Brock Says Growing Economy Is His Lt. Gov. Priority

Randy Brock, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, has three things in mind.

“The first is jobs and the economy, the second is jobs and the economy, and the third is jobs and the economy,” he said while in St. Johnsbury this week. “Jobs, good jobs, improve so many other problems. The best cure for poverty is a job, and obviously, a good one.”

Brock’s resumé includes state auditor, state senator, and manager for Fidelity Investment in Boston and in Europe. He is a Vietnam veteran, and holds degrees from Middlebury College and Yale.

Brock wants to spark Vermont’s economy. If elected, he aims to locate $100 million in revenue aside from taxpayer dollars in order to stabilize the state’s fiscal situation and provide breathing room for sound planning.

“If you want something that works, the time is now to start building it,” Brock said. “One of the things I do best is ask questions and listen, but I don’t accept answers that are nonresponsive.”

Revenue options include growing Vermont’s booming captive-insurance industry for corporations and the wealthy, he said. It already annually generates more than $30 million in state taxes, he said.

Revising the controversial EB-5 program is another possibility, he said.

“I’m working on the use of interstate commerce as the vehicle,” Brock said. “We’ve got the greatest transfer of wealth in American history coming as Baby Boomers retire.”

The office of lieutenant governor is shaped by the officeholder, Brock said. It is also constitutionally essential, he said.

Vermont history features five examples of lieutenant governors being called to action, Brock said.

“It is an office that in crisis is a needed office,” he said. “I think it’s important to have somebody that is willing to do it, and has the experience and the background.”

Brock said lessons from a failed bid for Vermont governor aid his ongoing campaign.

“I did learn a lot,” he said. “It certainly helps in terms of name recognition. And you’ve also been tested. People have looked at you, and scrutinized you.”

Brock lives in Swanton. He attended Middlebury College before completing a graduate program at Yale.

Brock has lived in Vermont for 45 years. He retained his residency while working 15 years in Massachusetts by flying from Burlington to Boston and back again on weekdays.

Brock is a world traveler with a heart for Hong Kong.

“I love Hong Kong,” he said. “Oh, it’s wonderful. It’s a city that has so much energy.”

Brock in November faces Progressive Democrat candidate for lieutenant governor David Zuckerman of Hinesburg. Zuckerman is a University of Vermont graduate and served in the Vermont House of Representatives for 14 years.

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