If this wasn’t reported as an in-kind donation to the Bram Kranichfeld campaign, it’s only because the dollars-and-cents value was incalculable. Last week, out of nowhere, and without extending the courtesy of informing the mayor of Vermont’s largest and most important city, the Scott administration dispatched the Vermont State Police to patrol the allegedly mean streets of Burlington.

Scott spokesperson Amanda Wheeler had the unmitigated gall to provide this comment to VTDigger: “This is nothing more than the Governor wanting to make sure Burlington is safe for residents and visitors, despite others framing this as a political issue.”

Oh, come ON. Don’t piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining.

As is often the case, the governor is the one who’s playing politics and, like a certain orange-skinned chief executive, accusing his political rivals of the very thing he’s engaging in. I think they call that “deflection.”

In case you think I’m exaggerating, let’s look at the course of events.

Burlington does have issues with crime, substance use, homelessness, vandalism, and all the rest. But Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak has statistics that show things are getting better: 2025 saw reductions in violent crimes, retail theft, car thefts, and burglaries compared to 2024. I’m not saying it’s all unicorns and rainbows, but there is no evidence of a crisis that called for sudden action right now.

So sudden that the administration couldn’t give the mayor a heads-up. Really.

Funny thing, last fall the administration put together a plan to give Burlington a hand with public safety — a plan that Scott himself touted as a “collaborative effort” with city officials and residents. After the plan ran its course, state and city officials termed it a success and Mulvaney-Stanak has called for the plan to be reinstated.

So why not do that? Why put the People in Blue on city streets? And why now?

I can’t say for certain, but the tea leaves are in a straight and unambiguous line.

According to the mayor, the troopers are “expected to patrol the city from July 29 through mid-August.”

Yeah, hmm. What are we in the middle of right now? A certain thing that will wrap up before “mid-August”?

Oh right. The primary.

A primary that pits incumbent Chittenden County State’s Attorney and justice reform advocate Sarah Fair George against Franklin County State’s Attorney Bram Kranichfeld, who has positioned himself in the Ted Kenney lane of emphasizing law ‘n order.

(Kranichfeld, by the way, is blowing Kenney out of the water in campaign finance. Kenney raised and spent a bit more than $60,000 in his embarrassingly unsuccessful 2022 bid to topple George. Kranichfeld has reported raising $148,000 and spending $144,000 as of the August 1 reporting deadline. I have to think it’s an unprecedented level of spending for a county-level primary.)

(Maybe he’ll do better than Kenney’s 38% showing.)

So. At a time when George’s future is again on the line and the primary is in its final days, Phil “Not a Politician” Scott is choosing this moment to press his thumb firmly on the scale. You think the optics of state troopers in downtown Burlington and the accompanying media coverage will help Kranichfeld paint Burlington as a hellhole in need of a firm hand? Of course it will.

Oh, there’s also the contested primary for county sheriff featuring incumbent Dan Gamelin against reformer Kevin Bloom. (That’s the race where Gamelin had to issue an apology after his brother posted anti-trans comments on social media, comments aimed at the nonbinary Bloom.) You don’t think Phil Scott has a dog in that fight?

And the troopers are going to go away less than a week after the primary. Having what, cleaned up Burlington for good in a matter of three weeks?

How stupid does he think we — don’t answer that.

Scott also gets the extra bonus of undercutting the Progressive Mulvaney-Stanak by pulling an end run around the city’s top elected official. Cool. As long as it’s not political.

While I’m here, I should also point out that Burlington Democrats are engaging in some, shall we say, Quisling behavior by kneecapping the mayor and making common cause with Scott on the public safety issue. It’s almost as if they don’t realize that their party is, supposedly, trying to defeat the Republican governor. But hey, don’t let anything get in the way of kicking progressives. Which often seems to be the Dems’ main objective, especially in Burlington. They should cut it the hell out, at least until after Election Day. They’ll have plenty of time to litigate city politics before Town Meeting Day 2027.