Author Archives: John S. Walters

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About John S. Walters

Writer, editor, sometime radio personality, author of "Roads Less Traveled: Visionary New England Lives."

What do you do with a Senator like that?

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There's a face only a mother, or someone behind on their rent, could love.

There’s a face only a mother, or someone behind on their rent, could love.

The disgraced and [ALLEGEDLY] disgraceful Norm McAllister continues to, ahem, “serve” the people of Franklin County as one of their two state senators. Some of his constituents are circulating petitions asking him to resign; many people, including Your Obedient Serpent, have called for the Senate to DO SOMETHING in spite of its convenient state of adjournment; and those same people have wondered why Republicans are so curiously circumspect about their [ALLEGEDLY] disgraceful brother in arms.

So I got a call from Joe Benning, Senate Minority Leader, seeking to explain the Senate and VTGOP side of things. He made some very good points, both politically and institutionally.

The political

First of all, he noted, “Everyone in the Republican Party I’ve talked to hopes that he will see that the difficulties before him are too great” for him to continue in office. And although the VTGOP’s efforts have been almost entirely behind the scenes,

It’s not like anyone is sticking their heads in the sand. …I’ve had two conversations with him and let him know my concerns. There are people in the county and state parties who are having ongoing conversations. He’s mulling over those conversations.

Benning hopes that McAllister will realize that he’s politically isolated, and facing a process likely to take “a year or more.” In other words, beyond the 2016 legislative session and well into the campaign. There’s a nightmare scenario for the Republican Party.

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Donovan vs. The Invisible Man

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Well, the news broke late Sunday on Seven Days’ website: Chittenden County State’s Attorney TJ Donovan will run for Attorney General, setting up a potential Grudge Match return engagement of his 2012 primary battle with incumbent Eternal General Bill Sorrell. And from day one, Donovan will be in the unusual position of being favored over an incumbent from the same party.

Donovan came very close to winning last time. This time, he appears to have a very united Democratic Party behind him. Top Dems continue to hope and pray that their AG will, ahem, “retire” and spend the next year and a half doing a victory lap.

Hints abounded at Friday night’s Curtis Awards dinner, one of the VDP’s big shindigs of the year. Donovan was given a Curtis Award, while Sorrell was nowhere to be seen. Even his name was a no-show:

There was, quite literally, no sign of him. Banners for all the other Democratic statewide elected officeholders, except Sorrell, covered the wall behind the stage. Julia Barnes, executive director of the Vermont Democratic Party, said the party didn’t have a Sorrell banner to hang.

Aww darnit, she must have left it in her other suit.

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Return of theVPO Media Crossover Event!!!

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Prepping for another hosting spot on WDEV’s Mark Johnson Show Monday morning. Also Thursday, Friday, and next Monday the 29th. Here’s the lineup for tomorrow and some notes on the rest of the week…

9:00 Monday: State Rep. Corey Parent, R-St. Albans. He was one of eight freshman state lawmakers chosen for the Canadian Embassy’s “Rising State Leaders” program, which included a tour of eastern Canada. We’ll talk about his trip and his reflections on his first year in the Legislature. And since he’s from Franklin County, I’m sure I’ll ask him about Sen. Norm McAllister.

10:00 Monday: Sarah McCall, executive director of Emerge Vermont, a group that trains aspiring women to enter the political arena. (Vermont has rarely elected women to statewide office, and has never sent a woman to Congress.) We’ll talk about the ongoing shakeup in Vermont politics and whether it creates chances for women to move up the ladder.

And later in the hour, we’ll catch up with State Sen. Becca Balint. She was a 2014 graduate of Emerge Vermont, who went on to win a Senate seat from Windham County. She’ll talk about what the program did for her, and her thoughts on Year One in the legislature.

As for my other upcoming days…

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The NRC has faith in the stock market

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Our government’s nuclear watchdogs made a move yesterday that reinforces their image as the Industry’s Best Friend.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has granted requests from Entergy Nuclear Operations Inc. to use some of the $665 million in its decommissioning fund to store used fuel rods that remain radioactive for thousands of years.

And by “some,” we mean $225 million, or more than one-third of the same decommissioning fund that’s woefully underfunded for the task of actually decommissioning Vermont Yankee, which is why we’ll have to wait 60 years before the thing is safely disposed of.

And here’s the ha-ha funny thing.

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Procedural excuses for avoiding a moral imperative

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Despite the widespread pleas of responsible politicians (almost) everywhere, Norm McAllister continues to represent the good people of Franklin County in the State Senate. And I have to confess that I hadn’t considered how it would feel to be represented by that fetid pile of [ALLEGED] human excrement, until I read about a petition drive calling for his resignation.

Weston/McAllisterWhich made me realize that if I lived in his district, I’d want him the hell out of office ASAP. Even when the legislature is out of session, there is still business being done. McAllister is a pariah. He’s avoiding public events, he’s been stripped of his committee assignments, and as for “constituent service,” well, who in state government is returning his calls? Who, in their right mind, is depending on Norm McAllister for “constituent service”?

The people of Franklin County are (a) underrepresented, and (b) forced to bear the stigma of having McAllister as their Senator. If I lived there, you bet I’d sign that petition.

McAllister, for those just joining us, was arrested on the Statehouse grounds and charged with a whole bunch of skeevy sex crimes. As soon as the details broke, McAllister immediately lost every friend he might have had in Montpelier; but he refused to resign, and the legislature adjourned eight days laer without taking any action.

And now, Profiles In Courage, they are hiding behind process.

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theVPO Media Crossover Event!

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Hey, WDEV’s Mark Johnson is on his annual summer vacation, and I’ll be sitting in for Mark during some of those days. This week, Tuesday the 16th and Wednesday the 17th. I’ll also be in the big chair the 25th, 26th, and 29th. (Please note: When I’m hosting the show, I set my politics aside as much as possible, and give my guests the chance to share their views and ideas. Don’t expect any polemics. That’s not my role on WDEV.)

Guests for the next two days:

9:00 am Tuesday: State Rep. Tom Stevens, D-Waterbury. He recently became president of Downstreet Housing ahd Community Development. We’ll talk about his new gig, the housing issues facing Vermont, and probably touch on some other issues as well.

10:00 am Tuesday: Erica Heilman, creator/host of Rumble Strip Vermont, a podcast that tells Vermonters’ real life stories and explores aspects of Vermont life.

9:00 am Wednesday: Doug Racine, former Lieutenant Governor, State Senator, and Human Services Secretary. He’ll talk about his service in the Shumlin administration, his views on the political scene, and his own thoughts about running for Governor.

10:00 am Wednesday: Ben T. Matchstick and Pete Talbot of the Cardboard Teck Instantute (sic). They’ve invented a working pinball machine made out of cardboard; they hope to develop a gaming platform from their simple base. They just got back from Washington, D.C., where they showcased their invention at a national Maker Faire.

WDEV broadcasts out of Waterbury and can be heard in most of northern and central Vermont on 96.1 FM and 550 AM. The show can be livestreamed online at wdevradio.com. Hope you can join me!

Two little bread crumbs on the campaign trail

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File these under “I’m Sure They Don’t Mean Anything”… Welch claims his online turf, and a departure from the Good Ship Sorrell.

1. Seven Days reports that a staffer for Rep. Peter Welch has reserved the domain name “welchforgovernor.com.” But Bob Rogan, chief of staff for Vermont’s Youngest Congresscritter, says we shouldn’t read anything into that.

“As you know, there is a cottage industry of people who buy up political domain names to make money by selling them back to the politician,” Rogan said Monday. “Unequivocally, you should not read into this that a decision has been made or is even close to being made. This is just prudent scenario planning by campaign staff. Nothing more.”

Well, as long as they’re being prudent, they should go back and snag “welchforgovernor.org,” which is unclaimed as of this writing. After all, that’s precisely the “scenario planning” failure that’s been causing headaches for presidential hopeful Carly Fiorina.

2. One possible “tell” about the political plans of Eternal General Bill Sorrell is the activity of his longtime staffers. If they start heading for the exits, that’d be a strong indication that the show is about to close. Well hey, whad’ya know:

Elliot Burg, who has served as an assistant attorney general since 1987, has decided to retire from the Vermont Attorney General’s Office.

Burg added that he looks forward to “being with my family more, and to pursuing my longstanding interests in photography, music, and international volunteer work.”

Okay, one departure means nothing. Coincidence, natural attrition, whatever. But if this is the first in a series, we’ll know something is up. Stay tuned!

Our sclerotic Senate

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In my most recent rant about the State Senate, our most dysfunctional and ego-driven deliberative body, I tossed out a back-of-the-envelope figgerin’ of the Senate’s electoral stasis:

A quick overview of our 30 senators shows at least 26 who are virtual locks for re-election as long as they want to run. And one of the other four is Norm McAllister, who would have been number 27 if only he could have kept it in his pants.

That, I should note, is a generous calculation. You could just as easily argue that if all the sitting Senators ran for re-election in 2016, McAllister is the only one who’d be seriously vulnerable. Almost all the districts lean heavily to the left or to the right. That’s a bad thing, and helps create a Senate that’s full of overinflated egos and smothered in a sense of entitlement.

In case you think I’m overstating the political reality of the Senate, I thought I’d run down the list. In alphabetical order by county:

Addison. Democrats Claire Ayer and Chris Bray romped to re-election in 2014, with no Republicans even bothering to try.

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Once again, Darcie Johnston has her finger on the pulse of the electorate

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As of this writing, the manhunt continues for Richard Matt and David Sweat, the two escaped murderers in upstate New York and Vermont. Cops on the lookout, distributing flyers all over the place; warnings to campers; constant updates in the local media, a sudden and very real outbreak of fears that Vermonters like to think they’re immune from.

And right on cue, here comes conservative political consultant Darcie Johnston, who hasn’t been on a winning campaign since she left the Jim Jeffords operation more than a decade ago, with the real question that’s on everybody’s mind. Not.

Yeah, really. Those goddamn featherbedding cops, traipsing through the fields and forests at all hours. It’s like a vacation when you think about it. The New York Times:

Those who know the terrain have made jokes that, if the men are in these woods, they are surprised the pair have not turned themselves over to the authorities by now, beaten up by nature and begging for a break. The rain has fallen regularly and hard. The woods are filled with skunks, porcupines and black bears. Then there are the bugs that swarm the forest this time of year: black flies, ticks and deer flies.

Usually, you can count on conservatives to support law enforcement and security as a true core function of government, and express gratitude to those who risk their own safety to preserve ours. But not Darcie, I guess.

I’d like to know her alternative. Call off the search and let the free market sort it out? Contract it to the private sector and hire the lowest bidder?

Hey, I know: send in the drones and bomb ’em out. Might be some collateral damage, but I bet we’d save some precious taxpayer dollars.

The curious incident of the Prog in the night-time — UPDATED

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UPDATE: The Senator in question has spoken to WCAX. Details below, after the jump.

So here’s a heartening piece of party unity: the elective officeholders of the Progressive Party got together this week and enthusiastically endorsed Bernie Sanders for President.

The gang’s all there, from the four Progs on Burlington City Council, Robert Millar of Winooski City Council, the Party’s seven members of the House, State Auditor Doug Hoffer, and both of the Progs’ state senators.

Wait, what did I just say?

“…both of the Progs’ state senators.”

Hey, aren’t there three of ’em? I thought so.

Well, there’s Anthony Pollina… and David Zuckerman…

Hmm. Where’s Triangulatin’ Tim Ashe, the most nakedly ambitious of all the Progs?

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