COLCHESTER – Phil Scott navigated the crowd in the "garage" showroom that is home to Sen. Dick Mazza's Corvette collection on a recent August evening.
The Republican lieutenant governor glad-handed Republicans, Democrats, lobbyists and business leaders — a gathering in support of Scott's re-election campaign that his Democratic senator friend had assembled.A honking horn signaled that the crowd should listen-up for a few minutes. WVMT radio personality Charlie Papillo launched a short, joke-filled rally.
The message — from former Gov. Jim Douglas and Mazza as well as the candidate himself: Scott represents civil, open-minded politics.
"It is great to see such a bipartisan crowd," Douglas observed. He wasn't surprised, he said, noting, "Phil Scott is the kind of Vermonter who doesn't worry about someone's party label."
Democrats dominate elected offices in Vermont, holding significant majorities in the House and Senate that are unlikely to erode in the upcoming election. Democrats are also fielding incumbents in all the statewide offices but lieutenant governor. Douglas urged the crowd to help re-elect Scott to "make sure we don't have lopsided government."
Scott recounted how in his first run for lieutenant governor in 2010, he faced a primary challenge from Mark Snelling. Democrat Mazza offered his support immediately, Scott said. A Republican political strategist suggested Scott distance himself from Mazza during the primary, but Scott said he rejected that counsel. Mazza had been his mentor in the state Senate, he said.
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"I didn't want to play bait and switch. I am who I am," Scott said. He promised, if re-elected, to continue practicing politics of inclusion. "We work so much better together."
"I'm here to support a friend," Senate President Pro Tempore John Campbell, D-Windsor, said as he stood near Scott in the Corvette showroom. Campbell qualified his support, saying, "I'm not raising funds for Phil." Nor had he made a personal contribution, he said.
If there had been a Democrat running for lieutenant governor, Campbell said he would have supported that candidate. Dean Corren, Progressive challenger in the race, is unlikely to win Campbell's vote because, Campbell said, of his history of "bashing" the Democratic Party.
For Bob Farnham, it's time to have a supportive lieutenant governor rather just a "nice guy." Farnham, also known as Bob the Green Guy, is an online advocate of energy efficiency measures and renewable energy production.
"The power of Lt. Gov. Phil Scott's tie-breaking vote concerns me, sure," said Farnham. The job of lieutenant governor includes presiding over the Senate and breaking ties when votes are deadlocked.
"But not as much as his, and conservative Democrats', control of the rules committee. They control the committees and decide which bills move forward," Farnham said.
"Renewable energy production, which the state desperately needs, and an overwhelming number of Vermonters support, as well as universal health care-related bills might never see the light of day since Phil and his party are steadfast against them," he said.
Farnham noted that Democrat/Progressive Cassandra Gekas mounted a credible challenge of Scott in 2012 with minimal name recognition and half as much money. "Considering how close the race was last time says a lot about Phil's vulnerability this time around," Farnham said. "I think he's beatable."
Active, not activist
Scott acknowledges he came to politics late in life.
"I had no interest in politics 25 years ago. I didn't have a political bone in my body," he said.
He grew up in Barre, the middle of three boys. His father, a World War II veteran, had been seriously wounded on D-Day and lost both his legs. "I grew up with my Dad in a wheelchair," Scott said. "He was amazing."
His dad died when Scott was 11 and his mother raised her trio of sons. Scott credits his parents for instilling in him a sense of independence and self responsibility.
He described himself as an average student at Spaulding High School in Barre. "I was mechanically inclined. I would take college prep classes in the morning and vocational in the afternoon."
In college, he thought he wanted to become an industrial arts teacher, but his student teaching experience convinced him a classroom wasn't his future.
Instead, he went into motorcycle sales and service — and quickly learned a lesson about the long arm of government. He thought he had all the permits needed to build a shop until he received a cease-and-desist order because he lacked Act 250 approval. Act 250 is a state development law.
"That shut me down. I couldn't continue," Scott said.
He went to work for a well-drilling company until his stepfather and uncle offered him and his cousin the opportunity to take over ownership of Dubois Construction, an earth-moving business.
"I had to beg and sell whatever I could to get $10,000," Scott said, explaining that was the amount he had to raise as a down payment. "We made payments every week for 20 years."
Scott described his stepfather as another mentor. "He was a workaholic. He got married on the Fourth of July so he wouldn't have to take a day off."
"I go in every morning at 6:30 a.m. to open up," Scott said. At the end of the day, "I try to go back and open the mail and mop the floor."
Two years ago, a fire destroyed the company's office and maintenance shop. "We never shut down the business. We have had temporary facilities ever since." He hopes to rebuild, but explained it took a year to settle the insurance claim "and then another year to have enough faith in the economy."
Never grew up
Scott's race-car driving hobby is well known. He clears his business and political schedule every Thursday night during racing season to drive at Thunder Road in Barre.
"Growing up in Barre, Thunder Road is part of the social fabric of the area," Scott said. It was his mother who seeded his interest in racing. "My mom was the race fan. She is probably a bigger race fan than I am," he added, noting she lives now near the Daytona International Speedway.
His racing career began in home-built wooden buggies that he and his friends raced down hills in Barre, with parents monitoring the intersections to make sure it was safe.
He worked on cars for Robbie Crouch, a NASCAR racer from Vermont. "I wanted to race myself, but I couldn't afford it."
He turned instead to snowmobiles. "I raced snowmobiles all over," he said, "but I got cold and beat up and decided to go back to cars." He explained snowmobiles lack roll cages to protect drivers and "those hay bales get frozen."
He also hits the road on a bicycle — not as a mode of travel like his challenger Dean Corren, but as a form of exercise and a way to raise money and attention for charitable causes.
Giving back to the community was a lesson he learned from his extended family and puts into practice frequently, according to his friend Mazza.
"He is working around the clock on things helping people," Mazza said. "He never takes credit for all the things he does."
One of his biggest community projects is Wheels for Warmth, an annual event in which people donate tires that are resold at low cost if they are still usable. The money is donated to programs that help people buy heating fuel.
Scott said he was inspired by the example of the late Rep. Karen Kitzmiller, a Montpelier Democrat, who launched a winter coat exchange.
Wheels for Warmth will celebrate its 10th anniversary in October. Scott said it has raised a total of $200,000 for heating assistance, resold 12,000 tires and recycled 10,000 that failed to pass inspection.
Entering politics
Rob Ide, a former Republican state senator now commissioner of motor vehicles, talked Scott into running for the Legislature in 2000. Democrat Jeb Spaulding was retiring as one of three state senators from Washington County, creating an open seat.
"There was an opening. I jumped in," Scott said. "I assembled a group of friends and we set out to compete." He came in second in the three-seat race that had attracted 10 candidates.
His campaign focused on the need for lawmakers to have a better understanding "of what it means to be in business." He said, "I believed I had something to offer."
Mazza and Scott hit it off quickly, the long-serving Democratic senator from Colchester said. "His politics are pretty close to mine. He's a middle-of-the-road person. He looks at issues, looks at both sides. And his honesty is something I really admired."
During his decade in the Senate, Democrats gave him a committee leadership position. "They trusted I wouldn't play politics."
Sen. Richard McCormack of Bethel, one of the most liberal Democrats in the Senate, said he found a friend in Scott despite their differing politics. McCormack drove up for Mazza's party, although he said he wasn't officially endorsing Scott.
McCormack acknowledged that his views on many issues are probably closer to Corren's, "but what I've done with Phil really counts for a lot."
When Scott won the lieutenant governor's post in 2010, he said many in the Republican Party expected he would use his position to rail against the Democratic administration. He disappointed.
He chose to accept Shumlin's invitation to become a member of the cabinet. That has given him access to managers across state government, which helps him respond to constituents' concerns and questions.
Scott said he has made clear to Democratic leaders that their priority for the next two years should be the economy. "We have to do better."
"We don't have the will to cut" state government, he said. "We don't have the capacity to tax anymore. The governor knows that. So the only other way to move forward is growing the economy." He continued, "If you make it a priority, it doesn't mean you can't do any other work."
Ed Adrian, a Burlington Democrat, will support Scott in the election. "Phil is a super nice guy, but I wouldn't vote for someone because he is a super nice guy." He explained, "If Democrats occupy every position of power, they are just going to fight among themselves. What is wrong with having a moderate, token Republican who would frankly be considered a Democrat elsewhere in the country?"
