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Jim Douglas

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For the guitarist, see Jim Douglas (guitarist).
Jim Douglas
80th Governor of Vermont
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 9, 2003
LieutenantBrian Dubie
Preceded byHoward Dean
Personal details
Born (1951-06-21) June 21, 1951 (age 73)
Springfield, Massachusetts
Political partyRepublican
SpouseDorothy Foster Douglas
ResidenceMiddlebury, Vermont
Alma materMiddlebury College (B.A.)
ProfessionPolitician

James H. "Jim" Douglas (born June 21, 1951) is an American politician from the U.S. state of Vermont. Douglas is a Republican and currently the Governor of Vermont.

Early career

Douglas was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont, where he had been active in the College Republicans. At Middlebury College, Douglas was a Russian Studies major, and still speaks Russian, even using these skills to enhance the sister-state relationship between Vermont and Karelia, Russia that has existed since 1991 [1]

In November 1972, Douglas was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives, where he became the House Majority Leader during his third two-year term at the age of 25. He left the Vermont General Assembly in 1979, afterwards serving as a top aide to Governor Richard A. Snelling. Douglas was elected Secretary of State in November 1980, a post which he held until 1992. That year he sought election to the U.S. Senate, but was defeated by Democratic incumbent Patrick Leahy. In November 1994 he was elected State Treasurer, after receiving the endorsement of both major parties.

Governor of Vermont

The governor's principal workplace is at The Pavilion, and during the legislative session the governor often works at a ceremonial office at the Vermont State House.

In the 2002 gubernatorial election to succeed five-term Governor Howard Dean, Douglas defeated Democratic Lieutenant Governor Doug Racine, 45 to 42 percent. The Vermont constitution requires that the state legislature select who is to become governor if no candidate receives over 50% of the votes. Because neither candidate won 50% of the vote, Douglas was officially selected by the legislature as required by the state constitution. Douglas won reelection to a second two-year term in 2004, defeating Democrat Peter Clavelle, 59 to 38 percent.

In early 2005, Douglas announced that he would not run against Democratic-leaning independent Jim Jeffords in the 2006 Senate race. In April 2005, Jeffords announced that he would not seek re-election, which led to speculation that Douglas would throw his hat into the ring against Vermont independent Congressman Bernie Sanders, who had announced his candidacy for the seat. On April 30, Douglas announced again that he would not seek Jeffords' seat, and simultaneously announced that he would run for re-election for governor in 2006. Many pundits believed that Douglas was the only Republican who could possibly defeat Sanders, and his decision to run for governor effectively handed the open Senate seat to Sanders. Douglas was re-elected governor with 57% of the vote over Democrat Scudder Parker.

On May 22, 2007, Governor Douglas signed a landmark civil rights bill banning discrimination on the basis of gender identity by employers, financial institutions, housing, public accommodations, and other contexts.[2] Douglas had previously vetoed a similar bill in 2006.[3] On 6 April 2009, Douglas vetoed a bill to allow same sex couples to marry.[4]

Douglas decided to stand for re-election in 2008 and ran unopposed in the Republican primary on September 9, 2008. His principal challengers in the general election were Independent Anthony Pollina, and Democrat Gaye Symington. Douglas handily won a fourth term.

Douglas became the first governor to meet with President Barack Obama in the White House on February 2, 2009.[5]

Electoral history

Notes

  1. ^ Executive Order No. 100-91 ("Vermont-Karelia Sister-State Relationship") (Jan. 7,1991). The text of this Executive Order is available here.
  2. ^ Acts and Resolves of the 2007-2008 session of the Vermont General Assembly, Act 41 (S.51). This bill had already passed both chambers of the legislature by a veto-proof majority, so a veto would not have been able to prevent this bill from becoming law. The text of this act is available here.
  3. ^ H.865 from the 2005-2006 legislative session. The text of the bill as passed by the General Assembly is available here.
  4. ^ Jim Douglas
  5. ^ [1]"Douglas Meets with President Obama," WCAX.com
  6. ^ Vermont Secretary of State

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