Leon Thompson Interviews Gary Gilbert

Gilbert strives for name recognition in House bid

Educator hits campaign trail in Fairfax, Georgia
By LEON THOMPSON -- Staff Writer

FAIRFAX — This is Gary Gilbert's first run for public office, though not the first time he's considered it.

Since 2002, Fairfax and Georgia residents have approached the 61-year-old Democrat about running for the Vermont House, mainly for two reasons:

1. They thought it would take a popular Fairfax Democrat to dethrone Rep. Carolyn Branagan or Rep. Brian Dunsmore, both Georgia Republicans.

2. People just seem to like Gary Gilbert.

Gilbert, however, was teaching and coaching at Bellows Free Academy-Fairfax. His education career was incompatible with politics.

Then this past June he retired and quickly found himself immersed in a four-way race for the House that also includes Bob Shea, an independent.

Admittedly, Gilbert went into this race feeling like a "sacrificial lamb," because he is a virtual unknown facing two strong incumbents from the GOP, who both live in the same town. Shea, although his previous bids have been unsuccessful, is well known as he's run numerous times for the Legislature.

"I'm nuts," Gilbert said, joking about his decision to run without that kind of name recognition.

However, he is working to change that, canvassing Georgia and Fairfax as he campaigns. He is not a one-town candidate.

"I can't run on a power base ' from one community to be effective," he explained.

But he can run on ideas. He has plenty concerning the field in which he worked for three-plus decades: education.

Gilbert said the regional technical center proposed for Essex last year "would have been really ' terrible" for BFA-Fairfax. The student population would have dwindled and created a heavier burden on local taxpayers, and BFA-Fairfax might have even cut some advanced courses due to reductions in numbers, he said.

Gilbert does not support statewide school choice, but he might back an inter-district school choice system, so that the funding stays local.

Education Commissioner Richard Cate's white paper on school district consolidation is also "worth looking into," Gilbert said, though he is concerned about losing local control.

Gilbert like many Vermonters would like the state's education funding system to rely less on the property tax. He has a solution: Any education initiatives that come from the state level - such as state standardized tests - should be funded by a common, broad-based tax, not local tax dollars.

"Otherwise," he said, "these less affluent communities have to dig deeper into their pockets.”

Gilbert is probably most knowledgeable about education, but he is not a single-issue candidate. He criticized Gov. Jim Douglas' Promised Scholarship Program, calling it "a real fraud" and "window dressing."

If a young person wants to stay in Vermont, he will, Gilbert said. Young people know what jobs are available in the state and whether Vermont is fit for their chosen career paths.

"You don't have to bribe people to be here," Gilbert said. "There are going to be enough people to fill the jobs we have here."

As for health care, Gilbert hears a different concern every time he knocks on a door. One voter supports a health saving account, while the next supports low co-pays to encourage early care.

"I can't really get a handle on health care," Gilbert said, "but I know it's a huge concern."

And he's willing to learn. He's also willing to hear both sides - a skill he honed as a union contract negotiator at BFA-Fairfax.

If there are times he had to vote against his constituents' wishes, he would.

"But I'd have to live with the results," he added. "And I've have to convince them why I did it."

Name: Gary Gilbert Age: 61

Residence: Fairfax

Family: wife, Peggy; two grown sons

Education: bachelor's in education (Johnson State College); master's in education (Johnson State College);

Employment: taught social studies at BFA-Fairfax from 1970 to 2006, retired June 30 of this year, also an assistant principal arid coach at the school

Civic Involvement: justice of the peace, Fairfax zoning administrator and planning commission chairman[/b]