MONTPELIER, Vt. — Gov. Jim Douglas steps down this week, his legacy one of nonstop campaigning, cost-conscious governing and mixed results in eight years as governor.
Once dubbed "Governor Scissorhands" for his faithful participation at ribbon-cutting ceremonies, the 59-year-old Republican may be best remembered for remembering best.
He rarely forgot a name, and his combination of low-key personal charm and nonstop campaigning is widely credited for sustaining a 38-year career in which he swam against Vermont's political currents yet managed to win 14 out of 15 of his elections.
Not that he didn't have critics: Besides the ribbing over his diligent attendance at chicken dinners and groundbreakings, Vermont's 80th governor has been lambasted as being too cozy with big business, lax on environmental issues and stubborn on budget issues.
"He's far and away the greatest retail politician the state has ever seen," said University of Vermont political scientist Garrison Nelson. "There is not a street corner in Vermont that Jim Douglas has not stepped on."
Douglas was only 21 when he was elected to the state House of Representatives out of Middlebury College. He went on to become Secretary of State and state Treasurer before being elected governor in 2002.
His only loss at the polls came in 1992, when he challenged U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.
In 2009, he surprised many by announcing he wouldn't seek a fifth two-year term, saying he'd been in elective politics long enough. On Wednesday, he will deliver a farewell speech to a joint session of the Legislature in Montpelier. His successor, Democrat Peter Shumlin, will take office Thursday.
As for his legacy as governor, Douglas said: "It's for others to assess. But I will discuss tomorrow the areas where I felt we made real progress in the last eight years."
Douglas, whose state budget veto in 2009 was overridden by the Democrat-controlled Legislature, points to fiscal restraint as a hallmark of his tenure, noting Vermont's low rates of home foreclosure, unemployment and bankruptcies.
He says he held the line on taxes and helped Vermont state government achieve the highest bond ratings in New England. He takes credit for health care initiatives begun during his time, including launching of the Blueprint for Health in 2003 and getting federal OK for Choices for Care, a program that helps keep the elderly in their own homes.
Critics say Douglas was on the wrong side of history in vetoing a gay marriage bill in 2009 and that he failed to make good on initiatives to extend broadband to all corners of Vermont and clean up Lake Champlain pollution.
"Although I obviously have respect for the governor and the office of the governorship, I would characterize the administration's performance in the field of energy and the environment as eight years of wasted opportunity," said state Rep. Tony Klein.
Klein says Douglas failed Vermont in those areas.
"I've been in the Legislature for as long as Douglas has been a governor, so I've had a front-row seat. I've had my hands involved in every major piece of energy legislation that went forward and became law or was vetoed by this governor. I can comfortably say the governor never once in eight years put forth one piece of positive, pro-active energy legislation for consideration," said Klein, D-East Montpelier.
But few criticize Douglas' dedication to a relentless schedule of appearances around the state, even if it did earn him the "Scissorhands" moniker from late Seven Days columnist Peter Freyne.
"I had a representative from Ludlow tell me once that he and Jim stood on a street corner and whoever pulled up, Jim knew not only the driver but the passenger, and who had been ill, and who'd gone to college lately," said Montpelier lawyer Paul Gillies, who served as Douglas' deputy when he was secretary of state. "The local rep didn't know half of it."
Said longtime Calais Town Clerk Eva Morse, a fellow Republican: "That was part of his success. People like that. It makes you feel like 'I guess I matter, if the governor can remember my name.' He's a master of that."
Douglas hasn't ruled out a return to politics, but neither will he say he's interested in it. For now, he's content with retiring to a part-time gig teaching at Middlebury College.
"I think it's fine to throttle back a little," he said Tuesday. "There's life beyond politics."