Bruce Lisman, a retired Wall Street executive, plans to run for governor as a Republican, two state legislators said Monday.
Lisman, of Shelburne, called a number of Republicans on Monday to say he’ll file as a candidate Tuesday.
“I got a call from him, just letting me know he’s going to announce,” said Rep. Corey Parent (R-St. Albans).
Senate Minority Leader Joe Benning (R-Caledonia) got a call too. “I told him I was glad to see him running as a Republican.”
Benning and other Republicans had worried Lisman would run as an independent, potentially splitting votes with Republican Lt. Gov. Phil Scott in the general election, should Scott run.
Scott is expected to announce within the next couple months that he’s running for governor.
Scott said Monday that Lisman also called him. “It’s good for the party if he chooses to run as a Republican,” Scott said. “I think primaries are healthy.”
Lisman is the founder of the public policy advocacy group Campaign for Vermont.
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Why does America keep turning to members of the business community to (potentially) lead us politically? Failures or not, what is it about their ultimate goal of making financial profits for the few that makes us think they can, or should, help manage the humanitarian needs of the many, especially seeing as the two things have been historically and contemporarily incompatible.
^^^”mamage the humanitarian needs” does that include managing how to pay for those needs? If so, you answered your own question.
Is he proposing the same economic models for the state that he learned while working as a senior executive at Bear Stearns? (At least before the company crashed and burned in 2008, nearly taking out the US economy in the process…)
Lisman may have made millions and millions from the company, but Bear Stearns’ profits were built on lies, bad judgment, leveraging against worthless assets, and out and out corruption. He may have made out great, but that came at the expense of average investors, and the company’s collapse was a key part of the 2008 crash that nearly destroyed the US economy.
If he wants to run on a reputation as a “successful businessman”, he needs to be held to answer for the practices of the now defunct company where he spent 4 decades. I doubt Vermont voters will look back on the economic events of 2007-8 and decide we want to put a guy who was a major player in that disaster in charge of the state.
(But hey, if Republicans nominate Jeb W Bush or Kasich for President, Vermont Republicans could look forward to running a Lehman/Bear Stearns ticket in 2016….)
Another version of the “Carpet Bagger” candidate for the 1980 Senate race, Stuart Ledbetter. Shortly after he moved to Vermont ran against Leahy backed by outside money. Where did he go ?
@ Jim Osborne: Lisman is a Vermonter. His father was a high school teacher at my alma mater SBHS.
Mr. Lisman’s tenure at Bear Stearns and the Wall Street financial collapse aside, his recent experience managing a local nonprofit into a trajectory of plummeting revenue makes me very afraid to find out how his management philosophy would impact Vermont’s state budget. His skill set for hiring competent and qualified staff appears to be sorely lacking.
I love the thought of business people running the State, because we have seen what “Liberals” have done, people leaving,because of the Taxes being so high, No good jobs so most of our kids leaving. Don’t forget our “FAILED” health care that Shumlin spent $200 million on then closed it down,,,,,,Yup I would be afraid of a Republican trying the top spot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“Mr. Lisman’s tenure at Bear Stearns and the Wall Street financial collapse aside, his recent experience managing a local nonprofit into a trajectory of plummeting revenue makes me very afraid to find out how his management philosophy would impact Vermont’s state budget. His skill set for hiring competent and qualified staff appears to be sorely lacking.”
As opposed to . . . exactly what Shumlin and his majority-party colleagues in the legislature have done to the economy of Vermont? Declining revenues, increasing government costs, higher taxes, incompetent management, kids leaving, economy stagnant. The list goes on and on and on and on. Lisman (or Scott) could not POSSIBLY do any worse than what Shumlin and the Dems have done.
I don’t know enough about his ideas for Vermont but I hope at least one Republican candidate has plans to help lower the cost of housing rentals, reducing healthcare/ health insurance costs, a better environment for businesses, and lowering taxes. If not, what is the big deal?
Brilliant. Just Brilliant. Not satisfied to enjoy his loot from his piracy days on Wall Street, not satisfied to just enjoy himself.. a Wall Street guy has decided he needs to inflict further pain on Americans by running for office so as to enjoy further decimating the economic opportunities of working families. When it comes to Wall Street “Executives” – enough is never enough; No amount of inflicting pain on working Americans is enough – even in retirement they show an unquenchable desire to cause harm.
Further decimating the economic opportunities of working Vermonters? Sounds exactly what the Democrat leadership is doing now.
Don’t you early haters think Lisman knows he’ll need to explain what he was doing and when? Do ya think Lisman is reading your comments and thinking, “Oh shit, I guess I’ll have to fess up for all my thievery?” Please people, give him a little credit…
We really need a smart business person to lead us out of the mess Shummy got us into. I don’t care if the person is a retired Wall Streeter or a Mafia boss, just give us someone who knows money, people and can navigate legal waters.
A bus of monkeys could do better than what we have now. Just think what a smart gal or guy could do.