Jim Douglas | |
|---|---|
 Douglas in 2009 | |
| 80thGovernor of Vermont | |
| In office January 9, 2003 – January 6, 2011 | |
| Lieutenant | Brian Dubie |
| Preceded by | Howard Dean |
| Succeeded by | Peter Shumlin |
| Chair of theNational Governors Association | |
| In office July 20, 2009 – July 11, 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Ed Rendell |
| Succeeded by | Joe Manchin |
| 28thTreasurer of Vermont | |
| In office January 5, 1995 – January 9, 2003 | |
| Governor | Howard Dean |
| Preceded by | Paul W. Ruse Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Jeb Spaulding |
| 34thSecretary of State of Vermont | |
| In office January 8, 1981 – January 7, 1993 | |
| Governor | Richard A. Snelling Madeleine Kunin Richard A. Snelling Howard Dean |
| Preceded by | James A. Guest |
| Succeeded by | Donald M. Hooper |
| Personal details | |
| Born | James Holley Douglas (1951-06-21)June 21, 1951 (age 74) |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | Dorothy Foster |
| Education | Middlebury College (BA) |
James Holley Douglas (born June 21, 1951) is an American politician from thestate ofVermont. ARepublican, he served as the80th governor of Vermont from 2003 to 2011. On August 27, 2009, Douglas announced that he would not seek re-election for a fifth term in 2010. He left the office in January 2011.
On January 6, 2011, Douglas became an executive in residence atMiddlebury College[1] where he taught a 24 student course titledVermont Government and Politics.[2] Douglas is the interim director of theVermont Historical Society.[3]
Douglas currently serves on the Governors' Council of theBipartisan Policy Center inWashington, D.C.
Douglas was born in the city ofSpringfield, Massachusetts. In 1968, he graduated fromEast Longmeadow High School in the town ofEast Longmeadow, Massachusetts. He graduated with aBachelor of Arts degree fromMiddlebury College inMiddlebury, Vermont, where he had been active in theCollege Republicans, eventually becoming chairman.[4] At Middlebury College, Douglas was aRussian studies major. Vermont maintained a sister-state relationship with theRepublic ofKarelia,Russia until it was broken by Governor Phil Scott in March 2022 as protest against the ongoingRussian invasion of Ukraine. While influenced by Douglas, this relationship was started in 1991 under the governorship ofMadeleine Kunin.[5]
In November 1972, Douglas was elected to theVermont House of Representatives, where he became the HouseMajority Leader during his third two-year term at the age of 25. He left theVermont General Assembly in 1979, afterwards serving as a top aide to GovernorRichard A. Snelling. Douglas was electedSecretary of State in November 1980, a post which he held until 1992. That year he sought election to theU.S. Senate, but was defeated by Democratic incumbentPatrick Leahy.
During his tenure asVermont State Treasurer, DemocratPaul W. Ruse Jr. was criticized for being too friendly with financial services firms that had an interest in matters handled by the state treasurer, including accepting campaign contributions from them, and appearing in an advertisement for one.[6] Because of the controversy, in 1994 Ruse decided not to run for reelection.[7] This decision was not widely known; Ruse stated that he withheld his decision not to run so thatEd Flanagan, the incumbentVermont State Auditor, would not run for treasurer.[8] Flanagan and Ruse had been involved in a behind the scenes dispute over details of an auditor's report about the treasurer's office; Flanagan disclaimed any interest in the treasurer's post.[9]
As a result of Ruse's decision not to run again, only Douglas had filed as a major party candidate for treasurer; in the absence of a Democratic candidate, Douglas won the Democratic nomination by write-in vote.[10] In the general election, Douglas faced only token opposition, and received over 91% of the votes.[11]
Ruse's deputy had retired in October 1994.[12] After Douglas won the treasurer's election, Ruse offered him the deputy's position so that Douglas would have an opportunity to learn the workings of the treasurer's office.[13] Douglas accepted, and served as deputy state treasurer from November 1994 until beginning his term as treasurer in January 1995.[14] Douglas was reelected in 1996, 1998 and 2000.[15]
In the2002 gubernatorial election to succeed five-term GovernorHoward Dean, Douglas achieved a plurality over Democratic Lieutenant GovernorDoug Racine, 45 to 42%. The Vermont constitution requires that the legislature select the governor if no candidate receives over 50%. TheVermont General Assembly almost always chooses the candidate who won a plurality, and Racine did not contest the results. In January 2003, the legislature selected Douglas by a vote of 159 to 16. Douglas won reelection to a second 2-year term in 2004, defeating DemocratPeter Clavelle, 59 to 38%.
In early 2005, Douglas announced that he would not run against Democratic-leaning independentJim 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 CongressmanBernie 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 DemocratScudder Parker.
On May 22, 2007, Governor Douglas signed a landmark civil rights bill banningdiscrimination on the basis ofgender identity by employers, financial institutions, housing, public accommodations, and other contexts.[16] After the Vermont Human Rights Commission recommended that Governor Douglas veto a similar bill in 2006,[17] Douglas worked with legislators to craft a new bill in 2007. This bill passed both chambers of the legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support.[18] 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/ProgressiveAnthony Pollina, and DemocratGaye Symington. Douglas won a fourth term with nearly 54% of the vote. Although that was his lowest percentage since his initial narrow victory over Doug Racine, he bested his closest challenge, Pollina, by 32%.
Douglas became the first governor to meet with PresidentBarack Obama in the White House on February 2, 2009.[19] He also served as Chairman of theNational Governors Association from 2009 to 2010. On April 6, 2009, Douglasvetoed a bill allowing marriage for same-sex couples in Vermont. Democrats in the VermontHouse andSenate overrode the veto with asupermajority the next day, marking the first time Douglas had been overridden during his tenure.[20] On June 2, 2009, Democrats in the Vermont House and Senate voted to override Douglas's veto of the Vermont state budget.[21]
On August 27, 2009, Douglas announced that he would not seek re-election in 2010.[22] In early 2010, Douglas became the first American political leader to be appointed to theNational Order of Quebec ("L'Ordre National du Quebec" inFrench), receiving the insignia of an Officer of the order fromPremierJean Charest at a ceremony at theNational Assembly of Quebec. He was recognized for strengthening Vermont's historical bonds with Quebec and making improved relations with the province a priority of his governorship.[23] On June 17, 2010, his approval rating stood at 65%.[24]
| The Douglas Cabinet | ||
|---|---|---|
| OFFICE | NAME | TERM |
| Governor | Jim Douglas | 2003–2011 |
| Lt. Governor | Brian Dubie | 2003–2011 |
| Secretary of Administration | Michael K. Smith Charles Plympton Smith Michael K. Smith Neale F. Lunderville | 2003–2005 2005–2006 2006–2008 2008–2011 |
| Secretary of Commerce & Community Development | Kevin Dorn | 2003–2011 |
| Secretary of Natural Resources | Elizabeth "Wibs" McLain Thomas Torti George Crombie Jonathan Wood | 2003–2005 2005–2007 2007–2008 2008–2011 |
| Secretary of Agriculture | Steve Kerr Roger Allbee | 2003–2006 2006–2011 |
| Secretary of Human Services | Charles Plympton Smith Michael K. Smith Cynthia LaWare Robert Hofmann | 2003–2005 2005–2006 2006–2008 2008–2011 |
| Secretary of Transportation | Patricia MacDonald Dawn Terrill Neale F. Lunderville David K. Dill | 2003–2004 2004–2006 2006–2008 2008–2011 |
| Commissioner of Labor | Michael Bertrand Patricia MacDonald Patricia Moulton Powden | 2003–2004 2004–2007 2007–2010 |
| Commissioner of Public Service | David O'Brien | 2003–2011 |
| Commissioner of Public Safety | Kerry Sleeper Thomas Tremblay | 2003–2007 2007–2011 |
| Commissioner of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration | John Crowley Paulette Thabault Michael Bertrand | 2003–2006 2006–2010 2010–2011 |
| Chief Recovery Officer | Tom Evslin | 2009–2010 |
Douglas was succeeded as Governor by DemocratPeter Shumlin.
After leaving office Douglas became an Executive in Residence at Middlebury College and authored a memoir, which was published in late 2012.[25] On July 29, 2015, Douglas was named the interim director of theVermont Historical Society.[26]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jim Douglas (incumbent) | 170,492 | 53.43 | ||
| Independent | Anthony Pollina | 69,791 | 21.87 | ||
| Democratic | Gaye Symington | 69,534 | 21.79 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jim Douglas (incumbent) | 148,014 | 56.38 | ||
| Democratic | Scudder Parker | 108,090 | 41.17 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jim Douglas (incumbent) | 181,540 | 58.70 | ||
| Democratic | Peter Clavelle | 117,327 | 37.93 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jim Douglas | 103,436 | 44.94 | ||
| Democratic | Doug Racine | 97,565 | 42.39 | ||
| Independent | Cornelius Hogan | 22,353 | 9.71 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Patrick Leahy (incumbent) | 154,762 | 54.16 | ||
| Republican | Jim Douglas | 123,854 | 43.35 | ||
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Robert Gibson | Republican nominee forSecretary of State of Vermont 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Robert Babcock | Democratic nominee forSecretary of State of Vermont 1982 | Succeeded by Bill Sharp |
| Preceded by Elizabeth Dodge | Democratic nominee forSecretary of State of Vermont 1988, 1990 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forU.S. Senator from Vermont (Class 3) 1992 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forTreasurer of Vermont 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000 | Succeeded by John Labarge |
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forTreasurer of Vermont 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forGovernor of Vermont 2002,2004,2006,2008 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Secretary of State of Vermont 1981–1993 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Treasurer of Vermont 1995–2003 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of Vermont 2003–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair ofNational Governors Association 2009–2010 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former Governor | Order of precedence of the United States | Succeeded byas Former Governor |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
