centrist Democrat governor, president of UVM, president of Green Mountain Power, and unflagging supporter of Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant – died Tuesday, January 13 at a Brattleboro nursing home. He was 92. 

Born in the heart of the Midwest, Salmon’s early life began in Cleveland, Ohio, before his family relocated to Stow, Massachusetts. Growing up in the New England town, Salmon attended Hudson High School in nearby Hudson, Massachusetts. His academic pursuits led him to Boston College, where he earned his undergraduate degree in 1954 and a Juris Doctor from Boston College Law School in 1957. He attained an LL.M. in taxation from New York University Law School in 1958.

Salmon married Madeleine G. Savaria, with whom he had four children. His legacy in public service extended to his son, Thomas M. Salmon – “young Tom” – who served as the State Auditor of Vermont from 2007 to 2013.

Early political career

In 1959, Salmon’s political journey commenced as a Town Councilor for Rockingham, a role he held until 1972. His commitment to public service saw him serve as a municipal court judge in Bellows Falls, from 1963 to 1965. Salmon’s legislative career advanced as he became a member of the Vermont House of Representatives, representing Rockingham and District 13-1 at various intervals from 1965 to 1970. His leadership qualities were recognized when he served a term as House Minority Leader.

Governor of Vermont: 1973-1977

Salmon’s gubernatorial aspirations materialized in a surprising victory in 1972, a campaign he launched only three months before the general election. His tenure as Governor of Vermont, from 1973 to 1977, was marked by active participation in regional and national governance. He chaired the New England Governors’ Conference for two consecutive years and held a seat on the National Governors Association’s Executive Committee.

Despite his accomplishments as governor, Salmon faced a challenging U.S. Senate race in 1976, ultimately losing to incumbent Senator Robert Stafford.

In 1991, Salmon was appointed as the interim president of the University of Vermont, later serving as the university’s permanent president from 1993 to 1998. Following his retirement from UVM, he returned to practicing law in Bellows Falls, Vermont. Additionally, Salmon held the position of chairman of the board for Green Mountain Power from 1983 to 2002.

Longtime State House lobbyist Allison Crowley Demag is the daughter of former Sen. Thomas Crowley, who as a Senate Democrat worked closely with Salmon during his years in the State House and the governor’s office. Through her own recollections and those of her father, she recalls Salmon as a sharp-witted, smart, kind governor. “He treated everyone in this building the same, whether they were a judge or a janitor,” she said. 

Witnessed prison riot

VDC reader Wayne Dyer recalls his presence at a prison riot in the mid-1970’s. “There was a big escape and minor take over of the state prison in Windsor. A few dozen prisoners barricaded themselves in the yard. After a while troopers got a way inside and formed a line with helmets and riot batons. When we advanced the prisoners surrendered. 

‘When things were safe the governor came down into the yard with the press and thanked us for doing an excellent job. He said he watched it all from up in a tower/observation place and said, ‘No one’s rights were violated.’ I always figured he saved some lawsuits and investigations.”

Vermont Yankee advocate

The photo at the top of this news story was taken at a Vermont Public Service Board hearing when the future of the power plant hung in the balance. Although a court eventually determined that the State of Vermont didn’t have the right to deny the plant a license, a combination of factors (including the low cost of natural gas) caused the contract-less plant to be closed. But it wasn’t for lack of trying on Salmon’s part.

Salmon was a founding member of the Vermont Energy Partnership, a grassroots non-profit formed to keep Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant open. A blog post he authored on the Yes Vermont Yankee website provides insight into Salmon’s early Vermont years and why he so vociferously – if belatedly – backed the state’s largest power generator ever. 

“In 1958, when I moved from Boston to Bellows Falls, Vermont was something of an economic and political backwater. The economy was stagnant and political loyalties were virtually unchanged since the Civil War. More people moved out than moved in. Not until 1963 did the human population exceed the bovine.

“Construction on the Interstate Highway began in 1957. Many visitors followed the freeway north to the ski resorts, lakes and woodlands of “Vermont: The Beckoning Country,” so styled by Gov. Phil Hoff and his tourism expert, Al Moulton. Of course many loved what they saw and stayed. With them came fresh energy, ideas, and human and financial capital.

“As our population and industrial base grew, so did our need for reliable, low-cost, smog-free electricity. In the mid-1960’s the Legislature faced a hard choice: buy hydro power from Labrador, or build an instate nuclear power plant. I favored the former. The struggle was intense, the vote close. Vermont Yankee won. Did the ‘losers,’ myself included, take our bats and balls and go home? No, we closed ranks behind Vermont Yankee. Politics, then, took second place to presenting a unified front for creating plentiful, low-cost, clean electricity.”

Howard Shaffer, another strong Vermont Yankee advocate, wrote a blog post for the American Nuclear Society about the November, 2012 public service board gathering. Two photos of Salmon remain. In one, he’s testifying – likely saying much the same as his testimonial printed above. 

In the other (above), he’s seen at the podium of a pre-meeting rally of Entergy workers. I was there (seen in the background, right, to left of VTEP President Bradley Ferland). Gov. Salmon opened his remarks as he always did: 

Brief pause. Then the ice-breaker: “Unaccustomed as I am to public speaking…..” After the laughter subsided, he praised everyone there who had labored for decades to operate Vermont Yankee safely. On their behalf, he closed: “In the words of St. Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have run the race.”

The author is the editor of the Vermont Daily Chronicle and the former Communications Director of the Vermont Energy Partnership.