MONTPELIER — The Democrat and Republican candidates for attorney general squared off in their first debate of the general election on Thursday in a discussion where they often agreed but split on the issues of private prisons and campaign finance law.
Deborah Bucknam, a Republican lawyer from Saint Johnsbury, and Chittenden County State’s Attorney TJ Donovan, a Democrat, presented their views in an hour-long back-and-forth hosted by the Vermont Bar Association.
Both spoke against mandatory minimum sentences and other sentencing guidelines that take away authority from prosecutors. They both promised to audit the Attorney General’s office and bring about greater transparency and accountability to the office. They called for aggressive work to battle the state’s opioid epidemic, and said the Legislature should have an ethics commission overseeing members’ actions.
Neither candidate thought the AG’s office required greater resources, but that savings could be found by restructuring the office. Attorney General Bill Sorrell is [not seeking reelection] after almost two decades in office.
“The attorney general’s office in Vermont has approximately 50 lawyers, almost as many as in New Hampshire, which has twice the population,” Bucknam said. “So I think there are plenty of resources right now if we reorganize and streamline the office.”
They each pledged to do 50 hours of free legal work as individuals if elected to the office. They also agreed to offer more legal resources to citizens with legal complaints and questions.
The starkest difference came over the topic of Vermont’s out-of-state prison program. While Bucknam pointed to cost savings, Donovan vehemently argued for its end.
“It is a fundamental, basic duty of our state government to take care of people in our custody and — yes — that includes prisoners,” Donovan said. “It is not a duty of a for-profit corporation to take care of Vermonters. Their duty lies in their shareholders and making sure they are making money off of incarcerated Vermonters. It’s wrong, the contract should be canceled.”
Donovan pointed to a recent decision by the U.S. Department of Justice to end the federal prison system’s use of private facilities as validation for his position, saying the jails offer subpar health and educational care.
Bucknam said that prisoners needed to be treated with compassion, but seemed skeptical that bringing Vermont prisoners back home would make financial sense.
“I have represented families whose relatives are in prison out-of-state and it’s very hard on the families, and particularly on the children,” she said. “However, we need to analyze the costs and the benefits of this program — where are we going to transfer these folks to? How are we going to house them? How are we going to supervise them? How much is it going to cost?”
The other broad topic where the two candidates disagreed was campaign finance reform.
Donovan called for the Supreme Court to overturn the Citizens United case, which allowed for untraceable money to pour into elections. Calling it “the most disastrous decision of our democracy today,” Donovan pointed to his last run against Sorrell, in which a deluge of super PAC ads supporting Sorrell went onto the airwaves just ahead of the election.
“I’m the only candidate who’s had a super PAC come in against them in a race,” he said. “And yes, it influences elections and outcomes. And I am a testament to that.”
Bucknam framed the Citizens United decision as one over the First Amendment right to free speech, and she said information and ads should not be limited. She criticized Donovan and others for raising substantial sums before they even know whether they will be contested.
“Mr. Donovan received $313,000 or so for his campaign before he even had an opponent,” she said. “And Sen. Leahy has received $6 million before he had an opponent. We need to restrict those contributions to candidates.”
While differences emerged, the two candidates were civil and respectful throughout the debate, and shook hands and posed for pictures after the debate concluded.
