Harvard's 'Low-Key' Legislator

For the past two years, Charles P. Smith '76-3 has divided his time between two ivory towers: Harvard, where he pursues a degree in history; and Montpelier, Vermont, where he annually participates in the four-month sessions of the state legislature as an elected representative.

Smith was reelected last week to his second term in the Vermont House of Representatives, running without opposition and without party affiliation.

Approximately 3600 registered voters reside in the portion of the city of Burlington that Smith represents. "If a voter doesn't know me personally, he is apt to know a relative of mine," Smith said last week.

It's in a place like Burlington, where politics is "eye-to-eye with everyone," that a 20-year-old college student can make a run of it and win.

In such low-key political communities, a candidate can win without party machinery to back him, as Charlie did; but he must make an exhaustive door-to-door campaign that entails a personal commitment not easily reconciled to defeat.

"Until you invite public judgement of your character and abilities, it is difficult to understand the personal ego risk that a politician takes," Smith said.

"In a close-knit community like mine, your friends and neighbors can rake you over the coals pretty thoroughly. You aren't insulated from direct criticism as you might be in a media campaign."

This personal political atmosphere is far removed from the popularized notion of bigmoney campaigns, big-city political machines, and victories by candidates cloaked in media fabrications.

Smith's media campaign consists of a four-page pamphlet that he put together himself for his '74 campaign. The toll of running then, in what Smith called a "hotly contested" race, came from emotional anxiety rather than Smith's wallet. He took on five opponents and spent only $250.

"If I was going by my wallet, I guess I wouldn't feel much difference between '74 and last week when I ran unopposed. But I'll tell you," Smith says with a smile, "there was a hell of a difference, and it's nice to know that I have been well enough accepted that no one tried to unseat me."

Smith said that he would not have entered politics in a community where the campaign and the voter-relationships were not "low-profile." "In Vermont, we have a healthy brand of politics, and when you put your head on the block, it's really nice to win," he said.

The Smith family has been in and out of Vermont politics for years. His father, Fredrick Smith, was at one time a Republican state senator. Although refusing to make a definite commitment, Smith said last week that he is leaning towards joining the Republicans because he feels century-old family ties with the party, and senses that the party is presently open to the influence of younger members. "There's room for rising" in Vermont's Republican party, he added.

Smith presently serves on the Commerce Committee where his legislative interests have centered on business and taxation in Vermont. His activities on the committee have resulted in working relationships between him and more conservative elements in the Legislature, a position which might seem odd on the surface since Smith is the youngest representative in the state.

However, Smith declines to place himself along the liberal-conservative political spectrum. On several key issues, some of which he has personally initiated, Smith is in strong agreement with seasoned conservatives and seeks their assistance.

These working relationships, based on what Smith calls "mutual respect," are useful because he feels they allow his own views, even if they are decidedly liberal, to receive a genuinely fair hearing from conservative legislators.

Smith's top-priority bill this coming legislative session, which begins in January, will require that he "play ball" with both poles of the Legislature to gain support.

The bill, which is Smith's own brainchild, would disassociate the financing of local schools from the revenue obtained by the state's local property tax. Instead, citizens would pay an amount equal to a percentage of their federal income tax to support the school system. Particular aspects of the bill appeal naturally to both conservatives, who support property tax relief and liberals, who feel the new local income tax would be more equitable.

"I was surprised to discover that allies for many controversial bills will rally from what appear to be distant corners," Smith said. "Coalitions defying party lines can carry most issues to a workable end. I have seen how often left-wingers and conservatives will come full circle and find themselves in awkward but effective agreement," he added.

Smith has learned that preconceptions about political manuevering, which lead to abrupt condemnations, tend to misrepresent the mechanics of mustering support for legislative ideas which themselves are noteworthy and commendable.

"When I believe in an idea, I couldn't care less where my support comes from," Smith said. "Above all in a legislative body it's important to get things done. That's fundamental."