Debbie Ingram is a state senator representing Chittenden County, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, and the executive director of Vermont Interfaith Action. She is among four candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor.VPR鈥檚 Mitch Wertlieb spoke with Debbie Ingram, and their interview below has been condensed and edited for clarity. VPR is interviewing all of the candidates for lieutenant governor.
Debbie Ingram: It [the office of lieutenant governor] offers a great platform for someone to reach out to everyday Vermonters. That's what I envision doing: having town halls and forums all over the state to ask people their thoughts about issues that are particularly pressing, and to really listen to everyday folks, because I've always found that the people on the ground who are experiencing the issues personally are the ones who understand them the best and who have the best solutions to offer. So I would take what I hear from people and bring it back to Montpelier and try to make sure that our legislators and our administrators are really paying attention to the folks out in the rest of Vermont.
Mitch Wertlieb: And if you were elected to the position, one of the big parts of the job is managing the senate floor debates. I'm wondering how your approach might be different compared to previous lieutenant governors?
That's right. Well, I've had an opportunity actually in my career to moderate lots of different meetings. I was moderator of the Vermont conference of the United Church of Christ, which is all the different churches, the 140 churches across the state. That was an interesting challenge. And I've moderated lots of committees. What I tried to do in that sort of role is make sure that everybody feels that they are treated fairly, that they get an opportunity to speak out, that they're respectful of one another, and that we, especially in the [Vermont] Senate, try to maintain a sense of decorum and a sense of the history and tradition of the body. And I think that I've actually been quite good at doing that.
You're running as a Democrat. I'm wondering how effectively you think you could work with a governor from a different party. If Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, wins reelection, would you be able to effectively work with him?
I think I would. The relationship, I think, would be mostly defined by the governor down to the lieutenant governor, rather than the other way around. But I've had a good relationship with Gov. Scott. Actually, just earlier this year, we worked together. He called in the vice chairs and chairs of the House and Senate education committees, had an idea to expand after-school programs. And so we came in and worked very closely with him and his staff to put together that legislation. So I think that, you know, I would certainly be very willing to to work with him. And if it were somebody from my own party, of course, it would probably be even easier.
We're all facing such challenges now from the COVID-19 pandemic. And one of them is the massive economic shock that everyone is taking here in Vermont. How can we rebuild and recover while keeping Vermonters safe at the same time?
It's extremely important for us to not adopt this kind of rhetorical approach of austerity. That would be the exact opposite of what we should do. So first of all, we should press the federal government to come up with more relief funds and a stimulus package, as they did in 2008, to help us get out of that recession. And then in Vermont, we should look to our reserves. We have very robust reserves and I'd like to examine prudent use of them before we do drastic cuts. I'd also like to look at bonding, borrowing for the future, before we do cuts. And then lastly, I think there is room at the top income levels to raise taxes or to institute some kind of "Snelling surcharge" temporarily, because a lot of those folks benefited greatly from the federal tax cuts. And we need to make sure that for as long as we need to keep people safe, we have programs and supports and funds in place to keep people going, and then slowly and safely open up the economy.
Another big issue, of course, are the protests happening nationally, also here in Vermont against racism and police brutality. Would you push for any changes in law enforcement?
I really stand by my record on racial justice issues in the Senate. I introduced legislation to make Indigenous Peoples Day permanent. I introduced the amendment to the constitution to clarify the prohibition against slavery. I supported legislation around the racial equity panel, as an executive director and the ethnic studies bill for education. In my other job, running a nonprofit, we have worked very robustly on racial justice issues. And absolutely, the examination of radical transformation of law enforcement is something that we should give serious attention to, and we should really rethink and reimagine what public safety could be like. There's certainly a role for traditional police, but I think we need to examine the idea of embedding mental health workers and substance use disorder counselors and social workers to help with a more restorative and community based approach.
During your first term as a state senator, you were arrested on a drunk driving charge after an accident in 2017. And if I'm not mistaken, you have not shied away from from speaking about this publicly. What did you learn from that experience and what kind of an impact has it had on your career as a legislator?
That's right. I have tried to be open and honest from the very beginning about that. It was a terrible mistake, of course, for me to drive in that condition. And I'm extremely grateful and always will be that I didn't hurt anybody else. I had been in recovery from alcoholism. Alcoholism is a disease. It can be managed by not drinking, basically. And I had been in recovery; that night in 2017 was a relapse. But having that terrible experience was a real wakeup call for me, that sometimes you lull yourself into thinking that, you know, you've been sober for a long time, you can you can drink again. Obviously, I cannot. And so I have redoubled my efforts at recovery. I participate in a 12 step program. I have a very strong support network and spiritual practice that keeps me sober and keeps me in recovery and I hope is some kind of model to other people. There are so many who suffer from this disease and also their loved ones who stand by and watch them. So I hope that the way that I've handled this and the recovery that I have now is actually a strength and a benefit to many people.
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Vermont鈥檚 primary election is on Aug. 11, so VPR is reaching out to candidates in contested races for governor, lieutenant governor and the U.S. House to find out why they're seeking to serve, and where they stand on the issues of the day.
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