CLAIM: "If [the state treasurer’s website] was so wonderful, why do we have a D minus in transparency from the U.S. PIRG? That is unacceptable in this information age." 
— Republican candidate for state treasurer Wendy Wilton, WCAX-TV debate, October 7

FACTS: Transparency has been Wilton’s favorite cudgel in the state treasurer’s race. The Rutland city treasurer accuses Democratic State Treasurer Beth Pearce of failing to present the state’s budget in a “checkbook” format that Vermonters can understand. She points to a March study from U.S. PIRG, a national consumer advocacy organization, that gave the state a failing grade for financial transparency as proof that Pearce hasn’t provided the public with the kind of easy-to-grasp graphics and explanations that would make the state’s finances more transparent to average Vermonters. 

Better late than never: The news and politics from this week's print edition of Seven Days...

• In this week's cover story, Paul Heintz looks at the state of the Vermont Republican Party — short on cash, organization and viable candidates.
• In a related story, Andy Bromage tries to shed a little light on Lenore Broughton, the woman who's contributed more than $600,000 to conservative super PAC Vermonters First. (You've already read what happens when you try to photograph her...)
• Cass Gekas is young, broke and running for lieutenant governor. Does she have a shot at unseating Phil Scott?
• Burlington voters will cast their ballots on a $9 million bond that Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger says is necessary to secure the city's financial future. 
• In a related story, learn about the other ballot items Burlington will vote on come Nov. 6, including a waterfront revamp and a referendum on pot legalization.
• Remember playing Army as a kid? A group of Vermonters are taking that to its logical extreme in Charlotte using Airsoft guns.
• Yours truly asked two of Seven Days' graphic designers their thoughts on this year's crop of campaign lawn signs. If they're going to be ubiquitous, they may as well look good.
• In Fair Game, Paul Heintz takes a closer look at the latest campaign finance reports. Plus, the future of the attorney general's office, and auditor candidate Vince Illuzzi un-endorses Mitt Romney.

Illustration by Kym Balthazar

In this week's dead-tree edition of Seven Days we brought you a story about the tumultuous tenure of Vermont State Employees Association executive director Mark Mitchell.

In the past five weeks, six of the union's 19 staffers have left — and several told Seven Days that Mitchell's the reason. Meanwhile, the new boss' defenders say Mitchell is doing exactly what he was hired to do: strengthen the 5200-member union and fight hard for state workers.

We first heard about the brouhaha when we got our mitts on this letter to the union's board of trustees. It was penned by former VSEA senior field representative Lucinda Kirk, who recently left the union to work for the state. Check it out for yourself:

The news stories you'll find in this week's print-and-ink version of Seven Days...

• Several former employees say the new head of the Vermont State Employees Association is doing big damage to the organization.
• A convicted sex offender stole an active-duty soldier's identity and registered to vote, got a job and made friends in Vermont.
• Rutland is still reeling from the death of teenager Carly Ferro at the hands of a drug-impaired driver. How should the city respond?
• A crowdfunded, Twitter-hyped local film project had a very public breakdown last week when social network users fought back against an alleged con artist.
• It's also the winter preview issue of Seven Days this week. One place you won't be able to ski this winter is Ascutney Mountain Resort.
• In this week's Fair Game column, Paul Heintz reports that there could be a new majority leader — and possibly a new President Pro Tem — coming to the state Senate next year.

Happy Rocktober! I trust everyone had a good Zep-tember?

Here's what's happening this week in the world of Vermont news and politics. Think you got something newsworthy for next week's calendar? Email us by Friday to submit.

Monday, October 1

• Lt. Gov. Phil Scott kicks off a publicity stunt — er, campaign tour — today with his "Cycling Vermont's 14" excursion. That's right, the lite guv will pedal all 14 counties of this brave little state. Guess he finally ran out of other people's jobs to do. Follow the epic journey here.
• At 10:30 a.m. at his Burlington office, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) holds a press conference to announce an energy efficiency grant that will let Burlington electric ratepayers finance energy conservation projects through their utility bills. Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger and Vermont public service commissioner Liz Miller will join him.
• Republican gubernatorial candidate Randy Brock has scheduled a press conference on economic development — a departure from his almost singular focus on attacking Shumlin-care. 1:30 p.m. at ipCapital Group in Williston.
• The three candidates running for attorney general — incumbent Democrat Bill Sorrell, Progressive Ed Stanak and Republican Jack McMullen — will debate at Johnson State College at 4:30 p.m.in the library. Sen. Bill Doyle will moderate.

Rest of the week after the jump...

Maybe you've seen the lawn signs — bright blue placards with white letters imploring you to re-elect someone named "Phil Baruth" to the state Senate this November.

We definitely remember a guy named "Philip Baruth." He was an author, English professor at UVM, political blogger, VPR commentator and was elected to represent Chittenden County in the state Senate in 2010. It appears that Philip Baruth still works at UVM. And the state's official 2012 candidate roster lists a Philip Baruth, but no Phil.

So who is this Phil Baruth? Seven Days launched a resource-intensive investigation to learn the truth. But after numerous public records requests, dozens of scathing editorials and many nights of digging through Philip Baruth's trash, we were no closer to an answer.

So we picked up the phone, dialed Philip Baruth and asked him.

What to look for in this week's dead-tree edition of Seven Days...

• Yesterday, Kathryn Flagg wrote a post about the new "outdoor classroom" at Burlington's Sustainability Academy. This week she writes more about the school's new changes — both cosmetic and otherwise.
• The lawyer representing anti-abortion protesters in a lawsuit against Burlington's no-protest zone around reproductive health clinics has a history of litigating "buffer zone" cases around the country.
• More and more Progressives are running for office with both a "P" and a "D" next to their names. Are "fusion" candidates good for the future of the state's third party?
• This week in "Fair Game": The election ad blitz has begun, and it's led by conservative super PAC Vermonters First. Plus, Senate Democrats won't support David Zuckerman, Bernie makes waves in New Hampshire, and Jay Peak is set to announce more EB-5 funded projects.

One final note: Friends and family of former VTDigger.org reporter Alan Panebaker, who died in a kayaking accident last week, will hold a celebration of his life at Eagle Park in Bristol this Saturday at 2 p.m. Donations can be made in Panebaker’s name to American Whitewater, where he last worked, at P.O. Box 1540, Cullowhee, NC 28723.

Illustration by Torrey Valyou

With the 2012 campaign season in full swing, Seven Days has teamed up with VTDigger.org to create a fact-checker feature to test the "truthiness" of claims made by the candidates who want your vote this November. This week's Fact Checker was written by Paul Heintz.

CLAIM: "We've added 7500 new jobs in the state of Vermont since we got elected two years ago."   

— Gov. Peter Shumlin, campaign kickoff,  September 10, 2012 

FACTS: If you've spent any time listening to Gov. Peter Shumlin argue his case for a second term, you've heard the number 7500. That's how many jobs he says have been created in Vermont since he took office in January 2011. 

Shumlin's campaign says it arrived at that figure by comparing the Vermont Department of Labor's tally of not-seasonally-adjusted, nonfarm jobs between January 2011 and June 2012. And, indeed, the number increased by 7550 during that time frame — from 296,600 to 304,150 jobs. 

But the story doesn't end in June. In July, the number of nonfarm jobs dropped 4950 to 299,200. And in August, it dipped another 900 to 298,300. Throughout Shumlin's 21 months in office, therefore, the number of not-seasonally-adjusted, nonfarm jobs has increased by just 1700. 

Of course, there's a reason economists seasonally adjust employment figures: They tend to fluctuate in a fairly predictable pattern throughout the year. For instance, last summer's June-to-July drop-off was similar to this past one; in 2011, the June-to-July nonfarm employment figure dropped from 299,450 to 292,950 — the lowest jobs figure of Shumlin's tenure. In December 2011, that figure surged to 308,100 — the highest of his tenure. 

When employment numbers are seasonally adjusted, Shumlin's record looks a little better — though not quite as rosy as he claims. Between January 2011 and August 2012, the number of seasonally adjusted, nonfarm jobs increased by 4700 — from 298,500 to 303,200. 

Another way to judge Shumlin's economic record is to look at unemployment figures. Between January 2011 and August 2012, the seasonally adjusted number of unemployed Vermonters fell from 21,600 (6 percent) to 19,000 (5.3 percent). While unemployment is lower now than when Shumlin took office, it has actually increased during each of the past three months, from a low of 16,400 (4.6 percent) in May.  

SCORE: Gov. Shumlin's claim  that Vermont has added 7500 jobs  during his tenure may have been true in June, but it's not true anymore. Using his own criteria, the correct number would be 1700. If Shumlin wants to provide an accurate sense of job creation during his tenure, he should shift to the seasonally adjusted measure, which shows an increase of 4700 nonfarm jobs during his tenure. By cherry-picking the best numbers available to him, Shumlin exaggerates Vermont's job growth during the past 21 months. We rate his claim "Mostly False."

This week in news and events in the Green Mountain State's political sphere: an "interesting" Obama fundraiser, a Vermont appearance by former Obama adviser Van Jones, and some newsworthy readings at the Burlington Book Festival.

Monday, September 17

• Today's the deadline for monthly campaign finance reports. It's like Christmas for political reporters.
• Vermont Business Magazine hands out its 5x5x5 Growth Awards, for five growing local businesses in five categories over five years, at the Doubletree Hotel in South Burlington.

Tuesday, September 18

• Jonathan Goldsmith, a.k.a. the Most Interesting Man in the World, holds a fundraiser to support Barack Obama's reelection campaign at Nectar's. We wrote all about that one last week.
• Longtime political journalist Barrie Dunsmore gives a talk called "Discerning Fact From Fiction: Navigating Political Campaigns and the Media." (Sounds useful this year, no?) The talk begins at 7 p.m. at the Writers' Barn in Shelburne. It's free, but RSVP by emailing [email protected].

With the 2012 campaign season in full swing, Seven Days has teamed up with VTDigger.org to create a fact-checker feature to test the "truthiness" of claims made by the candidates who want your vote this November. 

CLAIM: Republican Lt. Gov. Phil Scott is “against a woman’s right to choose.” 

— September 7 fundraising email by Jerry Greenfield, campaign treasurer for Progressive/Democrat Cassandra Gekas

FACTS: Last week, Ben & Jerry’s cofounder Jerry Greenfield served up some reasons to give money to Cassandra Gekas’ campaign for lieutenant governor. Most amounted to attacks on Phil Scott, the Republican incumbent.

In a fundraising email, Greenfield wrote, “Do you want Phil Scott to be Vermont’s next governor? ... He is against a woman’s right to choose.”