Dunne launches campaign for governor
Toolbox
By DANIEL BARLOW Vermont Press Bureau - Published: November 4, 2009
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION – Former State Sen. Matt Dunne announced Tuesday morning that he would run for Vermont governor next year, joining an already crowd mix of Democrats seeking to replace the retiring Gov. James Douglas.
Surrounded by family, friends and media at the Tip-Top Café in White River Junction's downtown, Dunne cast himself as the political outsider who would come to Montpelier with new ideas as the state moves out of the first decade of the new century.
"One year from now, Vermont will enter a new era," Dunne said, exactly one year after President Obama was elected and one year before Vermonters will elect a new governor. "One year from now, a new chapter of Vermont history will be written."
Dunne, who served 11 years in the Vermont Legislature before his unsuccessful run for lieutenant governor in 2006, briefly laid out a political platform that focused on job growth, education and technology.
He also talked about kids – that is, the hundreds of kids who leave Vermont each year.
Dunne read from an e-mail sent to him by Matt Brewer, a senior at Essex High School, who worried that there will soon be a "lost generation of Vermont" as children leave the state for college and don't return due to a lack of opportunities.
"I want to spend the rest of my life in Vermont," said Dunne, reading from Brewer's e-mail. "But I worry that the best and brightest will be unable to work and live in the state they live."
Born in Hartland, Dunne, who turns 40 years old this month, served eight years in the Vermont House right after graduating from Brown University. He later served two terms in the Vermont Senate before running against Republican Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie in 2006, losing by six percent of the vote.
When he wasn't serving at the Statehouse, Dunne worked for AmeriCorps Vista and Dartmouth College. He now works for Google and has an office in White River Junction, a town that he said exemplifies "Vermont ingenuity at work."
Dunne enters a crowded Democratic primary for governor. Dunne is the fourth to announce and joins Chittenden Sen. Doug Racine, Secretary of State Deb Markowitz, and Lamoille Sen. Susan Bartlett. Windham Sen. Peter Shumlin is also soon expected to announce his own campaign.
The winner of that contest will likely face Dubie, a Republican, in the November 2010 election. Dubie is not expected to face a primary challenge.
Dunne said Tuesday that he expects the primary election to be civil among his fellow Democrats.
"Vermonters don't like negative campaigning," he said. "The candidate who goes negative does so at their own peril."
Racine welcomed Dunne to the race in a statement released Tuesday afternoon, saying, "I appreciate Matt's focus on the future."
"I am hopeful that a Democratic primary will allow a rich discussion on issues that are important to Vermonters – how to restore our middle class by creating jobs and building an economic infrastructure for our state that supports small businesses," Racine wrote.
Among the Vermonters who attended Dunne's campaign announcement was Patricia Richardson of Hartland. She has been a friend of Dunne's family for years ("I know Matt's mother," she said, adding, "I've known Matt since before he was born.") and wore a campaign pin from his first run for the Vermont Senate.
"He's young, he's smart and he's hard working," she said, when asked why Dunne the candidate appeals to her.
Dunne has a lot going for him as a candidate, according to Eric Davis, a retired political science professor from Middlebury College. In addition to being young, energetic and having an ability to raise lots of money, he also strongly appeals to young votes, Davis said.
But his weaknesses are also strong, Davis said. In addition to already losing one race against Dubie (a trait he shares with Shumlin, Davis noted, Dunne's Montpelier experience is short compared to other candidates, he said, and someone with more hands-on history may have an advantage.
"Voters, I suspect, will turn to someone with more experience during difficult times," Davis said. "Matt's candidacy could be hurt by the remorse that some feel about Obama now."
Daniel.Barlow@timesargus.com.
41