Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Charges against the 64-year-old McAllister will focus on alleged incidents in the barn of his Highgate Center farm sometime between January 2010 and May 2015, according to court documents released Tuesday.
Exactly when those alleged incidents happened could become a point of contention during what is expected to be a two-day trial.
Tags: Norm McAllister , Vermont Legislature , sexual assault , Image , Web Only
Monday, June 13, 2016
Sen. Norm McAllister (R-Franklin) walked into Vermont Superior Court in St. Albans Monday morning for the start of court appearances that will determine his fate.
Two days before his trial on sexual assault charges involving a former legislative assistant, McAllister remains uninterested in a plea agreement. He rejected an agreement offered by prosecutors, his lawyer, Brooks McArthur, said. He and State’s Attorney Jim Hughes declined to say what the offer entailed.
“He’s eager for the trial to begin,” McArthur said.
By week’s end, the alleged victim, who worked as McAllister’s legislative assistant; several of the senator’s legislative colleagues; and McAllister himself may take the witness stand.
Lawyers are scheduled to pick a jury on Tuesday. The trial — expected to last two days — will start Wednesday.
Monday, McAllister appeared with his lawyers for a pretrial conference before Vermont Superior Court Judge Robert Mello.
Deputy State’s Attorney Diane Wheeler told Mello she plans to file revised charges that more specifically define the allegations McAllister faces. He will be arraigned on the charges Tuesday, Wheeler said.
Tags: Norm McAllister , Brooks McArthur , Diane Wheeler , Robert Hemley , Vermont Senate , Robert Mello , Image , Web Only
Friday, June 10, 2016
They had spent much of the day trying in vain to override Gov. Peter Shumlin's veto of a renewable energy siting bill. They had stood together to block consideration of a substitute measure, which proponents promised merely corrected technical problems in the vetoed bill. But now the minority party had reached an impasse: While they had the votes to delay the substitute measure's passage, they didn't have the votes to stop it.
"What's the end game here?" asked Rep. Kurt Wright (R-Burlington), a moderate Republican who often bucks his party's leadership.
Perched at the head of the conference table, House Minority Leader Don Turner (R-Milton) suddenly seemed at a loss for words. The end game, he said, was to override the governor's veto — a result, he acknowledged, that would never come to pass.
"We're in a circular pattern," Turner conceded.
Tags: S.230 , renewable energy siting , Don Turner , Image , Web Only
Thursday, June 9, 2016
Legislators had spent most of the day in a stalemate between those who wanted to alter the vetoed bill and those who wanted to override the governor’s veto. Most of the debate focused on procedure rather than the substance of the issues.
By 8:40 p.m., both chambers voted to pass the revised bill — in a 27-2 vote in the Senate and by a voice vote in the House. Shumlin quickly sent word that he would sign the new version.
The Senate also voted 20-8 to sustain the governor’s veto of the original bill, a move that left the House without the chance to override the veto.
Tags: Renewable energy , Peter Shumlin , Don Turner , John Campbell , Image , Web Only
Monday, June 6, 2016
Updated June 6, 2016 at 7 p.m.
Gov. Peter Shumlin on Monday vetoed a renewable energy siting bill — a decision that will bring lawmakers back to Montpelier on Thursday.
What might happen then? That’s not quite clear.
While some lawmakers are pushing to override the governor’s veto, others — including House Speaker Shap Smith (D-Morristown) — want to pass a new bill, pledging that will take just a day.
The bill, S.230, was designed to give local communities more say in the siting of solar and wind projects. The bill led to a long and difficult tug-of-war between those who want more renewable energy in Vermont and those who’ve found wind and solar projects to be obtrusive neighbors. It was finalized in the last hours of the legislative session.
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Monday, May 30, 2016
Shumlin wouldn’t say Monday whether he will veto S. 230, a bill that is supposed to give local communities more say in the siting of wind and solar energy projects. But he said his staff is poring over the legislation’s details.
“We’re still trying to figure out what it does,” Shumlin said Monday morning as he prepared to march in the Vergennes Memorial Day parade. “You know, I love the bill. I love the part that gives the public more say in decisions. I think we’re trying to figure out what was cobbled together in the halls actually does.”
Tags: Peter Shumlin , Shap Smith , Chris Bray , Tony Klein , veto , Image , Web Only
Friday, May 27, 2016
"I really had no idea what to expect," Pearson said.
Within hours, Sanders had emailed his massive list of donors asking for donations to Pearson's campaign and those of seven other state legislative candidates — from South Carolina to South Dakota. That night, as Pearson was walking to dinner, he logged in to his online fundraising platform and found that the appeal had already generated $30,000 in donations.
"I just about fell over," he said. "I was totally stunned."
By Friday afternoon, that number had doubled: According to Pearson, 12,185 Sanders supporters had donated $60,500 to his campaign. That's far more than candidates typically spend to compete in the six-member Chittenden County Senate district — and more than the roughly $40,000 Pearson had hoped to raise.
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They’re running as D’s.
The Vermont Progressive Party has made a conscious decision to encourage more of its candidates to seek office by running in the Democratic primary first. They will simultaneously seek write-in votes in the Progressive primary, aiming to have both party lines in the November general election.
“It tends to be the winning strategy,” said party chair Emma Mulvaney-Stanak. “You can limit the competition.”
Tags: Vermont Progressive Party , David Zuckerman , Emma Mulvaney-Stanak , Boots Wardinski , Image , Web Only
Monday, May 23, 2016
On Monday he filed a petition with the Vermont Secretary of State's office to run for reelection.
"I'm assuming the case is going to come out the way I think it should," McAllister said. "If it doesn't come out the way I think it should, well ... I've got to have faith in the system."
McAllister was arrested just over a year ago at the Statehouse. Authorities charged him with three felony counts of sexual assault and three misdemeanor counts of a prohibited act involving a total of three women.
He is scheduled to go on trial June 15 in Franklin County on charges related to one of the alleged victims, a young woman who served as his unofficial legislative assistant. No trial date related to the other charges has been set.
Senate candidates have to collect signatures from at least 100 registered voters in their district to qualify as candidates. The filing deadline for state candidates is Thursday. McAllister, whose name appeared Monday afternoon on the Secretary of State's website, said he didn't have the luxury of knowing how the criminal case would turn out before deciding whether to file for reelection.
He said the reactions of people he approached to sign his petitions were almost all positive."I had a lot of people say, 'Go for it.'"
McAllister will face competition in the August 9 Republican primary for the two-seat Senate district. Rep. Carolyn Branagan (R-Georgia) and Sen. Dustin Degree (R-Franklin) are also running.
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Friday, May 20, 2016
Rep. David Deen (D-Westminster) said he tried to persuade the governor’s staff that adding members of the public to the state’s Clean Water Fund Board was a good idea. “I’ve been having an argument with them all afternoon,” Deen said. “And I lost.”
The bill, H. 518, would have added four people, including two municipal officials, to the five-member board established as part of a broad clean water bill last year. The existing five members are all state agency secretaries. The board’s job is to make recommendations to the governor about how to spend money intended for cleaning up waterways.
Tags: David Deen , Gov. Peter Shumlin , Clean Water Fund Board , Image , Web Only