Monday, September 7, 2015
Scott, 57, a Republican who lives in Berlin and co-owns an excavating company, plans to hold a campaign kickoff later this fall. He will face a primary race against retired Wall Street executive Bruce Lisman of Shelburne, who announced his candidacy last week.
So far, two Democrats have also announced their plans to run: House Speaker Shap Smith of Morristown and former state senator Matt Dunne of Hartland. Transportation Secretary Sue Minter of Waterbury could follow with an announcement of her own shortly.
Democrat Peter Shumlin, the three-term incumbent, announced in June he is not running for reelection.
Tags: Phil Scott , Bruce Lisman , Peter Shumlin , Shap Smith , Matt Dunne , Sue Minter , Image , Web Only
Friday, September 4, 2015
All the frivolity is meant to entice people to a serious cause: influencing Vermont’s elections and ultimately, its public policy. The event, from 2-6 p.m., is the launch party for Rights & Democracy, a left-leaning nonprofit organization that aims to bring a “political revolution” to Vermont in 2016.
Once the music has stopped and the barbecue has been digested, RAD plans to hit the streets and knock on doors with paid canvassers to support like-minded political candidates, said director James Haslam. He left his job running the Vermont Workers’ Center in July to start this venture.
“We are very much looking to have as big an impact as we can on the election next year,” Haslam said.
If Rights & Democracy succeeds, political candidates who sit anywhere right of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) could find themselves in a fight.
The organization’s viewpoint might make some Republicans choke on their Cheerios. “The last thing we need is to continue in the direction we’re going and shifting further to the right,” Haslam said.
Tags: cannabis related , James Haslam , Peter Shumlin , Rights & Democracy , Senator , Shap Smith , Vermont legislature , Image , Web Only
Monday, August 31, 2015
Bruce Lisman, a retired Wall Street executive, plans to run for governor as a Republican, two state legislators said Monday.
Lisman, of Shelburne, called a number of Republicans on Monday to say he'll file as a candidate Tuesday.
"I got a call from him, just letting me know he's going to announce," said Rep. Corey Parent (R-St. Albans).
Senate Minority Leader Joe Benning (R-Caledonia) got a call too. "I told him I was glad to see him running as a Republican."
Benning and other Republicans had worried Lisman would run as an independent, potentially splitting votes with Republican Lt. Gov. Phil Scott in the general election, should Scott run.
Scott is expected to announce within the next couple months that he's running for governor.
Scott said Monday that Lisman also called him. "It's good for the party if he chooses to run as a Republican," Scott said. "I think primaries are healthy."
Lisman is the founder of the public policy advocacy group Campaign for Vermont.
Tags: Bruce Lisman , Phil Scott , Joe Benning , Image , Web Only
Corren, who ran on the Progressive and Democratic lines, appeared in U.S. District Court Monday in his fight against a Vermont Attorney General's Office lawsuit alleging that he violated campaign finance laws during his failed 2014 bid. Corren, who lost to Republican Phil Scott, received about $180,000 in public money for his campaign. As part of accepting public financing in Vermont, candidates agree not to seek contributions from outside sources.
Vermont Attorney General Bill Sorrell alleges that Corren violated this law when he asked the Democratic Party to send out an email touting his candidacy to 19,000 people on the party's list. Sorrell sued Corren in state court, seeking to have him pay $72,000 in penalties. (The email itself has been valued at $255.)
Corren in turn sued Sorrell in federal court, seeking a ruling that the email did not represent a campaign contribution. Corren also claimed that certain aspects of Vermont's campaign rules governing public financing are illegal.
"Just because you take public money doesn't mean you leave your constitutional rights at the door," Corren's attorney, John Franco, said during the hearing. "We're up against an unconstitutional statute that requires us to self-censor."
The state court has delayed proceeding on Sorrell's lawsuit against Corren until the federal case is resolved. That could take several months and last into the legislative session and the 2016 campaign.
Tags: Dean Corren , Bill Sorrel , Judge William Sessions III , Image , Web Only
Friday, August 21, 2015
Though the former Democratic state senator from Hartland claims he hasn’t yet decided whether to enter the race, his fledgling campaign sent three emails to supporters this week with messages from current and former lawmakers calling on him to run.
The first came Monday, when Rep. Kevin “Coach” Christie (D-Hartford) emailed Dunne’s supporters — and reporters — to describe his decades-long relationship with the almost-candidate.
“I know that as governor, Matt would stay grounded in the community values that are so important here in Vermont,” Christie wrote. “For that reason, I'm encouraging Matt Dunne to run for governor.”
Tags: Matt Dunne , gubernatorial campaign , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Surrounded by family members and colleagues, House Speaker Shap Smith (D-Morristown) kicked off his campaign for governor Wednesday in his hometown of Morrisville, declaring that he would make Vermont “the state of opportunity.”
"I'm running for governor because the success of towns like Morrisville will be a vital part of Vermont's future and because I want every Vermonter to have the opportunities and the choices that I've had," he said.
With that declaration, the seventh-term House member and fourth-term speaker became the first candidate to officially declare his bid to replace Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin, who announced in June he will not seek reelection in 2016. Smith is expected to face stiff competition in a Democratic primary that could include former state senator Matt Dunne and Secretary of Transportation Sue Minter — and a general election that could include Lt. Gov. Phil Scott, a popular, third-term Republican.
Joining Smith for his announcement were dozens of current and former members of the Vermont House, who stood with him under a sweltering summer sun. He was introduced by a local childcare provider, Tracy Patnoe, and by his wife, physician Melissa Volansky.
“Shap understands how hard it is to juggle daycare, sick days, after-school, family meals, school lunches. He gets it because he lives it every day,” Volansky said. “And as anyone who works with him knows, he’s an intelligent, capable and determined person, who usually accomplishes what he sets out to do with honesty and integrity.”
Tags: Shap Smith , gubernatorial campaign , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Patrick Fennessey was receiving care for substance abuse and mental health problems at an outpatient home earlier this year. When his caregiver there was found intoxicated, Fennessey was transferred to the inpatient Brattleboro Retreat hospital, the report said. Then his health insurance coverage ran out.
That's when the Department of Corrections charged Fennessey, who had a lengthy record of nonviolent crimes, with violating his furlough by failing to find a place to live, DOC Commissioner Andy Pallito said. He was then incarcerated in Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield.
Distraught, Fennessey, 32, decided to hang himself in April, in hopes that once he was rescued, the DOC would release him. Instead, Fennessey died on April 25. He had survived previous suicide attempts.
"Patrick told his friends that he would attempt suicide to 'make a case,' causing DOC and others to respond to why he remained incarcerated for an incident involving his assigned caregiver that was not his fault," the report says. "Patrick began to consider committing self-mutilation and other self-harm as a tool to encourage [state agencies] to communicate better and move faster to get him back [in the community.]"
Tags: Matt Valerio , Andy Pallito , Dick Sears , DOC , prison , inmates , Patrick Fennessey , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
So he called a news briefing Tuesday because he finally had good news. The backlog of cases of Vermonters trying to make changes to their insurance information had been whittled from 10,200 at the end of May to less than 4,500, he said.
And he predicted that the next improvement — automated policy renewal — will be delivered in time for customers to use it to sign up for 2016 insurance coverage beginning November 1.
"I am committed to making Vermont Health Connect work," Shumlin said. Still, his administration has a contingency plan in case the new enrollment technology isn't ready by October 1, the state's deadline. In a backup plan delivered to legislators earlier this month, the administration said it would hire 200 temporary workers at a cost of $3.5 million to manually process renewals.
Tags: Vermont Health Connect , Peter Shumlin , Lawrence Miller , Image , Web Only
Monday, August 10, 2015
Jody L. Herring, 40, was "very calm and laughing," after she was arrested Friday afternoon in the shooting of Lara Sobel, who was killed with a hunting rifle fired at close range in downtown Barre, according to Vermont State Police affidavits. Sobel had been involved in a case in which Herring lost custody of her 9-year-old daughter, state officials say.
"During transportation the female continued to laugh and talk about the victim," Vermont State Police Detective Sgt. Hal Hayes wrote in an affidavit. "Prior to placing the female into the cell she was still laughing and making small talk about the incident like it was no big deal."
Tags: Lara Sobel , Jody Herring , Barre , Vermont State Police , DCF , Scott Williams , Image , Web Only
Friday, August 7, 2015
Feliciano said Friday he saw the move coming and understood the rationale behind it. His job as a production manager at the company’s Waterbury offices ended Thursday, he said.
“It’s business,” he said. “It’s absolutely OK.”
Keurig laid off 330 people companywide and about 200 in Vermont a day after the company announced sales had declined by 5 percent. Company officials said they expect the job reductions to save $300 million during the next three years.
Feliciano, who won 4 percent of the vote in the 2014 gubernatorial race as a Libertarian, is considering running for governor in 2016 as a Republican.
The Essex resident said he’s not worried about his future. “I have a lot of options,” he said. “I have a other consulting opportunities.”
Tags: Dan Feliciano , Vermont elections , Image , Web Only