Attorney general candidate TJ Donovan is Chittenden County’s champion of rapid intervention community court, where deferred sentences can help criminal offenders give back to the community and help them avoid a damaging criminal record while still being held accountable.
He’s also the perfect example.
At age 18, Donovan was involved in an altercation in Burlington for which he was charged with aggravated assault, Seven Days’ Paul Heintz reports.
Heintz, acting on an anonymous tip, asked the candidate about the incident, and Donovan told him the story. Briefly, Donovan got into a drunken fight on Church Street with some other teens, and was arrested.
In an interview with VTDigger.org, Donovan said he received a deferred sentence and committed to 100 hours of community service, an alcohol assessment and paid some restitution.
“I’ve always taken responsibility for it. I’ve never hid from it,” Donovan said. Indeed, the title of Heintz’s piece, “T.J. comes clean,” indicates he didn’t hide at all, but ‘fessed up when confronted.
But it seems if the public didn’t ask, Donovan wouldn’t have told. Why not?
“I really don’t think what I did at 18 is relevant to the attorney general’s race,” he said. But if he considers it a “teachable moment” as he told both Heintz and VTDigger.org, and doesn’t hide from it, then why not come out?
“My experiences are part of my platform. That’s what I stand for, that’s what I’m talking about,” he said.
Donovan said what happened when he was 18 makes him a better candidate because of the perspective it gave him.
“What I’m suggesting is there oftentimes is a middle ground where we can maintain public safety by holding people accountable but also give them an opportunity to get help,” he said. This view of community justice, he said, is based on his brush with the law years ago.
Donovan said he had gone back and forth trying to decide whether or not to come out with the information on his own terms, but ultimately decided not to.
“As opposed to just talking about it, I chose to just practice what I preached in the court system,” he said.
