Goveror Douglas Moderates Middlebury Town Meeting

Author: Peter Faroni

Amidst a flurry of media excitement, Gov. James Douglas '72 ran the Middlebury Town Meeting on Monday, March 3, making this his 17th consecutive year as moderator. The back of the town's municipal gym was transformed into a press gallery complete with two television cameras, two photographers and a number of newspaper reporters.
Middlebury residents were taken aback by all the commotion. Robin Scheu, a local resident, commented, "We're all the same people we were a year ago." The difference, however, is that while last year Douglas was the state treasurer, this year he is the governor.
Douglas addressed the town residents by name from behind a lectern at the front of the room. Attendees noted that he ran the meeting in a business-like and professional manner, performing his role comfortably. The Middlebury meeting maintained a personal, small-town feel as Douglas conducted votes out loud. "All in favor of adopting article four, signify by saying aye. All opposed. The ayes have it, and you've adopted article four."
The biggest item on the agenda at the meeting was the town budget. After a 30-minute discussion, Middlebury residents adopted the $5 million budget for the 2004 fiscal year. Additionally, voters in Union District 3 approved a nearly $15 million budget for Middlebury Union High School and Middlebury Union Middle School. Votes from the seven Addison County towns were tallied on the night of March 4. All said, the budget represents an increase of 8.2 percent over the current year's spending. Middlebury residents will see a 6.5 percent increase in their tax rates as a result.
Other items on the agenda that night were town offices, for which all candidates were unopposed. Peg Martin and John Tenny were reelected to the Select Board for three-year terms. Rebecca Day-Saward and incumbents Jean Rosenberg and Richard Thodal will serve three-year terms as Middlebury Union High School directors. Ted Shambo gained 62 votes as a write-in candidate for Mary Hogan Elementary School director.
Middlebury residents did not express surprise that Douglas would continue the tradition of moderating the town meeting. He is currently on the ballot to be elected to his 18th term as moderator and is running unopposed.
Douglas saw no reason to relinquish his service to the community after becoming governor. "I never gave it a second thought," Douglas said. "I enjoyed being a municipal official all these years." He pointed out that he has no reason not to moderate. The meetings are in the evening when both he and his wife, Dorothy, are able to attend. He only expressed reservations over the media coverage, which he worried could interfere with the meeting.
Middlebury resident Peggy Rush praised Douglas, saying, "In all seriousness, he has a very strong ethic of service and it's really important to him." Resident Elizabeth Whittemore was also pleased to see Douglas continue to play the role of moderator. "He's putting politics where it should be, at the local level," she said.