Friday, March 25, 2016
Speaking in a crowded Statehouse committee room filled with energy activists and industry lobbyists, DPS Commissioner Chris Recchia said he made "no apologies for the process used, the resulting content or the recommendations ultimately presented" in a report addressing whether his department adequately represented ratepayers.
Sen. Tim Ashe (D/P-Chittenden) had called Recchia before the Senate Finance Committee to address a recent Vermont Public Radio story suggesting that Recchia had overruled his staff in order to mute recommendations from the department's critics. Quoting report drafts and emails obtained through public records requests, VPR's Taylor Dobbs reported that the commissioner had removed reform recommendations after taking charge of the report.
Though DPS is charged with representing the public interest in the energy and telecommunications arenas, critics have long charged that it actually represents the views of the governor who appoints the department's commissioner. Among the recommendations scrubbed from the report were those that sought to shield DPS' public advocacy staff from political pressure.
Recchia told committee members that nothing "nefarious" had occurred in what he called a standard, if "messy and complicated" editing process, and he alleged that his department's actions were "taken out of context" by the station. Calling his release of early drafts an "unprecedented" show of transparency, he urged the senators to avoid reading too much into what did — and didn't — make it into the final cut.
"I think we all are, or need to be, mature enough to say, 'This is how discussions and debate in an open society occur,'" Recchia said. "And if you want these documents and all to be transparent, better get used to the idea that there's going to be some disagreements, and there's not going to be a clear line from point A to point B."
Tags: Chris Recchia , Tim Ashe , Taylor Dobbs , Department of Public Service , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Rep. Ruqaiyah Morris (D-Bennington) said the bill would preserve in Vermont the provisions in the federal Affordable Care Act that guarantee women access to contraception, should the federal law be repealed. It also would expand free coverage to male contraception, which isn’t included in the ACA, and provide supplementary payments to health care providers for the insertion and removal of long-acting reversible contraceptives such as intrauterine devices, or IUDs.
Tags: Long-acting reversible contraception , LARC , Rep. Ruqaiyah Morris , Rep. Vicki Strong , Rep. George Till , Image , Web Only
"Quite honestly, I made a lot of mistakes as a first-time candidate," Riker said at a remarkably candid Statehouse press conference.
Chief among them, the 28-year-old Marlboro resident said, was his decision to contribute more than $59,000 of his own money to the campaign soon after he entered the race last May. By the time Riker dropped out, he and his immediate family had ponied up nearly $66,000.
"I thought it was going to jumpstart the campaign," he said. "Instead, it created a picture that I was trying to buy the seat, which wasn't true. But that was a hard one to get over."
Tags: Brandon Riker , David Zuckerman , Kesha Ram , lieutenant governor , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Peter Galbraith, a former state senator and diplomat, outlined an unusual political platform Tuesday as he announced he’s running for governor.
The 65-year-old Townshend Democrat wants to ban wind turbines and raise the minimum wage, positions that could have him straddling a political divide.
“I am running to change a system in Montpelier that too often favors the special interest over the broader public interest,” he declared at a Tuesday morning Statehouse press conference. “We must have a fair state.”
Galbraith is the third Democrat in the race to replace retiring Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin. He’ll compete for the party’s nomination with former state senator Matt Dunne and former transportation secretary Sue Minter. Two Republicans, Lt. Gov. Phil Scott and retired Wall Street executive Bruce Lisman, are seeking their party’s nomination.
Tags: Peter Galbraith , Sue Minter , Matt Dunne , Phil Scott , Bruce Lisman , Peter Shumlin , Vermont elections , Image , Web Only
Monday, March 21, 2016
That might not hold true after tonight, when the incumbent lieutenant governor holds a fundraiser at a Washington, D.C., lobbying firm hosted by four registered lobbyists.
According to an invitation obtained by Seven Days, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin and Iowa Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds are the featured guests at the Scott fundraiser, which will take place at McGuireWoods' D.C. office. The firm's top clients include cigarette conglomerate Altria Client Services, the American Petroleum Institute and ExxonMobil, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Tickets range from $500 to $2,000.
Tags: Phil Scott , Mary Fallin , Kim Reynolds , Susana Martinez , Republican Lieutenant Governors Association , Brittney Wilson , Christina Amestoy , Image , Web Only
Friday, March 18, 2016
According to a recent campaign finance filing, the cigarette company Altria donated $1,000 to the Vermont House Republican PAC last November. The next month, the drug company Pfizer contributed $2,000. Both companies employ registered lobbyists.
Individual Vermont lawmakers have long been prohibited from raising money from lobbyists and the companies that employ them — at least, until the legislature adjourns for the biennium. For years, Republicans and Democrats alike skirted that prohibition by raising lobbyist cash through “leadership PACs” controlled by top legislators. After Seven Days documented a series of mid-session lobbyist fundraisers hosted by such PACs, the legislature voted last May to close the loophole by subjecting them to the same limitations.
But even though it was House Republicans who proposed the change in law, the party activist who administers their PAC appears to be out of compliance with it.
“I’m maybe a little naïve when it comes to the law and stuff,” said Suzanne Butterfield, who runs PACs benefiting both House and Senate Republicans. “I’m just somebody who wants to help.”
Tags: Don Turner , Suzanne Butterfield , House Republican PAC , campaign finance , Image , Web Only
By voice vote, the five-member panel rejected the entreaty.
McAllister, who has been charged with felony sexual assault, was suspended from the Senate in January pending the conclusion of his legal proceedings. At the time, his criminal trial was scheduled to begin in February. Jury draw was subsequently delayed until May.
Two weeks ago, a legislative lawyer wrote the Rules Committee on McAllister's behalf, asking for his suspension to be lifted. Through the lawyer, McAllister argued that he could fully perform his Senate duties and that suspension was now tantamount to expulsion, since his legal proceedings would not be resolved until after the legislative session wrapped up.
The Rules Committee disagreed.
"I do not think anything of significant change has occurred to have us reconsider," said Senate President Pro Tempore John Campbell (D-Windsor), who chairs the panel. "I also think the Senate was clear in its position."
Tags: Norm McAllister , Senate Rules Committee , Image , Web Only
Thursday, March 17, 2016
As the three-term Democrat nears the end of his rocky tenure, he appears to have abandoned any semblance of the filter he once had. Invited to address the Vermont Press Association's annual meeting Thursday, he took the opportunity to criticize the news media — and offer up a number of off-color jokes.
Those began the moment he took the podium at Montpelier's Capitol Plaza Hotel & Conference Center.
"Listen, I'm delighted to be here. Is this off the record?" he said, prompting laughter. "Is this off the record?"
"Are you buying drinks?" a member of the media called out.
"Buying drinks? Sure, we'll buy drinks," the governor responded. "I'll get you a big fatty, too, if you get that bill passed."
Shumlin was referring, presumably, to legislation that would legalize marijuana in Vermont.
Tags: cannabis related , Montpeculiar , Peter Shumlin , Vermont Press Association , Image , Web Only
The House tax-writing panel had rejected some of the sources of new revenue that Gov. Peter Shumlin proposed in January, including a tax on dentists and independent physicians and a policy change for medicating psychiatric patients involuntarily, intended to save money by shortening hospital stays.
Ways and Means struggled to reach consensus on alternatives. Wednesday evening, the panel split along party lines in a vote on the total revenue package, which increases fees and taxes to raise $48.3 million. Its vote Thursday on the tax portion was similarly split along party lines.
Tags: House Ways and Means , Rep. Janet Ancel , Rep. Don Turner , Image , Web Only
Friday, March 11, 2016
"Watch this space," the former ambassador and state senator said, smiling like the Cheshire Cat.
Wearing a slightly more pained expression was another former state senator, Matt Dunne, who stood beside Galbraith at a podium in the Vermont Statehouse. Dunne, himself a Democratic candidate for governor, had invited the campaign finance crusader to Montpelier for an announcement that Dunne would return more than $16,000 worth of corporate campaign contributions and refuse such money in the future.
It was a savvy move. If Galbraith were to join the race, as most political observers think he will, he would surely hammer Dunne and his other opponents for accepting corporate cash. By getting out ahead of Galbraith, Dunne could claim the moral high ground — and train his fire on the other declared Democratic candidate, Sue Minter, who has made clear she will continue accepting corporate donations.
Inviting Galbraith to the announcement was sure to draw reporters and earn headlines, but it carried an element of risk: The Townshend Democrat could upstage Dunne — or go totally rogue.
Tags: Matt Dunne , Peter Galbraith , Vermont gubernatorial campaign , Montpeculiar , Image , Web Only