Wednesday, May 13, 2015
"I don't know what made him rethink it, but he has decided — he's rethinking it is all I can say," Sen. Peg Flory (R-Rutland) said Wednesday afternoon.
Flory has spoken regularly to McAllister since his arrest last Thursday on sexual assault charges. She told Lt. Gov. Phil Scott Monday morning that McAllister had decided to resign and would do so within a day. Scott relayed that information to members of the media.
In brief interviews with several reporters Monday afternoon, the Franklin County Republican denied that he was stepping down. “I’ve not made up my mind in any which way," McAllister said.
He did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday, nor did his lawyer, Brooks McArthur.
Tags: Norm McAllister , Peg Flory , John Campbell , Image , Web Only
Monday, May 11, 2015
"I have heard from several people who are interested," said Franklin County Republican Party chairman Stephen Trahan. "Even one Democrat has contacted me personally and told me he'd like to be considered for this position. I admire his spunk, but we're not going to nominate a Democrat."
Among those who have contacted Trahan is former Franklin County senator and state auditor Randy Brock, the 2012 Republican nominee for governor.
"If [McAllister] resigns, I would certainly be interested in filling the seat, because I think it needs to be filled and I think it needs to be filled by someone who can get to work immediately, who's up on the issues," Brock said. "So I'm willing to serve, yes. It depends on the governor, because it's his decision solely."
Tags: Norm McAllister , Peter Shumlin , Randy Brock , Image , Web Only
Lt. Gov Phil Scott said Monday morning that Sen. Norm McAllister (R-Franklin) planned to resign from the Senate as he faces sex-crime charges.
But reached Monday afternoon, McAllister said, “That’s incorrect.”
“I haven’t even talked about this with my lawyer yet. I’m going to talk with him tomorrow,” McAllister told Seven Days. “I’ve not made up my mind in any which way.”
Scott initially would not reveal who told him McAllister planned to step down, other than to say it was “an official representative” of the Franklin County Republican. He said that person told him Monday morning that McAllister would resign within the next day.
As conflicting stories swirled through the Statehouse, Scott clarified Monday evening that his go-between was Sen. Peg Flory (R-Rutland).
“I stick by what I said. I spoke with his official representative, and she informed me that he had committed to resigning, pending having his attorney review a letter of resignation,” Scott said after the Senate adjourned for the day.
Tags: Norm McAllister , Peter Shumlin , Image , Web Only
Until last week, the most prominent of them worked for the Washington, D.C., law firm Dickstein Shapiro, which has directly lobbied Sorrell on behalf of AT&T, 5-Hour Energy, Uber and casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. As they sought to influence the AG, those lobbyists gave generously to Sorrell's reelection campaigns, forged close relationships with him, arranged publicity opportunities and paid for his travel.
Last Tuesday, the Philadelphia law firm Cozen O'Connor hired away 10 members of Dickstein's state attorneys general practice, including those who have lobbied Sorrell the hardest: Lori Kalani, Bernie Nash, JB Kelly, Milton Marquis and Chris Tampio.
Though the attorneys have frequently lobbied Sorrell and his office, none of them have registered as lobbyists in the state of Vermont.
In correspondence obtained by Seven Days, it's often difficult to distinguish between the various roles they were playing with Sorrell. When Kalani emailed the AG in April 2012, she was hoping to set up a meeting between Sorrell and Facebook's new state lobbyist "to discuss fostering better communications between the office and Facebook."
Tags: Bill Sorrell , Lori Kalani , Bernie Nash , Patricia Madrid , Mike Messina , Image , Web Only
Sunday, May 10, 2015
The woman, now 20, told Seven Days McAllister first assaulted her when she was 15 or 16 years old and employed on his Franklin goat farm. The attacks continued over the years, the woman said, as she worked as his house cleaner, on his reelection campaign and as his “assistant” at the Statehouse earlier this year.
McAllister’s legislative colleagues said they knew the woman stayed with him at the Terrace Street apartment, but had no reason to suspect he may have victimized her there.
Some details of her allegations are outlined in a three-page affidavit signed Thursday by Vermont State Police Detective Drew Cota. After another alleged victim identified the woman to police, she agreed to speak to Cota and Detective Maurice Lamothe Thursday in a 25-minute, recorded interview in a cruiser outside her home.
The woman agreed to share further information with Seven Days on the condition that her name be withheld. As a general practice, Seven Days does not identify alleged victims of sex crimes.
Tags: Norm McAllister , arrested , sexual assault , Vermont Statehouse , Dustin Degree , Peg Flory , Kevin Mullin , Timothy Corcoran , Image , Web Only
Friday, May 8, 2015
He will work with an eight-member panel of state's attorneys to investigate whether Sorrell violated campaign finance rules, according to Shumlin spokesman Scott Coriell.
“There is broad consensus, including from Attorney General Sorrell, that it makes sense to have an independent counsel look into this matter," Shumlin said in a written statement. "Working with the states attorneys, I have appointed Tom Little to serve in that role. Tom has a well-deserved reputation for integrity and common sense in both his public and private life. I am grateful to Tom for taking on this role.”
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Members of the Vermont Senate expressed shock Friday morning at the news that one of their own had been arrested. As they took the floor to debate an education governance bill, Sen. Norm McAllister (R-Franklin) was due in court to answer to sexual assault and other charges.
"I think my reaction is the same as everybody else in the Senate: just kind of confused," said Sen. Dustin Degree (R-Franklin), who shares a district with McAllister and campaigned with him in 2012 and 2014.
"Everybody's sad and concerned, and we're trying to withhold any judgment," said Sen. Joe Benning (R-Caledonia), the Senate minority leader.
Police officers approached McAllister Thursday evening at the Statehouse during a break between Senate debates, according to two senators and a police affidavit signed by Vermont State Police Sgt. Benjamin Katz.
"I was outside having a cigarette and I saw him walk with two gentlemen and just hollered out, 'Everything OK?'" recalled Sen. Peg Flory (R-Rutland). "And he said, 'Yup, be right back.' And he kept walking, and my instincts bothered me, so I went up and saw him."
Tags: Norm McAllister , arrested , Image , Web Only
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Vermont State Police said that the case against the 63-year-old man "stemmed from an investigation into complaints made against McAllister," but they did not shed further details on the underlying allegations. Judge Alison Arms ordered him held in the Northwest Regional Correctional Center in St. Albans and set bail at $20,000. He was to be arraigned in Franklin County District Court at 11 a.m. Friday.
State police declined further comment, and noted that a document outlining "probable cause" would be made public after the arraignment.
Tags: Norm McAllister , human trafficking , sexual assault , Statehouse , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
By a margin of 137 to 1, the House voted Wednesday to ban so-called "leadership PACs" from accepting donations from registered lobbyists and those who employ them until the end of the two-year biennium.
If approved by the Senate, the amendment to a broader lobbyist disclosure bill would close a loophole Democrats and Republicans alike have exploited for years: While individual legislators are currently barred from taking lobbyist cash during the session, the PACs that support their campaigns frequently accept such contributions.
Rep. Kurt Wright (R-Burlington), who cosponsored the amendment with Rep. Patti Komline (R-Dorset), reminded his colleagues during a floor debate that many of them had previously expressed "unease" over the practice.
"We all believe that it is wrong, that it does create a bad perception, at the very least — that we ought to ban this practice," Wright said.
Tags: Kurt Wright , Patti Komline , Shap Smith , Don Turner , lobbyist , fundraising , Image , Web Only
Sunday, May 3, 2015
"Is it really possible for someone who calls himself a socialist to be elected president of the United States?" ABC News "This Week" host George Stephanopoulos asked Sanders.
"Well, so long as we know what democratic socialism is," the candidate said, arguing that the Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Norway and Sweden boast higher voter turnout, better child care, cheaper education and more accessible health care than the United States.
"And in those countries, by and large, government works for ordinary people in the middle class, rather than, as is the case right now in our country, for the billionaire class," the Vermont independent concluded.
"I can hear the Republican attack ad right now," Stephanopoulos said. "He wants America to look more like Scandinavia."
"That's right. That's right," Sanders replied. "And what's wrong with that?"
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , Presidential Campaign , This Week , democratic socialism , Robert Reich , health care , Image , Recommended Reading , Video , Web Only