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Bruce Lisman
Bruce Lisman was a Republican candidate for governor of Vermont in 2016.[1] He was defeated in the August 9 Republican primary by Phil Scott.
Biography
Born in Burlington, Vermont, Lisman began his career with a six-year period of service in the United States Army Reserve. During that time, Lisman moved to New York and worked odd jobs before becoming a stock exchange broker. He has worked at an equity research analyst and as director of research for Lehman Brothers, as co-head and CEO of institutional equities at Bear Sterns & Company, and as chairman of the global equities division at JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Lisman served on the University of Vermont's Board of Trustees from 1996 to 2004. He also currently served as the chair of the board of directors of American Forests. Listen founded a scholarship fund in 1993 at the University of Vermont, and a nonpartisan advocacy group in 2011 called Campaign for Vermont.
Listen lost his first wife, with whom he had two daughters, to breast cancer in 1999. He currently lives in Shelburne with his wife, Kyla, and their three dogs.[2][3]
Education
B.A. political science, University of Vermont (1969)
Election
2016
- See also: Vermont gubernatorial election, 2016
Lisman filed to run as a Republican candidate for governor of Vermont in 2016. He competed with Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott in the August 9, 2016, primary.[1][4]
Phil Scott defeated Bruce Lisman in the Republican primary for governor.
| Republican primary for governor, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Phil Scott |
59.77% | 27,728 |
| Bruce Lisman | 39.04% | 18,113 |
| Write-in votes | 1.19% | 553 |
| Total Votes (275 of 275 Precincts Reporting) | 46,394 | |
| Source: Vermont Secretary of State | ||
Debates
On December 16, 2015, candidates for governor of Vermont debated at the Associated Industries of Vermont annual conference. Bruce Lisman (R) said he would take a multiyear approach to recast state government:
| “ | I'd manage the damn budget. Set spending at 2-3 percent per year to reset our finances and no new taxes. And find 2 percent efficiencies with a brilliant, motivated management team. Recharge our government by bringing real managers into it, those people we find not because we know them but because they're talented.[5] | ” |
| —Bruce Lisman, [1] | ||
Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott (R) called for an environment conducive to the financial well-being of working families: "I will neither propose nor will I sign a budget that exceeds these very reasonable limits. Working families need a break." He added, "What we're really doing is creating an environment that is helpful to them and a state government that is by their side and not on their back."[1]
Both of the Republicans said the state health exchange has harmed the business climate in Vermont.[1]
Former Transportation Secretary Sue Minter (D), who served in the administration of Peter Shumlin (D), said, "Growing an economy, I know, is a lot more than what government can do, but government must be a strong partner." She continued, "Growing the economy relies on innovators, investors, the ability to recruit, retain and train an educated workforce."[1]
Matt Dunne (D), a Google executive and former legislator, said,
| “ | Under my administration, every manufacturing business in the state of Vermont would have a project manager to work on their behalf to make sure that you are not having to navigate state government from one agency to another to be able to make the changes you know are necessary.[5] | ” |
| —Matt Dunne, [1] | ||
Campaign finance
Campaign themes
2016
Lisman's campaign website included the following positions:[6]
- Cap state spending at a two percent growth rate for the next three years and require all agencies to reduce spending by 1.5 percent.
- Eliminate the state healthcare exchange, enter the federal exchange and audit Medicaid
- Advocate for state government to follow competitive processes in awarding business contracts
- Focus on job creation through encouraging small business growth and attracting foreign entrepreneurs
- Create workforce education programs that connect university students with Vermont jobs
- Exempt seniors citizens over the age of 65 from paying taxes on properties owned longer than three years, phase out the tax on Social Security benefits, offer tax exemptions to veterans
- Repeal Act 46, which consolidated local school districts and established spending caps
- Increase government transparency
- Enact stricter ethics regulations, establish a state ethics commission
- Prevent the legalization of recreational marijuana
- Temporarily ban industrial solar and wind projects, increase reliance on the Hydro-Quebec water-generated electricity and upgrade cable infrastructure
- Improving the state's drinking water infrastructure
- Expand access to opiate addiction treatment services, mental healthcare services, and early intervention programs
See also
| Vermont | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Alexei Rubenstein, WCAX.com, "Vt. gubernatorial candidates talk business," December 18, 2015
- ↑ Bruce Lisman for Governor, "About Bruce," accessed July 27, 2016
- ↑ Linkedin, "Bruce Lisman," accessed July 27, 2016
- ↑ Pat Bradley, WAMC Northeast Public Radio, "Vermont's political campaigns gear up for 2016," December 31, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Bruce Lisman for Governor, "Issues," accessed August 5, 2016
