Arnie Weissmann
Travel Weekly only dips into politics and policy as it relates to the travel industry, and leading up to the election, we had written more about Donald Trump than any previous presidential candidate because it was unprecedented to have the chairman of a hospitality company nominated by one of the two major parties for the highest office of the land.
But he was not the only industry-related candidate on ballots last month. I can't say with certainty, but it's quite possible that Scott Milne of Pomfret, Vt., whose Milne Travel has eight retail locations, was the first travel agent to stand as a major party's candidate for the U.S. Senate, opposing Democratic incumbent Patrick Leahy.
In any other year, I might have compared the odds of a Republican winning statewide office in Vermont with the likelihood that the Cubs could win the World Series. But Milne had some reason for optimism: In 2014, he had come within 2,500 votes of beating an incumbent Democratic governor, and he presents himself as a moderate who can reach across the aisle.
As it turned out, there was no Cinderella ending for Milne in 2016. Leahy, the longest-serving member of the Senate, beat him by a 2-1 margin.
There was consolation, however, that Milne's cost-per-vote margin was vastly superior: Leahy spent $2.1 million on his re-election, while Milne spent $57,000 opposing him.
And that spoke very much to the point Milne was hoping to make by running: Special-interest money, which Milne spurned, has too much influence over long-tenured politicians.
Milne said his political ambitions are guided by a quote often attributed to Mahatma Gandhi: "Be the change you want to see in the world."
"We knew we would leave money on the table by not soliciting donations, but I thought that winning with that strategy would enhance my ability to make a difference," he told me. "We never used the phrase 'drain the swamp,' but we were hoping to get the same traction as Bernie Sanders and Trump, showing that a rigged political system and a rigged economy ultimately lead to a dysfunctional country. I was campaigning to bring power back to the people."
Had he won, how would his travel industry background have informed a Senator Milne?
"Travel thrives in an economy that works and in a world that's safe," he said. "Travel and tourism is the largest employer of people on the planet. As one sees the way that technology is rapidly replacing jobs, one also sees that travel and tourism is a good job creator. I would have been an advocate for the industry."
Milne's focus on public service and travel was inherited from his parents. His mother, Marion Milne, became a travel agent in New York at age 16 and alternated between travel consulting and social work until, at age 34, she acquired MacPherson Travel.
She was also a state legislator. Her son is proud that, although she represented a conservative district, she successfully fought for Vermont to become the first state to recognize same-sex civil unions. That stance cost her her seat when she ran for re-election, but her son feels she played a pivotal role in a movement that sparked national acceptance of same-sex marriage.
The family's public service extends beyond the political area. In the spirit of being the change one wants to see, the agency sponsors "Milne Service Volunteers," a website that enables volunteers for nonprofit groups to track their hours, then rewards dedicated volunteers with voluntourism trips, using services donated by industry suppliers. These trips, he hopes, will inspire people to consider a career in travel.
During the campaign, Milne had publicly stated he would not vote for Trump. Following Trump's professed ignorance of who David Duke was, coupled with the release of the "Access Hollywood" tape with Billy Bush, Milne said he felt Trump would not be a good role model to inspire young people to get involved in politics.
I asked him what he expects to see from a Trump administration as relates to travel and tourism.
"I hope he isn't quite as quick to tear up trade agreements as he suggested," Milne said. "Open skies and travel deregulation in general have been very good for the industry, as is policy that enables global travelers to come into the U.S."
He believes Elaine Chao is a good choice for secretary of transportation and reflects a pragmatic side of Trump, which he hopes will become more prominent. "He's not an ideologue. He won't be shutting down government to get his way, which is good. Business likes predictability," Milne said.
The foreign media has not been kind to the president-elect, and I asked if that might have an impact on travel.
"We need to work hard to have an America that everyone admires and respects," Milne said. "Trump's rhetoric about a Muslim ban and building a wall with Mexico is clearly insensitive. He needs to get beyond the racist/misogynist image and into policy and getting the economy working.
"Let's at least give him 100 days after the inauguration and hope the world does, too. We don't want to go through what we did in [the George W.] Bush administration when half the Americans traveling abroad pretended they were Canadian," he said.