Co-deans of House see a loss of cooperation
Toolbox
By CARLA OCCASO Times Argus Staff - Published: January 3, 2006
Reps. Cola Hudson, R-Lyndon, and Michael Obuchowski, D-Rockingham, have spent over 30 years together in the Vermont House of Representatives, and though they're from opposing parties and nearly 30 years apart in age, there's one thing they both heartily agree on: The Vermont House isn't like it used to be.
The biggest change? A decline in cooperation and decorum over the years.
Obuchowski and Hudson are "co-deans" of the House, with the longest tenure of any representatives in the Legislature. This entitles them to special parking spaces and little else in the way of perks, but it gives them a lot of perspective on the political process.
Both were elected in 1972, the year Democrat Thomas Salmon surprised observers and beat Luther F. Hackett to be elected governor. Each entered the House for different reasons, but both said they stay out of concern for the people they represent. (Both also declined to say whether they plan to run again next year.)
Hudson, who turned 80 last summer, first ran at age 46 when the House seat in his area opened up and his employer agreed to keep his job open while he was gone.
Fifty-three-year-old Obuchowski, the youngest of the "old guard," ran at the tender age of 19 when he became frustrated by how his letters questioning the poll tax were ignored by local politicians. The tax was phased out not long after Obuchowski was elected, and he later went on to hold the position of speaker from 1995 to 2001.
Just before their first session began, in addition to freshman orientation, Obuchowski said the novice legislators received lessons on formal etiquette within the House chambers. When they took their seats in January 1973, Obuchowski said veteran lawmaker Graham Newell of St. Johnsbury took freshmen legislators aside and tutored them on how to comport themselves using proper procedures and manners.
That sort of tutoring has fallen by the wayside, he said.
"He (Newell) would stress how we had the opportunity to be different than other folks and we should conduct ourselves as (if we were at) a big town meeting," Obuchowski said. "You go to town meetings in Vermont and they are orderly. Over time we've lost some of that respect for each other and each other's thoughts and that may be due to the ugly head of partisanship playing a bigger role."
Obuchowski said one of the biggest changes over the years is how politics has evolved into a more partisan affair, perhaps due to the change in political balance, with a Democratic majority now in the House and Senate and a Republican governor.
When he started, there were 52 Democrats, and when he was speaker the number grew to 89. Both Obuchowski and Hudson say a drop in formality has led to bad habits on the House floor.
"There is a different flavor to the place than there used to be," Hudson said. "The casualness of the system is not good for our process in general (and in particular) the decorum on the floor."
Cooperation is important because when partisanship takes over, politics can trump good policy, Obuchowski said, and he urges junior House members to mind the Golden Rule this coming session and treat others as they wish to be treated. If lawmakers fail to treat each other respectfully, then the institution is not serving Vermonters, as it should, he said.
While they concur on the need for cooperation, Obuchowski and Hudson have very different backgrounds and career memories.
Hudson began his political career in the 1940s as a student at Lyndon Institute, where classmates kept electing him class president. He became a representative after getting permission from the board of the now-defunct Campus School at Lyndon Center, where he worked as a janitor. The school said it would hold open his job when he returned from the session, making it possible to hold his seat, he said.
He said general concerns about school spending and strict environmental legislation were what got him into politics, and those same issues concern him 32 years later, he said.
On health care, Hudson said it will probably not get resolved during the 2006 session, noting the issue is so big each segment of the industry "has a constituency of its own" that will make it hard to gain consensus.
Obuchowski is more hopeful. "It is a very big problem," Obuchowski said. "The number of Vermonters without health care continues to increase. It is a serious problem that demands serious debate, (and) what I worry about is our legislative leaders and the governor will put more energy into politics than policy."
Their politics may differ, but Obuchowski and Hudson have a few things in common. Both are native Vermonters and have long worked regular jobs, Obuchowski as assistant to the president of Basketville, the outlet store in Putney, and Hudson for years as a school janitor.
While Hudson and Obuchowski are the longest-serving members, Rep. David Clark, R-St. Johnsbury is the oldest House member at the age of 83, having served for about 10 years. He plans to keep going as long as people want him to.
"What keeps me there are the issues," Clark said.
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