BRATTLEBORO — Many thanks to everyone who supported me and my campaign to build a brighter economic future for Vermont and Vermonters. I had so many memorable moments and conversations out there on the campaign trail. I am thankful for each interaction, kind word and gesture, and for the values that bind us as Vermonters.
I got into politics eight years ago not because I wanted to be a politician, but because I wanted to help people. I am grateful for the groundbreaking work I accomplished on the House Education Committee and on the House Commerce and Economic Development Committee.
Shortly after the election, I stopped by an old friend's office to thank him for his support. He gave me this quote from a pitch-perfect speech by Theodore Roosevelt:
“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
I thank my husband of 38 years and number-one volunteer, John Carl Mabie; and our children, Ian and Lauren Stuart Mabie, who provided campaign support from afar. And I thank my talented campaign aide Marjorie Shriver.
Many thanks to my colleagues in Vermont's House of Representatives for the years we collaborated on crafting some great legislation, as well as my friends and neighbors who donated to my campaign, wrote letters to the newspapers endorsing me, and put my signs on their lawns.
Thank you, one and all, for a great run. Here's to working together in the future to build a better Vermont for all Vermonters, one small or giant step at a time.