Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Louis Meyers, a doctor who lives in Williston, has abandoned plans to run for lieutenant governor in favor of running for Senate in the Chittenden district in the Democratic primary.
Dawn Ellis, a Democrat who finished seventh in a race for six Chittenden Senate district seats in the general election in 2014, said she plans to make another run this year.
That makes at least 10 Democrats, including four incumbents, competing for six nominations to be determined in the August 9 primary.
Tags: Dawn Ellis , Louis Meyers , John Gifford , Vermont Senate , Image , Web Only
Friday, May 13, 2016
A week after adjournment, the race appears to have begun.
Campbell's deputy, Majority Leader Phil Baruth (D-Chittenden), announced Friday that he had decided against running for the Senate's top leadership post. Instead, he said he would support Sen. Tim Ashe (D/P-Chittenden), his district-mate and one of four candidates for the pro tem job.
"Tim brings a unique, overarching view of the legislative process to the table, and I think he's precisely the right match in this particular moment," Baruth said. "You always hope your time is now, but I'm fully convinced this time belongs to Tim. Hopefully I can give the job another look another day."
Baruth said he had made up his mind in the closing weeks of the session but thought it "disrespectful to the voters" to shift the conversation to politics before adjournment. He said he had not yet decided whether he would attempt to remain majority leader or perhaps seek a committee chairmanship.
Tags: Phil Baruth , Tim Ashe , Claire Ayer , Chris Bray , Ann Cummings , Vermont Senate , president pro tem , Image , Web Only
Thursday, May 12, 2016
Pearson, 43, said Thursday he will run in the Democratic primary, seeking one of six Senate seats representing Chittenden County.
The field is growing increasingly competitive as the May 26 candidate filing deadline approaches. At least eight people are running in the Democratic primary. Two of the six incumbent Chittenden County senators are not seeking reelection.
Tags: election 2016 , Chris Pearson , David Zuckerman , Vermont legislature , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
“I believe it forces the legislature to prioritize,” Scott said. “I believe it’s doable.”
Scott also called on the state to go from a one- to a two-year budgeting process and pledged not to write or approve a budget that increases spending more than the economy grows in a given year. The Democrat-controlled legislature just approved a $5.77 billion 2017 budget that increases general fund spending by nearly 4.8 percent.
All of Scott’s pledges pose challenges.
Tags: Bruce Lisman , cannabis related , Jim Douglas , Phil Scott , Vermont politics , Image , Web Only
Saturday, May 7, 2016
Thus ended a night of farewells from the many lawmakers who have chosen not to seek reelection — including, most significantly, the four men who have run the Statehouse together since January 2011: Gov. Peter Shumlin, Senate President Pro Tempore John Campbell (D-Windsor), Scott and Smith.
“We’ve done a lot — an awful lot — and we’ve done it together, as a family,” Shumlin told a joint assembly of the House and Senate shortly before adjournment of the 2016 legislative session. “I’m acutely aware of this tonight as myself and many of you are moving on from our current roles in public service. Like all families, we’ve had our spats, but we’ve always come together, in the end, to do what’s best for Vermont.”
There were, in fact, fewer end-of-session spats than usual Friday as legislators raced for the exits. Though disagreement over a renewable energy siting bill briefly threatened to extend the session, legislative leaders agreed during a 5 p.m. meeting in the speaker’s office that they could adjourn a day earlier than many anticipated.
For some, the end couldn’t come soon enough.
Tags: Vermont legislature , Peter Shumlin , Phil Scott , John Campbell , Shap Smith , Image , Web Only
Friday, May 6, 2016
But to create voting records they can take on the campaign trail, House Republicans demanded roll call votes on each of the money bills. Some Republicans shouted their “no” votes on tax bill, which prompted Democrats and Progressives to raise the volume on their “yes” votes.
The largely party line tallies on the three bills: taxes passed 86-55; fees passed 93-47 and the budget was approved 91-48.
Senators passed all three bills with voice votes. On the budget vote in the Senate, someone offered a barely audible “no.”
Tags: Sen. Jane Kitchel , Rep. Mitzi Johnson , weatherization , University of Vermont , Vermont State Colleges , Rep. Don Turner , Rep. Dustin Degree , Image , Web Only
“We’re not happy,” said Penny Dubie, a Fairfield resident who has been hotly fighting the siting of wind projects since a seven-turbine Swanton project was proposed near her house.
Legislators had just reached a final agreement on the bill and it didn’t go as far as the critics would have liked.
“I’m between a rock and a hard place,” said Rep. Marianna Gamache (R-Swanton), who favored portions of the bill designed to give towns more say in locating energy projects but was disappointed that new sound standards wouldn’t apply to the proposed Swanton project.
Tags: renewable energy , Tony Klein , Kesha Ram , Swanton wind , Marianna Gamache , Image , Web Only
The Joint Legislative Justice Oversight Committee will convene six hearings this summer and fall to look at issues surrounding legalizing and regulating marijuana, Senate Judiciary Committee chair Dick Sears (D-Bennington) said Friday.
With marijuana legalization likely coming to neighboring states, Sears said, it’s important to plan for the impact on Vermont.
“I’m tremendously concerned about what’s happening in Massachusetts and Maine,” Sears said. Those states have voter initiatives on the ballot this November. “We’d be better prepared.”
Tags: Cannabeat , Dick Sears , marijuana legalization , Maxine Grad , Peter Shumlin , Image , Web Only
TransCanada, owner of the dams, has put them on sale, along with a wind farm in Maine and three gas-powered plants in the Northeast, to raise money to help the Canadian energy giant buy a gas pipeline.
Tags: Sen. Ginny Lyons , Rep. Don Turner , House Speaker Shap Smith , TransCanada , hydroelectric power , Image , Web Only
Sen. Norm McAllister’s (R-Franklin) attorney, Brooks McArthur, won a bid Friday to split the sexual assault charges against McAllister into two separate trials to be heard by different juries.
McAllister, who was suspended from the Senate in January, will go to trial June 15 on sexual assault charges involving a woman who worked last year as his legislative assistant, Vermont Superior Court Judge Robert Mello determined at a status conference. McAllister did not attend the hearing.
Tags: Norm McAllister , Brooks McArthur , Diane Wheeler , Image , Web Only