Tag Archives: John Rodgers

Gentlefolk, Start Your Engines

It’s been two and a half months since Election Day, which means I’m way behind the Political Observer curve in terms of looking ahead to the next election.

Or perhaps the 2028 election, depending on when Gov. Phil Scott decides to retire undefeated. Because until that happens, there won’t be a serious contest for the Democratic nomination — and when it happens, we’re going to see a political stampede the likes of which we haven’t seen since Jim Douglas’ retirement in 2010 touched off a five-way contest in the Dem primary.

If you think it’s Way Too Early^TM for such talk, well, let me tell you, the engines have been revving for some time now. Recent examples: Former Burlington mayor Miro Weinberger’s emergence as the public face of Let’s Build Homes, a nominally bipartisan slash nonpartisan organization promoting the cause described in its name; and the obligatory tongue bath given to Lt. Gov. John Rodgers in the cover story of last week’s Seven Days, which touted the notion that this crusty, ornery Son of the Soil^TM was suddenly transformed into gubernatorial timber by his extremely narrow plurality victory over David Zuckerman. Which I don’t buy, but hey, I’ve been wrong before.

In reality, the race to succeed Scott began at least two years ago and maybe four, when Mike Pieciak left his post in the, ahem, Scott administration to run for treasurer and immediately succeeded his predecessor Beth Pearce as the person most likely to get a standing ovation at party meetings. Pieciak’s been fundraising far beyond his minuscule needs ever since, and the only plausible explanation is that he’s preparing to run for governor as soon as Scott steps aside.

A more pointed signal of Pieciak’s intent could be seen in his November 19 campaign finance report: a $3,000 payment made on November 6 to Silver Strategies, LLC.

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In the “Nobody Cares, But They Should” File: Jason Herron, Campaign Finance Scofflaw (Updated)

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Update 12/26: Turns out a complaint has already been filed about Herron’s campaign finance. See note below.

Hey, remember this guy? Jason Herron, ultraconservative from Guilford who ran as a Democrat in the August primary and lost to real Democrat Zon Eastes?

Well, Mr. Herron apparently checked out after his loss, because he has yet to file any campaign finance reports since August 1. And his last report constitutes an egregious violation of state law.

As of August 1, Herron had reported spending $7,565 and raising zero dollars. That’s right, he reported no donations to his campaign and did not identify the source of his cash.

After August 1, Herron filed three separate Mass Media expenditure reports: $500 to J and B’s Curbside Café and two identical filings reporting $2,229 spent at Staples for postcards and mailing. If you give him the benefit of the doubt for sloppy reporting, he spent $2,729 after August 1. If you take his filings at face value, which is how the law works, then he spent a total of $4,458 at Staples for a post-August 1 total of $4,958.

Which brings his total campaign spending to either $10,294 or $12,023. Which is a hell of a lot for a House primary contest.

And his fundraising remains at an officially reported zero.

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John Rodgers Has Even More Work to Do

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When last we looked at Lieutenant-Governor-Elect John Rodgers’ campaign finances, we saw that he was nearly $53,000 in the red as of the November 19 filing deadline.

Well, now the final numbers are in — and Rodgers’ deficit has grown even larger.

His December 15 filing, which is the last one for the campaign cycle and is officially attested to as his FINAL REPORT all caps, shows total fundraising of $216,468 and total expenditures of $284,588.01.

That’s a shortfall of $68,120.01.

In percentage terms, Rodgers overspent his income by 31.5%.

It’s a curious situation for a common-sense fiscal conservative “balancin’ the books around the kitchen table” kind of guy.

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Are You Ready For the Climate Culture Wars?

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Welp, Gov. Phil Scott has revealed himself to be all hat and no cattle when it comes to climate action. As Seven Days’ Kevin McCallum reports, our alleged climate fightin’ leader is calling for a full retreat on, you know, doing anything about reducing greenhouse gas emissions. With the exception of furrowed brows and earnest expressions of concern. Per McCallum, here is Phil Scott’s climate agenda:

Kill the clean heat standard
Kill the Global Warming Solutions Act
Ignore our 2025 emissions reduction targets
Ignore our 2030 emissions reduction targets
Effectively put all our eggs in the 2050 basket

That’s one hell of a platform for a guy who claims to believe that climate change is a clear and present threat to humanity’s future.

His argument here, as on every other issue, is affordability. Vermont simply can’t afford to cut emissions or transition to a clean energy future.

A couple things about that. “Affordable” compared to what, exactly? His projections about the unaffordability of energy transition appear to rely on the assumption that fossil fuel prices won’t rise. Anyone who’s played Russian Roulette with the cost of propane or heating oil could testify otherwise.

Putting all his chips on affordability also ignores the impacts of climate change. As we have seen, Vermont is far from safe in this regard. In fact, we have one of the highest totals in the nation of federally-declared disasters since 2011. We don’t have beachfronts or flatlands, but we do have a rugged topography of mountains, hills, and deep valleys. The latter is where (a) most of our people live, and (b) the runoff easily overwhelms our rivers and streams when greenhouse gas-fueled downpours occur. We have yet to experience catastrophic wildfires around here, although the risk has been worryingly high for a good chunk of this year. Just a matter of time.

But Scott’s latest statements should come as no surprise. All he’s done is pull the sheep’s clothing off his inner wolf. In truth, he has been a resulote obstructor of serious climate action since he became governor. (Back in 2021, I called him the biggest obstacle to climate action in Vermont.) Kind of fitting for a guy who’s spent his entire adult life working with fossil fuel-powered machinery.

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John Rodgers Has Some Work to Do

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John Rodgers still looks to be our next lieutenant governor, absent some history-defying hijinx in the Statehouse. But he can’t close the books on his successful campaign — not without some serious post-election fundraising.

Because according to his latest campaign finance filing, Rodgers is nearly $53,000 in the red.

He raised a total of $214,218, very respectable considering that as of July 4 he hadn’t raised a damn dime. He attracted a veritable tsunami of four-figure donations from the Barons of Burlington and their friends.

But he also spent like a drunken sailor — $266,942 in a four-month period, a breathtaking pace for any office this side of the governorship. That leaves him with a campaign deficit of $52,724, meaning he overshot his revenue by about 25%.

Hell of a thing for a guy who ran on affordability and common sense.

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Zuckerman’s End?

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Barring an extremely unlikely vote in the Legislature, we may have seen the last of David Zuckerman on our political stage. Maybe not; he’s only 53 years old, a full generation younger than the guy we just elevated to the White House (and 30 years younger than our senior U.S. Senator). But if we are seeing the end of the Zuckerman experience, it’ll go down as one of the more curious public careers of our time. He is one of the most loved and hated politicians in Vermont.

Zuckerman was 25 years old when he was first elected to the Legislature in 1997. He’s been in office ever since, except for a two-year hiatus from 2021-23. He won 12 consecutive elections, a streak only broken when he took on the undefeated Phil Scott. You don’t compile a record like Zuckerman’s without smarts and talent, which he has in abundance, but there’s also a bit of tone-deafness about him. The latest indicator of this is his dalliance with Ian Diamondstone’s demand that the Legislature return him to office. He doesn’t seem to get that the longer this goes on, the sourer will be the end of his tenure.

Throughout the Phil Scott era, Zuckerman has been the most successful Democratic* politician this side of the Congressional delegation — and yet, many in the Vermont Democratic Party have ached to be rid of him. He’s the most high profile Progressive figure of his day and he has a formidable donor base, but he just got beat by a guy who didn’t even start campaigning until July. He is seen by many as a champion of progressive causes generally and women’s rights specifically, but others see him as untrustworthy if not a little bit squicky.

*Yes, I know he’s a Prog, but he was on the Democratic ticket. We’ll get to that.

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The Diamondstone Caucus Will Not Save You

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Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman has kinda-sorta-almost conceded his race for re-election. But he did leave a side door open, just a bit, and he should cut it out.

Zuckerman got 44.5% of the vote, while Republican John Rodgers got 46.1%. When no candidate gets a majority, the Legislature technically chooses the winner — although traditionally the top vote-getter is awarded the office.

Zuckerman’s almost-concession came after Peace & Justice Party candidate Ian Diamondstone issued a self-righteous press release calling for Zuckerman to be installed. Seriously, you should read the thing. (It’s attached at the end of this post in all its sniffy, stuffy, Old Left glory. The late Peter Diamondstone would be proud.)

While Zuckerman did concede, or got about 99% of the way there at least, he gave some weight to Diamondston’e argument. The LG’s explanation was, frankly, an exercise in tortured logic, long on the former and short on the latter. Let’s see if I got this straight. According to VTDigger, Zuckerman called Rodgers to acknowledge he’d won… but he thought the Diamondstone statement raised some good points… but he wouldn’t contest the election in the Legislature… but he thought the statement “probably will keep that discussion alive.” Note the passive tense. He won’t keep the discussion alive, but he hopes it will continue without his help.

It’s understandable that a politician facing a shock defeat might try to wriggle off the hook, but the Diamondstone thing is a dead end that can only drag Zuckerman further down. Really now, how much influence do you think the Peace & Justice Party has in Montpelier?

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A Long, Dark Night of the Soul for Vermont Democrats (and Progressives)

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It’s still kind of early on Election Night, but I can’t stand watching the national seesaw and the trends in Vermont seem awfully clear. It’s a great night for Gov. Phil Scott and pretty much a disaster for the Democrats.

And Progressives, who are on the verge of losing their most prominent political figure. Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman has been running narrowly but consistently behind former state senator John Rodgers since the polls closed.

But that race pales in importance to the outcome in the House and Senate, where the Dem/Prog supermajorities are bound for the dustbin of history. Republicans are on track to flip at least five Senate seats, so the Dem/Prog caucus is likely to be a couple votes or more shy of a the 20 needed to override a gubernatorial veto. I haven’t done a count in the House, but it sure looks like the Republicans will win enough seats to knock the Dem/Prog majority below the two-thirds mark.

The next biennium will be a whole new ballgame. There will be no more veto overrides. Legislative leaders will have to try to find common ground with the governor if we’re going to take action of any sort on the many challenges we face.

So, why did this happen, and what does it say about Vermont politics moving forward? And why didn’t I see it coming?

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The Barons Try to Drag John Rodgers Across the Finish Line

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The last pre-election round of campaign finance reports is in, not that anyone in the media noticed. To me, the single biggest note is that the Barons of Burlington and their allies are continuing to throw big money at John Rodgers, Republican candidate for lieutenant governor and alleged rural populist. In the first half of October, Rodgers raised $20,250; in the second half, he took in an extraordinary $69,259, almost erasing the cash advantage held by incumbent Prog/Dem David Zuckerman throughout the campaign. Not quite, but almost.

Of that $69,259, a full $58,199 was in increments of $1,000 or more.

That’s more than 83% of Rodgers’ total takings between October 16 and 31.

Son of the soil, my Aunt Fanny.

Here’s another way to slice the bologna. During the period, Rodgers took in a scant $2,560 in gifts of $100 or less. That’s a mere 3.7% of his total.

Which is S.O.P. for Rodgers’ campaign as a whole. He’s raised $212,443 so far, but only $8,809 in gifts of $100 or less. That’s only 4.1% of his total.

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Scott & Rodgers Bet Big on a Dying Medium

The Vermont Political Observer.

a.k.a. theVPO: Analysis and observation of Vermont politics from a liberal viewpoint

Tag Archives: John Rodgers

Gentlefolk, Start Your Engines

In the “Nobody Cares, But They Should” File: Jason Herron, Campaign Finance Scofflaw (Updated)

John Rodgers Has Even More Work to Do

Are You Ready For the Climate Culture Wars?

John Rodgers Has Some Work to Do

Zuckerman’s End?

The Diamondstone Caucus Will Not Save You

A Long, Dark Night of the Soul for Vermont Democrats (and Progressives)

The Barons Try to Drag John Rodgers Across the Finish Line

Scott & Rodgers Bet Big on a Dying Medium