This week the Vermont Senate rejected Governor Phil Scott’s appointment of Zoie Saunders to serve as the state’s Education Secretary. Most of the governor’s weekly briefing today focused on the implications of that debate.
The appointment of Saunders was defeated on a 19 to 9 vote on Tuesday in the Democratically-controlled Senate. Governor Scott, a Republican, said the result was disappointing but not unexpected. He immediately named Saunders Interim Secretary.
“I have the constitutional obligation to fill a vacancy and so I decided to move forward anticipating what might happen to give the agency itself, the Agency of Education, some stability that they desperately need,” Scott said. “And I knew that Zoie (Saunders) was well prepared. She’d been on the job for two – three weeks and could hit the ground running. I still believe she’s the right person at the right time for this position. So I thought we’d just fill that interim position with the Secretary of Education that we’ve started with.”
Because Scott appointed an interim cabinet member during the legislative session, the Legislature may have standing to legally challenge his decision. Scott says he’s not worried.
“It may be a theory. It may be something that the courts may have to decide. I’m not a constitutional authority but I think we’re on solid ground,” asserted Scott.
Scott noted that he watched the Senate confirmation debate.
“I think Senator Cummings said it best when she gave her remarks in terms of a toxic atmosphere and partisanship.”
During debate, Washington District Democrat Ann Cummings decried intense opposition to Saunders.
“I have never felt this bad about Vermont because I’m learning that we aren’t any different,” Cummings said. “We may be blue but we can be as vicious as anyone else.”
Opponents of Saunders’ confirmation question her experience and vision, including her understanding of Vermont’s system for financing schools and her experience with charter schools, which Vermont does not have.
Again, Scott.
“I think this was a partisan political hit job,” asserted Scott. “So I would say that once they get through that and they get their pound of flesh, which they did, it was all against me that maybe they will come to their senses and see what I see and confirm her next time if that’s the path we choose.”
Questions eventually ventured into the upcoming fall campaign. Governor Scott says he’s heard about former Democratic Governor Howard Dean considering a run for governor – over 20 years after he left the office.
“Interesting. I don’t know if that’s true or not. I haven’t heard from him,” noted Scott. “The only thing I will tell you is, and you can take this one to the bank, that 24 years from now I will not be on the ballot.”
Scott did reiterate that he will make his decision regarding his plans to seek a fifth two-year term after the legislative session. But he did offer hints during a discussion about the atmosphere in the statehouse.
“In some respects some of what we’ve experienced over the last couple of weeks would lead me to jump back in because I think that we can do better,” Scott said. “I don’t want to give up on Vermont. And sometimes, you know, the stars align in different ways and they are not aligning in the ways that we should be proud of here in Vermont, but across the country either. So I think it takes leadership to rise above that. If I can provide that leadership effectively then that may be part of my decision.”
Students have set up protest camps at the University of Vermont and Middlebury College. The governor said he believes in the First Amendment right to assemble peacefully and so far the students in Vermont have done so.
