h/t Snoop Dogg.
Strike that. I don’t think he’s ever had very many “friends.” But lately it’s become acceptable to express one’s disdain for a man who ought to be a pillar of the Vermont Democratic Party by dint of seniority alone. Instead, many Dems are hoping against hope that Chittenden County State’s Attorney TJ Donovan will again challenge Sorrell in the party primary.
Indeed, it may not be too strong to say that Sorrell has become a pariah. Evidence: On two recent occasions, Governor Shumlin has held justice-related media events. In both cases, Donovan was conspicuously close to the Governor.
And in both cases, the state’s top law enforcement official was nowhere to be seen.
I attended the first event, regarding Shumlin’s executive order “banning the box” from state employment applications. Donovan was invited to speak from the podium, although the subject bore only an indirect relationship to his duties as State’s Attorney. The name “Bill Sorrell” went unmentioned.
Maybe Sorrell was out of town for both occasions, given his very busy travel schedule. Although if that were the case, you’d think the events could have been rescheduled. Nothing urgent about either one.
There’s also this, from late February.
Say, Bill, could you move a bit to the left? A little farther. Another step. Keep going. There, that’s good.
This is a photo released by the Governor’s office of his announcement of a one-day Driver Restoration Day. Well, according to media coverage, Shumlin and Donovan announced the program together. As you can see, Donovan was directly behind Shumlin. Sorrell was way off to the right, as far as possible from the Governor.
I doubt that Bill Sorrell has enough self-awareness to realize it, but he is definitely on the outs with the powers that be. If he gets the message, he’ll announce his retirement on his own terms. Otherwise, he may well end his career with an ignominious defeat in his own party’s primary.
The Vermont Political Observer. 