Peter Shumlin
Peter Elliott Shumlin (born March 24, 1956) is an American politician from Vermont. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 81st governor of Vermont from 2011 to 2017.[1]
Peter Shumlin
Phil Scott
Peter Welch
Roderick "Rod" M. Gander
Jeanette White
Roderick "Rod" M. Gander
2
He was first elected to the office in 2010, and was reelected to a second term in 2012. In 2014 he received a narrow plurality in his race for reelection, but did not attain the 50% threshold mandated by the Constitution of Vermont. In such cases the Vermont General Assembly elects the winner.[2] The legislature almost always selects the candidate who received a plurality; this held true, and the General Assembly re-elected Shumlin to a third term by a vote of 110–69 in January 2015.[3] In June 2015, Shumlin announced that he would not seek re-election in 2016.[4]
He signed laws on physician-assisted suicide as well as the United States' first genetically modified food labeling requirement during his tenure as governor. He was chair of the Democratic Governors Association during his first two terms.
He was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1991 to 1993, and represented the Windham District in the Vermont Senate from 1993 to 2003 and again from 2007 to 2011. He was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Vermont in 2002.[5][6]
Early life, education and private career[edit]
Born in Brattleboro, Vermont, Shumlin[7] went to high school at Buxton School in Williamstown, Massachusetts,[8] and graduated from Wesleyan University in 1979.[9] Shumlin served on Selectboard for the town of Putney in the 1980s and helped found Landmark College, which was created to help people with learning disabilities gain a college education. Shumlin's father, George J. Shumlin, a third-generation American, was descended from Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants from Russia; his mother, Kitty A. (Prins) Shumlin, was from The Hague in the Netherlands, and was Protestant.[7][10][11][12][13]
Early political career[edit]
Vermont Legislature[edit]
Shumlin was appointed by Governor Madeleine M. Kunin to fill a vacancy in the Vermont House of Representatives. He served part of one term plus one full term, and represented Putney from 1990 through 1993.[14] In 1992, he was elected to the Vermont Senate,[15] and he soon became Minority Leader.[16] In the 1996 elections, Shumlin led his Senate Democrats to win back control of the chamber after four years in the minority, and in 1997 he became Senate President Pro Tempore.[17]
Campaign for lieutenant governor[edit]
In 2002, Shumlin won the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, and lost the general election to Republican Brian Dubie of Essex in a three-way race that included Progressive Anthony Pollina of Middlesex.[18]
Political hiatus[edit]
From 2003 to 2006, Shumlin returned to the Shumlin family business, Putney Student Travel, an educational firm that allows students in middle and high school to travel to foreign countries, learn about different cultures, and prepare for college.[19]
Political positions[edit]
Shumlin is adamantly pro-choice, and drew a contrast between himself and his 2010 Republican gubernatorial opponent Brian Dubie, who would not answer the question of whether or not he would cut funding for low-income abortions when pressed by Shumlin during the two candidates' televised debates.[80] Shumlin held a pro-choice rally two days prior to the election, prompting his opponent to host a pro-jobs rally on the same day to draw a contrast between the two candidates' priorities.[81]
In 2011, Shumlin expressed his support for "Team Kale" in its trademark dispute with fast food restaurant Chick-fil-A and said it sends the message "Don't mess with Vermont."[82]
Shumlin supports same-sex marriage and presided over its legalization in the state of Vermont during his tenure as President Pro Tempore of the Vermont Senate.[83]
On May 8, 2015, Shumlin signed a genetically modified food (GMO) labeling bill. The legislation would mean that some products that are sold within the state of Vermont must have labeling that says that the product "may be partially produced with genetic engineering."[84][85]
Personal life[edit]
Real estate controversy[edit]
In May 2013, Shumlin was involved in a real estate transaction, which generated controversy. A neighbor, who owned a house and land adjacent to Shumlin's East Montpelier home, owed back taxes and risked losing the property in a tax sale, asked Shumlin to consider buying the property. Shumlin bought the property, had the assessed value reduced because the house was in disrepair, paid the back taxes, paid the neighbor's back child support, and allowed the neighbor to continue living in the house for several months.[91][92][93] The neighbor then had second thoughts about the transaction.[94] After some criticism in the press,[95][96][97] Shumlin agreed to let the neighbor repurchase the property.[98][99][100]