vt.Buzz ~ a political blog

Political notes from Free Press staff writers Terri Hallenbeck, Sam Hemingway and Nancy Remsen

4.03.2007

Committee shuffle

New legislator Jon Anderson of Montpelier landed on the Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources Committee on Tuesday as House Speaker Gaye Symington did some minor committee shuffling.

Anderson is replacing Francis Brooks, who left the Legislature to run the Statehouse as sergeant-at-arms. Brooks had been on the House General, Housing and Military Affairs Committee (he was chairman last session but yielded that this year in anticipation of his job change).

Symington appointed freshman Democratic Rep. Virginia McCormack of Rutland to House General. McCormack had been on the Health Care Committee.

Rep. John Zenie, a freshman Democrat from Colchester who had been on Fish & Wild, goes to Health Care.

Somebody put it to me this way: House General Chairwoman Helen Head needed a woman to join her on the panel and she needed a liberal woman at that.

posted by vt.Buzz | 7:14 PM |

Comments:

Just what we need - another liberal to push through more crap from House General. Remember they are the ones that brought the end to the democratic process for union workers by denying them the right to a secret ballot. Oh well, maybe two Heads are better than one after all.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 9:26 PM, April 03, 2007

If that bill was so bad, why did Governor Douglas sign it?

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 8:22 AM, April 04, 2007

That bill has not even been taken up in the Senate yet. The Gov has not had the bill delivered to him to sign

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 8:41 AM, April 04, 2007

The anti-union pricks are beginning their fear mongering about the card check bill. My feeling is, if these right-wing a-holes are bitching and moaning about this bill so much, it must be a good thing for working folks.

Read This:

The first example came when corporations recently pulled out all the stops against the Employee Free Choice Act, the legislation that strengthens workers' democratic rights to form unions. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce issued a press release claiming it opposed the bill because it supposedly "undermines the fundamental concept of our workplace democracy." Yet, just days later, the president of the Business Roundtable attacked legislation strengthening company shareholders' ability to vote down exorbitant executive pay packages, saying that "corporations were never designed to be democracies." Yes, Corporate America wants Congress to believe that it is worried about workers' democratic rights at the very same time it is telling shareholders (the owners of the companies) that they should have no democratic rights at all.

Don't believe the hype!

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 9:03 AM, April 04, 2007

Hey. Kudos to the House for cutting that $1 million of fat to pay for Douglas's "communicators." How about funding the scholarships with those funds? Hope the Senate doesn't cave and put that money back in.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 9:15 AM, April 04, 2007

Good luck with this senate and this pro-tem!

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 10:55 AM, April 04, 2007

Here's a quote in this morning's Free Press from John Zicconi of the Transportation Department, one of the "communicators" (and formerly with the Vermont Press Bureau):

"It's a tax that punishes families who rely on minivans and similar vehicles to go to and from hockey practice, music lessons and other family activities," Agency of Transportation spokesman John Zicconi said.

If the Douglas Administration wants to have communicators on the payroll to give out sound bites like this, their salaries should be charged to the governor's campaign fund or the Republican Party.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 12:14 PM, April 04, 2007

So all the communicators will be laid off and go back to their old jobs at the various news outlets across the state.

So we'll have disgruntled, pissed-off communicators writing about the same people who effectively terminated their employment.

Smart move. Really well thought out....

Looking forward to '08!

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 1:04 PM, April 04, 2007

Who said they are getting their old jobs back ????

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 1:12 PM, April 04, 2007

Union supporters like "public enema" are the best thing to happen to southern and western USA! This is where Toyota, Honda, Nissan, etc. and countless other good-paying jobs are going to avoid slugs like him that think no one has the brains to do a day's work without a union boss holding his hand (with his other hand in the workers' wallet).

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 1:24 PM, April 04, 2007

Those aren't good jobs. Those jobs suck.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 1:30 PM, April 04, 2007

Bubba is a bone-head, but the previous comment about the communicators being cut is spot on.

Those folks - once out of a state job - will soon find their way back in a position with the news media. Maybe not their "old" job - but certainly an equivalent. And they won't be kind to the folks who cut their funding when they start covering state politics in time for the '08 election.

This was a major mis-calculation that will back-fire on Shumlin (not exactly a darling of the press now).

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 1:39 PM, April 04, 2007

"Those jobs suck"? Do any of you "anons" work? Or do you still live off your parents? The new Toyota plant in Tupelo, MS will cost 1.3 million, and employ 2,000 new workers at an average of $20 per hour NOT COUNTING BENEFITS! (And the cost of living there is a fraction of Vermont's). Vermont is becoming the poor step-sister of states like Mississippi, Alabama, etc.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 2:15 PM, April 04, 2007

Like Allen and Zicconi have any credibility left. They made their beds and now they have to lie in them. They took a risk and it failed, but only because Vermonters are smart and realize that Douglas doesn't need all these PR people, sucking nearly $1 million out of the state coffers. I assume Douglas's commissioners and secretaries have some smarts and are able to complete a sentence to the press. The AHS person (Holly or something like that) hangs out at the statehouse all day. That's taxpayer money being flushed down the toilet. This shouldn't even be an issue for the legislators. Cut the fat and move on.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 2:21 PM, April 04, 2007

I'm an anon. I work. I make an excellent living. I've lived in Vermont all of my life.

There are TONS of great opportunities for Vermonters right here in-state.

I don't know why the right wingers are always bitching.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 2:23 PM, April 04, 2007

When all is said and done and the final budget is passed, the communicators' salaries will almost certainly be back in. Cutting the salaries at this stage is a bargaining chip to make Jim Douglas, and especially Mike Smith, squirm a bit over the next six weeks.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 2:47 PM, April 04, 2007

Is funding the communicators part of Jim's affordability agenda?

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 3:03 PM, April 04, 2007

Jim Douglas's only agenda is to get re-elected.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 3:30 PM, April 04, 2007

The fish wildlife and water resourcs committee is a good place for some one learning the ropes.

The fish and wildlife board has taken out a lot of the political nature in the committee. They get to see how water issues facing our state are multi-faceted.

He found a nice home.

Rednalsi

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 5:48 PM, April 04, 2007

Shumlin for Governor!

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 9:24 PM, April 04, 2007

Shumlin is the man.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 2:04 PM, April 05, 2007

Shumlin is a worm.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 5:20 PM, April 05, 2007

Shumlin loves the game.