[R]andy Brock, a former state senator, state auditor and Republican gubernatorial candidate, says he wants to be considered for a Franklin County Senate seat, assuming that Sen. Norm McAllister “does in fact resign.”
Brock said he is available to take his old job back.
“All of it depends on the governor, because the decision is entirely his,” Brock said of his 2012 gubernatorial rival, Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin.
McAllister, R-Franklin, has been pressured by state officials to resign in the wake of allegations that he sexually assaulted two women, one of whom was an intern who worked for him in Montpelier. He pleaded not guilty to the charges Friday.
Friends of McAllister say he is reconsidering his options and may not resign from his post. The 63-year-old dairy farmer is in the middle of his second term as a state senator.
That puts the appointment of a new senator on hold for now. Lt. Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, says the standard for expulsion from the Senate is a high bar.
If McAllister resigns, the governor would appoint a senator to replace him until the 2016 election. Republican party officials from Franklin County would submit a list of three recommendations, but Shumlin could choose someone else for the seat. While governors have typically selected replacement senators and representatives from the same party, there is no requirement to do so.
Brock could be a difficult option for Shumlin. The two were engaged in a bitter gubernatorial race in 2012 and Brock has been a vocal critic of the Shumlin administration’s handling of Vermont Health Connect, which has been plagued by technical problems and though the state has invested more than $100 million in the website over 18 months, it still does not work properly.
In the Senate, Brock could prepare for another run at the Fifth Floor.
Brock says the governor’s chief consideration should be competence.
“The point in all of this is to be sure that a person is appointed to the job who can do the job and do it well and can represent the electorate here,” Brock said in an interview.
All the talk about who will take McAllister’s place, however, is “premature” until the state senator resigns, Brock says.
“I have said, and others on both sides of the aisle have said, a resignation is the best option,” Brock said. “He is innocent until proven guilty, he’ll have his day in court, but I can’t imagine he can effectively serve constituents with a distraction like that hanging over him.”
Brock said the allegations are the most serious he’s ever “seen or heard involving a sitting member of the Legislature.”
Brock served two terms in the state Senate, winning election in 2008 and 2010. He was elected state auditor of accounts in 2004 but narrowly lost a re-election bid to Democrat Tom Salmon in 2006.
Brock received less than 38 percent of the vote in his loss to Shumlin in 2012.
