This oddly askew photo of Your Treasurer Mike Pieciak, cropped exactly as it appears above, can be found on his “End-of-Year Survey” webpage, in which Our Man feigns interest in your top priorities for the year 2026. It is, in actual fact, aimed more at building a contact list than shaping Smilin’ Mike’s political agenda.

But okay, I thought, I’ll play along. But before I relate my survey experience, I’m going to skip ahead to a little shocker that came later in the process. Because after you SUBMIT the survey, you’re redirected to a fundraising pitch that includes the following bit of news beneath yet another photo of Smilin’ Mike:

“I’m running for reelection to continue investing in housing, climate resilience, and rebuilding the middle class because every Vermonter matters.”

My first thought: Did I miss his re-election announcement? Is this his re-election announcement? Perhaps. But upon reflection, it’s probably a bit of sloppy work on the part of Team Pieciak, a failure to update the website from his 2024 campaign. (Let’s see if they fix it after they read this, which they will.)

Still, I think it’s just a matter of time before we get the disappointing news. If he was going to run for governor, we would have been hearing about it by now. He’d be charging around the state, fundraising and pressing flesh at every opportunity.

But for the moment, let’s hold onto a shred of hope that we could see a top-shelf Democrat stepping boldly into the arena in 2026 instead of hanging back in the locker room waiting for the reigning champeen to retire. There are only three people with the name recognition and connections to make a serious run: Pieciak, Attorney General Charity Clark, and Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas, who has already announced her run for re-election. It’s gonna take a lot of money, a strong message, and a unified, engaged state party to mount a credible challenge to Gov. Phil Scott.

In a previous fundraising email, Pieciak sought our help in building “a movement.” My thought was, a movement to what, exactly? Re-elect our treasurer by a lopsided margin over some novelty Republican like H. Brooke Paige? The only thing that would qualify as “a movement” in my book is making a run for governor.

Enough of that. Let’s get back to S.M.’s End-of-Year Survey.

First of all, you enter your contact information — name, address, email, and “Home Phone (Optional).” Below that is a list of “TOP ISSUES FOR 2026 (Optional)”. That parenthetical addition reveals how serious Pieciak is about gathering input. Your contact info is a must, but your views on policy are “Optional.”

The list: Cost of housing, Health care costs, Cruel immigration policies, Prescription drug prices, Access to Medicaid & Medicare, Child care, Climate change, Jobs and the economy, Mental health care, Public safety, Other.

All are worthy choices. I went with housing, health care, immigration, Medicaid & Medicare, and climate change.

Next we get to “WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE CHANGE HERE IN VERMONT? (Optional).” Again with the Optional. My response:

The Vermont Democratic Party needs a credible, high profile candidate for governor capable of going toe-to-toe with the incumbent. Like, say, Mike Pieciak. You want to build a movement? Get serious.

I wrote that before I encountered his perhaps inadvertent re-election announcement, but the sentiment stands.

The survey concludes with the inevitable fundraising pitch, asking me to “chip in” $5, $10, “another amount,” or “No, I can’t chip in today. (Your survey responses will still be recorded.)”

Oh, I am so reassured that Smilin’ Mike will not be ashcanning my “Optional” survey responses.

And then I hit SUBMIT and was redirected to the real fundraising page seeking amounts from $25 to $1,000, plus Pieciak’s maybe-announcement of a run for re-election, maybe not. But until I get more clarity on where he plans to lead his “movement” in 2026, I’ll be opting out. He doesn’t need my help if he’s just running for treasurer against an unknown, cash-poor, no-hope Republican.