Shumlin: Guard involvement not political
Toolbox
By Peter Hirschfeld Vermont Press Bureau - Published: October 27, 2009
COLCHESTER – Senate President Peter Shumlin has been coy about his political ambitions in 2010 but is widely expected to enter the race for governor sometime next month.
So when the Putney Democrat convened a well-publicized press event Monday to spotlight his attempts to help soldiers in the largest call-up of the Vermont National Guard since World War II, Shumlin faced questions about whether the event was as much about a nascent gubernatorial campaign as it was about the troops.
Asked whether he was concerned if Shumlin was using the Guard to buoy his own political profile, Brigadier General Jonathan Farnham said that wasn't a question for him to answer.
Sen. Vince Illuzzi, an Essex County Republican, quickly jumped in.
"We've been talking about how to help the Guard since we first heard about the deployment," Illuzzi said. "This is not some last-minute decision but something we've been working on for months. And to suggest it's about anything other than helping the soldiers would be unfair."
Sen. Robert Carris next rallied to his party-mate's defense.
"There's no conflict at all politically," said Carris, a Rutland County Democrat. "This is just the right thing to do at the right time."
For his own part, Shumlin said he wants to use his position to leverage whatever support he can for the soldiers. If he can use his public profile to raise awareness, and money, for an issue facing guardsmen, he said, then he's obliged to do so.
Besides, he said, the effort has the explicit support of Maj. Gen. Michael Dubie, head of the Vermont National Guard and brother, incidentally, of the state's presumptive Republican candidate in the 2010 general election for governor.
"My guess is that if Gen. Dubie thought this was to help a gubernatorial campaign, he probably wouldn't have signed on," Shumlin said.
Illuzzi and Shumlin said they've heard from hundreds of Vermonters seeking ways to aid the deploying troops and their families. They also have been contacted by soldiers and families distraught over the prospect of spending Christmas unnecessarily separated from their loved ones.
While state lawmakers have little power to use the legislative process to solve the problem, Illuzzi said, taking a public role in a worthwhile charity is one way they can help.
"I've heard from soldiers and families in the Newport area who aren't going to be able to be together for Christmas because they can't afford the place ticket," Illuzzi said. "Here's something we can do to help, and we're taking that opportunity."
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