Governor Scott’s shoes aren’t laced
2024-03-27
Dear friend,
This winter, House and Senate worked with the Governor to pass and sign win-win legislation. Our Budget Adjustment Act extended current housing for vulnerable Vermonters, and we saved money by negotiating a cap on rates at $80/night.
Then, on Wednesday, March 13, the Scott Administration quietly rolled out their implementation. It included new eligibility requirements not envisioned by the bill the Governor had just signed, and a stunning announcement: as of that Friday, 458 households would be exited from their housing. To cushion the blow, the administration announced that it would create four temporary “shelters.” (Reformer: Confusion, chaos after state chooses Brattleboro over Bennington to house regional homeless shelter.)
I was shocked. The Governor has discretion to execute the laws we pass, but how did we get this?
Town officials and caseworkers in participating towns were given no notice.
Shelters cost $50,000/day to operate. For the population they served, that was more expensive, by $13,400/day, then continuing motel rooms.
A rushed move from Bennington to Brattleboro was prompted by the Governor’s unawareness of basic on-the-ground information, like lead mitigation at the Bennington Armory.
Caseworkers and Department of Children and Families (DCF) staff worked around the clock to avert the crisis, with 73 households keeping their motel rooms by submitting a disability variance form.
In all, of 352 beds set up, only 28 beds were filled over the weekend. That’s $5,350 per person, per night.
When reporters asked Gov. Scott whether he considered the shelters a success, he said he did. “I think we learned a lot, and what we could do, and what we’re capable of doing,” he said.
A reasonable person might ask what about this program was a success? Observers, like Anne Sosin of Dartmouth, described the emergency response as “warehouses, not shelters.”
Many of the 458 households affected did not know how to respond other than walking out into the unknown with their belongings in hand.
What does the whole mess add up to? All I can think about are shoelaces.
Although Coach John Wooden led the U.C.L.A. Bruins to a record seven men’s basketball titles in a row from 1967 to 1973, the underlying reason he’s in the record books might be that he coached players from the ground up.
Where other coaches started freshman players off on passing drills and layups, Wooden started even smaller. He instructed players to pull their socks tight and not allow any folds before putting on their shoes. Next, he showed them to pull their laces tight and even, and tie them tightly.
Players not only avoided injuries like blisters and sprained ankles that could disrupt practices and playing time. They also thrived in a culture where they were taught to care about small details. Wooden’s teams found big successes in championship games starting by finding tiny successes with tight shoelaces. Over the years, Coach Wooden’s success built on itself, attracting all-time great talents like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton.
I salute the dedicated State employees who have had to cope with the situation and are supporting these households during this time of crisis. (For more on that, see Rep. Tristan Roberts: Why don’t Vermonters want to work for Phil Scott?
I believe Governor Scott can do better and he has shown us he can. I appreciated his leadership and keen eye for detailed planning during COVID. Has something changed?
“If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?” Coach Wooden asked.
“We didn’t have to do anything,” Phil Scott said, in defense of his shelter plan.
With a bar for success set so low, I’m disappointed but not surprised to see results like these:
No long-term planning, despite three-plus years to do it
No contact with local officials
Little outreach to affected individuals
Both in mindset and detailed execution, the Governor seems stuck in the locker room, tying his laces.