It’s turning into a busy week for big political announcements. A day after the GOP got its first official candidate for governor, Democrats saw the entry of a second gubernatorial hopeful. And Hartland resident Matt Dunne says his executive experience makes him the person for the job.
It isn’t Dunne’s first bite at the apple. The former Windsor County senator ran in a five-way Democratic primary in 2010, when he finished in fourth place but still respectably close to the top three.
While he didn’t win that election, Dunne says he walked away with some important lessons. And he says he’s ready to put them to use in his bid to replace the outgoing Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin.
“You need to make sure you have a great team … You need to make sure you have the resources to communicate a complicated message about the kind of policies and issues that we need to tackle to move forward. And you also need to make sure that you’ve got interest from folks across the state,” Dunne said Wednesday.
Dunne says those elements have fallen into place in recent weeks. And he told supporters in an email Wednesday morning that he’s officially a candidate for governor. Democratic House Speaker Shap Smith declared his candidacy last month.
The announcement doesn’t come as a huge surprise. The Google executive and former director of AmeriCorps VISTA has already raised $200,000 toward his bid and has been hosting community forums across the state.
“And what I heard loud and clear is that people are looking for someone who can come with fresh ideas. So for me that was inspiration enough to want to get engaged in a conversation about the future of our state,” Dunne said.
So what kind of “fresh ideas” will Dunne bring to his campaign platform?
“I think that’s a little premature,” Dunne said. “I think what people are excited about is someone who’s had a variety of experiences both in the private sector, the public sector, the nonprofit sector. And they then want someone who’s going to listen.”
"I think what people are excited about is someone who's had a variety of experiences both in the private sector, the public sector (and) the nonprofit sector." - Matt Dunne, gubernatorial candidate
Dunne said the policy initiatives that will define his candidacy won’t emerge until after he’s heard from a cross section of Vermonters about how they think government should go about addressing issues such as job creation, education reform and health care. Dunne says that in his executive leadership posts in the past, he learned by listening.
“We need to do the same thing in Vermont, to reach out to Vermonters in their communities, understand their concerns, and also hear directly from them what they believe are the kind of fresh ideas that can move our state forward,” Dunne said.
Dunne has hired four campaign staffers. Nick Charyk, who formerly headed up the chief political action committee for Democratic Candidates for the Vermont House, will serve as campaign manager.
Dunne says he’ll hold a formal campaign launch later this fall.
