Dear Editor,
I commend Gov. Scott and his efforts to make Vermont affordable through financial common sense and accountability to taxpayers.
Gov. Phil Scott’s recent vetoes of the budget adjustment bill signals the end of one-sided policy-driven bills forced through the Vermont Legislature. With Vermont voters deciding last November to eliminate the Democrat/Progressive supermajority in the Vermont General Assembly, we restored the mechanism of checks and balances that ensures bills are honestly and openly discussed and evaluated for the best interest of Vermont.
Gone are the days where the supermajority-led Legislature can simply override and ignore a governor who received over 70% of the popular vote (over 266,000 votes). Gov. Scott is now doing exactly what he said he would do during the 2024 campaign — making Vermont affordable.
The majority-party legislators had — have — forgotten how to cooperate and negotiate with the state executive branch and across the aisle to find common ground and the best solutions for Vermont. Overriding executive vetoes used to be easy, and no discussion or compromise were necessary.
When the Legislature had a supermajority, they didn’t have to acknowledge the governor’s or the minority party’s ideas and thoughts, or for that matter those of the voters, into the lawmaking process. That is not the case today.
The balance in Montpelier has decidedly shifted to a position where compromise and cooperation are now necessary to affect solid legislation, an unfamiliar position for the General Assembly majority which no longer has veto override assurance.
I commend Gov. Scott and his efforts to make Vermont affordable through financial common sense and accountability to taxpayers, an approach that continues to be foreign to many Vermont legislators.
Thank you Gov. Scott for your strong and continued commitment to Vermonters.
Bruce Roy, Williston
