(Host) When Governor-elect Peter Shumlin takes office later this week, he’ll be serving with a lieutenant governor of a different party.
The two offices are elected separately in Vermont, and historically that when the two offices are split between parties, the lieutenant governor serves as an opposition leader.
Shumlin has taken the unusual step of appointing Republican Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott to his cabinet.
Former Governor Madeleine Kunin says all Vermonters benefit when the two officers work together:
(Kunin) "Lieutenant Governor-elect Scott and Governor-elect Peter Shumlin seem to work very well together and I think that’s what people want. You know we’re not a state that is that partisan. At least not compared to what’s happening in Washington."
(Host) Before Kunin was elected governor, she served as Lieutenant Governor while Republican Richard Snelling was Governor. Kunin says the two were very different, and it made the relationship difficult.
Kunin also applauds the number of women Shumlin has appointed to his administration:
(Kunin) Once again he’s attracting top notch people, and serving in government is considered a wonderful way to make a contribution.
(Host) As Governor Jim Douglas prepares to give his farewell speech today Kunin says the most difficult part of leaving office is saying goodbye to staff members.
You can hear Douglas’s farewell speech live on VPR, starting at 2 p.m.