Shumlin Delivers Final State of State Address

On January 7, Governor of Vermont Peter Shumlin delivered his sixth and final State of the State address, in which he reflected on his successes in office — and the challenges that lie ahead for Vermont. Shumlin has elected not to run in the upcoming gubernatorial election, ending his five year stretch as governor.

In the hourlong address, Shumlin maintained a proud and defiant tone.

“We started at the trough of the Great Recession, unsure whether we’d be able to build back,” he said. “Soon after, Irene struck. We were down and we got knocked down again. But we stood back up.”

In the beginning of his speech, Shumlin outlined what he saw as the most important goals for the state: a dynamic economy, an improved education system, a renewable energy policy, a reformed criminal justice system, and affordable and effective health care statewide.

Of these issues, Shumlin first addressed the economy. “We added 17,600 new jobs in the last five years,” he began, “and have grown per capita incomes at or above the national rate every year I have been Governor. That has never happened in Vermont’s history.”

Shumlin also described an “agricultural renaissance” that has accounted for 4,400 new jobs in Vermont.

“In the past two years,” he said, “I’ve had the privilege of moving the Best Cheese in America award from one Vermont farm to another Vermont farm. Take that Wisconsin.”

Shumlin warned, however, that without effective education reform, this economic recovery could be hindered.

The biggest problem for most employers, claimed Shumlin, was their inability to find  “trained and educated workers to help them grow. They know that our success in moving more low-income Vermont kids beyond high school will determine their success.”

Accordingly, Shumlin’s new budget will include a grant of 250 dollars to every college-bound Vermonter, and 500 dollars for every low-income college-bound student.

The governor also announced a new education program, called Step Up, which will fund a semester of free courses and support services for first generation and low income students.
Shumlin also warned that failing to address climate change could threaten to derail this economic recovery.

“The most tropical Christmas in memory,” he warned, “reminds us that climate change threatens the Vermont we love, from our ski season to our lakes. That’s why we are working so hard to move to green, clean renewable energy that is  creating jobs, reducing power rates and putting money in Vermonters pockets while we do it.”

That Vermont has more clean energy jobs per capita than any other state, and solar power has replaced nuclear as the primary energy provider during peak energy hours, are two facts that Shumlin pointed to as indicators of progress.

Yet Shumlin pushed the envelope further, urging legislators to follow California’s lead and send him a divestiture bill.

“[Pollution] sickens our children, creates acid rain, dumps mercury on our forests and in our lakes and increases greenhouse gas emissions,” Shumlin said.

In what he described as “a page right out of big tobacco,” Shumlin slammed ExxonMobil for their complicity in climate change and their efforts to obscure the truth.

“Vermont should not wait to rid ourselves of ExxonMobil stock,” he said. “It has been clearly documented that since the 1980’s, ExxonMobil’s own scientists have long known about the dangers of global warming, and chose to conceal that from the public.”

Shumlin then addressed opiate addiction in Vermont, a topic to which he dedicated his entire 2014 State of the State address. At the time, he said that opiate addiction was a threat to Vermonters’ very way of life.

Shumlin launched a closing salvo at the FDA, which he described as the very root of the problem: “In 2010, we prescribed enough OxyContin to keep every adult in America high for an entire month; by 2012 we issued enough prescriptions to give every American adult their own personal bottle of pills ... The $11 billion-dollar a year opiate industry in America knows no shame.”

In response to this overprescription, Shumlin sought to set a limit at the number of pills patients could bring home after a procedure, to expand ‘take back programs’ to reobtain painkillers, and to prevent addicts from acquiring drugs outside state lines.

Next, Shumlin widened his attack to include not only the FDA and painkillers, but the illegality of marijuana. Citing the state’s relative success in regulating medical marijuana, Shumlin advocated to end the “era of prohibition that is currently failing us so miserably.”

Shumlin explained that he would insist that five things must occur if he were to sign a bill legalizing marijuana. They include finding a way to keep the drugs out of the hands of underage kids, a tax low enough to still wipe out illicit drug networks, using the revenue from legalization to expand treatment programs, increasing law-enforcement capabilities vis-a-vis impaired drivers, and a temporary ban on edibles.

Shumlin used his concluding remarks to address a moral issue facing the state: the acceptance of Syrian refugees.

“I believe Vermont must not abandon its long heritage of being a welcoming state to those who are escaping unimaginable horror to seek a better life,” he said.

“We are blessed to live in a state where so many reject fear and hatred and I pledge to continue to work together with President Obama, our refugee resettlement community, clergy, volunteers, and our mayors to make our state a beacon of hope and hospitality to Muslims, to our Syrian brothers and sisters, and to all who seek to build a better life right here in Vermont.”

He then thanked the Vermont people for the opportunity to serve as governor, and stepped back from the podium.