Got an email today from your friend and mine, Treasurer Mike Pieciak, that just made me mad. The more I thought about it, the madder I got.

Pieciak, for those just joining us, has all but foresworn a run for governor in favor of an almost certain run for re-election. He won without breaking a sweat in 2022 and 2024, and will likely face another hopeless Republican this year. He had nearly $200,000 in his campaign account as of the last reporting deadline, July 2025.

And he’s actively fundraising.

Not only that, he’s fundraising with all the artificial urgency he can muster.

Pieciak’s email begins with the sad news that he failed to meet his “end-of-month goal” for February. An unspecified, self-defined goal. He’s using that alleged failure to gin up that good ol’ artificial urgency:

Every time we’ve needed you, you’ve shown up. Mike doesn’t take that for granted, so please know we’re asking because we need your help.

No, Mike, you DON’T need my help. In 2024, your Republican opponent Joshua Bechhoefer spent less than $2,000. In 2022, Republican placeholder H. Brooke Paige spent NOTHING. You already have way more money than you need.

Look at the results. Pieciak beat Paige by 31 percentage points. He beat Bechhoefer by 21 points — in a terrible year for Democrats. Pieciak winning a third term is about as sure a thing as there is in politics. If he can’t beat this year’s Republican tomato can with the resources already at his disposal, then he deserves to lose.

I’m not done yet. Pieciak spent all of 2025 Hamletting his way around a possible run for governor. In the process, he effectively discouraged others from running because of his popularity and acknowledged front-runner status. Now, the Vermont Democratic Party is likely to nominate another little-known, under-resourced candidate who’s like David going up against Goliath without a stone or a sling.

Here’s what Pieciak should do if he has any regard for his party or, well, anything besides his own political future. He should set up a Gubernatorial Victory Fund, with the proceeds going to support the eventual Democratic nominee. He should tell his donors to send their money to that fund instead of his own.

Until he does that, with all due respect, he can fuck right off.