It’s not that the thousands of little political tidbits that went on last week weren’t worthy of mentioning. It’s just that the lure of lakeside living took precedence. While candidates were sweating their way through parades I was gliding through the water in a kayak. I know, silly priorities.
Near as I can gather from a cursory look through the scads of e-mails I received, here are some of the highlights of what happened last week:
Party masters:
Libertarian Party Chairman Hardy Machia noted that he joined Howard Dean on the list of Vermonters serving on national political parties' executive committees. Machia was elected to be regional representative to the Libertarian National Committee.
Jobs aplenty:
Peter Welch promised to help bring more and better jobs to Vermont. His congressional campaign opponent, Martha Rainville, said she too would bring more and better jobs to the state. This also is a cornerstone of Mark Shepard’s campaign. One way or another, we are in for a lot of really good jobs.
House campaign strategy:
Rainville hauled out her Clean Campaign Pledge in the form of index cards that voters were asked to sign over the Fourth of July holiday, which she can’t get Welch to sign. Rainville campaign spokesman Brendan McKenna said the campaign handed out a couple thousand and will continue to do so at future events.
Welch and Shepard, meanwhile, went ahead with their “Conversations on the Green” without Rainville. They are scheduled for 7 p.m. July 16 in Castleton, July 23 in Bellows Falls, July 30 in Craftsbury Common and Aug. 6 in Bristol. Rainville will not be attending.
Rainville has several Republican-primary-only debates scheduled for later in the season. They are: 9 a.m. Aug. 22 at Channel 17 in Burlington; 4 p.m. Aug. 28 at the Johnson State College library; 7 p.m. Sept. 5 on Vermont Public Radio’s “Switchboard.”
Democratic friends:
Bernie Sanders has his eyes on a contribution from PAC for Change, which is asking people to vote online for which Senate candidate from among 16 across the nation should receive the PAC’s help. Sanders is the only independent among them and the intro to the contest specifically says, “I want to invite you to choose which promising Democratic challenger for the Senate that we’re going to support next.”
Speaking of which, the Vermont Democratic Party is drumming up signatures to land Sanders’ name on the ballot on the Democratic line, along with his usual independent line. Party Chairman Ian Carleton says it is a way of demonstrating broad and enthusiastic support. Even though Sanders is expected to decline the ballot line, and someone else — someone who the party doesn’t even want — will take that space and the inevitable lump of votes it will attract.
Kicking off:
Progressive Martha Abbott kicked off her auditor campaign Friday evening in Burlington under the theme “Where’s the auditor?” She says the auditor’s office should be scrutinizing whether tax credits to firms such as IDX Corp. yield the promised jobs.
A day later, Sen. Ed Flanagan announced he will run for re-election — seeking one of six Senate seats representing Chittenden County — despite his intense road to recovery after his nearly fatal November car crash. Voters will undoubtedly be awestruck by his perseverance. They will also have questions about his health. They have a right to know whether those they send to Montpelier to represent them are fully capable of attending.
Matt Dunne will kick off his campaign for lieutenant governor with a series of volunteering gigs around the state Tuesday. He figures it will take about an hour to clean up Leddy Park in Burlington starting at 6:30 p.m.
— Terri Hallenbeck
