Con Hogan

Con Hogan is Vermont’s independent candidate in the gubernatorial election. His platform is based on Vermont family values and community based living.

He considers himself instilled with a strong sense of duty, and able to bring differing factions together for the common good.

In the past he has worked largely in human services; his work has had a focus on the interests of children, families and communities.

Education has become a pivotal issue in the 2002 elections. Hogan believes that the state should resolve the financial issues surrounding its public education not through increased spending, which he regards as having little impact, but rather, by redirecting funding to schools in a more efficient manner. Hogan has been quoted as saying, “It is not a problem of formulas. It is a spending problem.”

He would also like to see parents have more discretion over where their children go to school and would like to see the money follow the students.

Related to this is the state’s growing concern for the surprising number of Vermont students who are dismissed from the University of Vermont due to their inability to maintain the requisite grades.

Hogan has taken on a synthesizing attitude where the economy and the environment are concerned. Vermont, in his opinion, has not developed a mutually beneficial relationship between the two and he aims to accomplish this.

Hogan wants to see businesses thrive in an environmentally sound manner, enabling the economic climate to thrive while providing the natural aspects of the state to remain pure and intact. He believes that the two can and will serve to further each other’s purpose as long as there is strong guidance in the execution of the policy.

Hogan would like voters to see him as someone who will continue to push Vermont in the right direction, and as someone who has always come through in the best interest of the people.

Through an overall modernization of the state government, Hogan will attempt to bring the state’s budget to a fiscally responsible level, while keeping Vermont’s sense of community and tradition intact.



Jim Douglas

Republican candidate Jim Douglas is currently state treasurer and aims to become the first Republican in a decade to hold the governorship.

“Two of the main budget areas that I will focus on are job creation and higher education.”

Douglas made clear his commitment to higher education. “As governor, I plan to increase the It is imperative that higher education in Vermont be a priority and I plan to work with President Fogel in order to find ways to lower tuition costs for students.”

Vermont spends more money per capita on education than every other state save one.

While this is a positive thing, Douglas hopes to see that money being employed in more a more efficient manner.

He hopes to see more opportunity for parents to send their students to the schools they’d like to see them attend.

Douglas also sees the incredible rise in the use of heroin as representative of a larger, and growing drug problem.

He would work hard to combat this and will focus on drug education and prevention.

Economically Douglas sees the need for better paying jobs as the most pressing concern. “Job creation has also been one of the key issues of my campaign.

In today’s job market it is very challenging for young people straight out of college to find work, especially in Vermont.

I know first hand because my oldest son Matt, who just graduated college, couldn’t find a job here. Instead he was forced to leave and now has a good, high-paying job in Massachussetts.

No longer should college graduates be Vermont’s greatest export.

“I will streamline the regulatory process and will lower taxes to attract new high-tech, high-paying jobs to the area.”

Douglas is Vermont’s Republican voice in the gubernatorial elections and would like to provide Vermonters with enough opportunities that no one, as his slogan proclaims, should have to leave the state on account of a dearth of economic possibilities.

The office of lieutenant governor is also being voted on in the midterm elections this november. Anthony Pollina is a progressive candidate with some fresh ideas and the drive to want to get things done in Vermont.

As he puts it, “I will redefine the office of Lt. Governor as an advocate for the people of the state of Vermont.”

He has been utilizing a grassroots type campaign in trying to get the people to fight for the issues that they consider important.

Education has become a pertinent issue amongst Vermonters because the current educational system relies heavily upon local jurisdictions to bear the heaviest burden when it comes to financing public schools. Hogan would try to redirect the source of the funding to come from income taxes rather than property taxes. This would centralize the school system and allow for more funding to reach less affluent districts. Pollina wants greater funding for schools across all levels including those at the collegiate level.

This directly affects the University of Vermont in that, with greater state funding the cost of education at UVM might go down from its current status of highest in the nation.

The environment has always been a priority for Pollina, and his devotion to it is responsible for his decision concerning it. Vermont farmers have always weighed heavily in elections as they are vital to the state’s economy.

Pollina would like the voter to see him as a Progressive candidate with the welfare of Vermonters being the focus of his campaign. He will try to reform the office of Lieutenant Governor and in so doing, achieve a greater unity amongst people from all over the state.

Brian Dubie, the Republican candidate for Lt. Gvnr., anticipates victory. Dubie graduated from UVM before serving as a commander in the Vermont Air Guard and with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He received a Meritorious Service Medal for his coordination of emergency response teams at Ground Zero. Most of his political experience is at the local level, though he opposed Doug Racine in the 2000 lieutenant gubernatorial election.

Dubie identifies his primary goal as helping to create a healthy job market. “When I graduated from UVM I had five or six job offers to choose from. I want UVM students to have the same opportunities.” Dubie has pledged to support UVM both financially and emotionally.

“UVM is Vermont’s flagship educational institution. It needs money but it also needs cheerleaders to help with marketing.” He also pointed to the potential for job creation stemming from University programs. He highlighted the $64 million in grants to the College of Medicine, which have spawned start-up businesses, and pointed to similar possibilities for the College of Engineering and the College of Agriculture. “This has the potential to make a real difference in economic development.”

For more information please visit their respective webistes:

www.conhogan.com

www.jimdouglas.org

www.anthonypollina.com

www.briandubie.com