Video + Story: Ad hoc group urges lawmakers to pass Super PAC reforms; Shumlin supports initiatives
House Speaker Shap Smith and Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos also say they’ll support reforms.
Local TV stations draw down $185,000 from super PACs
Super PAC spending in Vermont has been amply publicized, but just how many of these dollars filtered down to local TV stations is still coming to light. Politcal ad filings show that the conservative super PAC, Vermonters First, shelled out $185,165 for airtime with WCAX, FOX and ABC. The bulk of this — more than $160,000, [...]
Got ground game? How data drove Vermont’s 2012 elections
The Dems created a detailed database of voters that enabled them to “micro target” voters. Republicans lagged behind; the data gap made a difference.
In case you missed it: Shap Smith’s election night pep talk
House Speaker Shap Smith, who is typically reticent, gives an uncharacteristically emotional speech about the Vermont Democratic Party’s House victories. “Look we saw something this year in legislative races that I’m afraid we’re going to see year in and year out,” Smith said. “But hopefully because of what happened tonight, we’re not going to see [...]
In case you missed it: Shumlin’s victory speech
Gov. Peter Shumlin thanked Brock for his service as state auditor and his tenure in the state Senate before he launched into a recapitulation of his pledge to right Vermont’s economy, invest in renewable energy, “get off our addiction to oil,” create an affordable health care system and create more jobs. “I understand my job [...]
Republican Franklin County Senate candidate Dustin Degree will request recount
Republican state Senate candidate Dustin Degree, who lost by 25 votes to Democrat Don Collins in Franklin County, will request a recount early next week. Degree plans to file a petition at Franklin County Superior Court, within the 10-day post-election deadline. He has been told by Franklin County Clerk Jim Pelkey that a recount would [...]
The Fact Checker: Is the Fact Checker Really on Hiatus?
Each week in Fact Checker, reporters and editors from Seven Days and VTDigger.org will evaluate the veracity of statements and rate them on a five-point scale: True, Mostly True, Debatable, Mostly False and Udder Bull. CLAIM: “The Fact Checker is on indefinite hiatus,” Seven Days’ Off Message blog, Nov. 7, 2012. FACTS: The Fact Checker [...]
On video: Brock concedes gubernatorial race to Shumlin
In a brief speech to well-wishers, Republican gubernatorial candidate Randy Brock called his defeat “the final chapter in the greatest experience I’ve had in my entire life.” He wished Shumlin success as governor, a role he described as an “important and august responsibility.” “This was a campaign in which we talked about issues, was a [...]
On video: Scott says, “It’s not easy being a Republican here”
In the sole victory speech at the GOP election day rally, Scott urges his colleagues to steer clear of partisanship.
Margolis: True blue in the Green Mountain State
Vermonters may have been unusually Democratic this week, but no state is an island, and Vermont voters were in tune with their neighbors in New England.
