It’s not hard to understand why Heidi Scheuermann decided this week not to run against incumbent Peter Shumlin for governor of Vermont. With Election Day just six months away, Stowe’s state House representative would be starting late out of the gate to organize, raise money and build a strong campaign in a race that would have begun with tough odds for a Republican, and even more a Republican from Stowe.
But we greeted her decision with regret, a lot of it uniquely personal — as in, the potential for great stories and headlines. Darn, Heidi, just when we thought you could have helped us sell a few more papers and challenge annoying misconceptions about your hometown. More on that in a second.
Scheuermann represents Stowe — and the interests of Vermont — passionately, diligently, personally.
A Stowe native and a Stowe High School grad, Scheuermann has a strong record of public service. She was a Peace Corps volunteer right out of college, then spent several years working for Jim Jeffords, Vermont’s moderate Republican (he would switch to being an independent) who served in the U.S. Senate and in Vermont from 1988 to 2006.
While we have not always agreed with all her positions, Scheuermann has made the state’s education finance mess, economic development and permit reform priorities, and she has been unwavering. On the home front, she has helped secure funding for transportation and other projects, and untied countless Gordian knots between constituents and state authorities.
Hardworking, thoughtful, dedicated, Scheuermann is a credit to her community. Therefore, from a political and news standpoint, we greeted her aspirations to the state’s highest office with enthusiasm and interest. She would have given Mr. Shumlin, popular and successful though he is, a challenge to reckon with.
And Stowe would have earned some uncommon press. While Waterbury and other neighboring towns have had a number of governors, the only Stowe native to reach the state’s highest office was George Hendee. Born in Stowe in 1832 and eventually a resident of Morrisville, Hendee, who was a lawyer, banker (vice president of the Union Bank) and politician, served for one year in 1870, stepping in as the sitting lieutenant governor to fill the seat after the death of Gov. Peter Washburn.
Scheuermann also likely would have challenged some of the prejudices out there about Stowe. Frequently cast — and in state politics, marginalized — as one of Vermont’s wealthiest, out-of-touch enclaves, Scheuermann defies that stereotype and has little patience for it. Her presence on the campaign trail as a down-to-earth Stowe native would have been positive for the town.
Scheuermann, at 43, is still young. So stay tuned. There is time yet in her political career.
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