Persuaded to run, then left out in the cold? Gekas takes it all in stride

Democrats had candidates for every statewide seat but one last spring. As the deadline for candidate registration loomed back in June, the slot for lieutenant governor remained empty.

Just who would be brave (or foolish) enough to challenge Phil Scott, a popular Republican who is good friend of Gov. Peter Shumlin’s and a defacto member of the Democratic governor’s cabinet?

The Shumlin administration persuaded political greenhorn and VPIRG advocate Cassandra Gekas, 30, to run. In just 24 hours before the deadline, prominent Dems made sure she got all 500 signatures she needed for her candidate petition by June 14.

Trouble was, Gekas, hadn’t reached her boss Paul Burns at VPIRG. When he found out she had decided to run there was a row. She says she was fired; he says she quit. Whoever did what, Gekas was out of a job and had no savings, and no way of paying her student loans.

After that tumultuous start, Gekas was largely left to her own devices to drum up votes and funds. Even so, the Progressive and Democratic candidate has still managed to pull off a “credible campaign,” says Eric Davis, pundit and professor emeritus of political science at Middlebury College.

Gekas eschews the notion that she’s been left out in the cold by some of the same officeholders who prodded her to run in the first place. “The party folks have been really instrumental in making introductions and bringing in financial support,” she says. Embracing her anti-establishment role, Gekas says she prefers to “make connections with individual people” rather than networking through the Democratic Party.

Shumlin endorsed Gekas at her campaign launch and called her a “dynamic, bright, committed woman under 35 who wants to be a leader for the future of the state of Vermont,” but he stayed on the sidelines for the remainder of the race, and didn’t make any other campaign appearances with her.

“He did help her with a little bit of fundraising,” Alex MacLean, Shumlin’s campaign manager, said. MacLean declined to comment on what this assistance entailed.

Shumlin appeared alongside Phil Scott during a post-Sandy shoulder-patting exercise a la President Obama and Chris Christie on Oct. 30. The decision to give Phil Scott extended co-podium time days before the election and during an event redolent of Irene, as well as the revelation that Phil Scott did excavation work for Shumlin’s new East Montpelier residence, has led to grumbling in certain camps, according to Eric Davis.

“I think some of the people around the Gekas campaign and Hoffer campaign, in particular, feel that Shumlin didn’t do enough for them. … I think their camps feel the governor could have done more in terms of lending his public support for these Democratic candidates.” Davis said he personally didn’t think the post-Sandy appearance was inappropriate but he did find it “somewhat surprising” that Shumlin didn’t do more to proffer his political capital to Gekas or to the other Democrats running in downticket races.

MacLean maintained, “The governor is good friends and has a good working relationship with him [Phil Scott]. Having said that, he is at the top of the Democratic ticket and he has come out and endorsed all of the statewide Democratic candidates.”

Bumps along the way

Media coverage of Gekas’ campaign began with the leak of a rancorous email in which her former boss at VPIRG told board members that her decision to run was “unprofessional and dishonest.”

Then, in the wake of Republican Missouri Sen. Todd Akin’s infamous “legitimate rape” comment, Gekas called on Scott to denounce the statement — a step he had already taken.

Later, on Sept. 7, the Gekas campaign took flak for erroneously claiming that Scott was “against a woman’s right to choose.”

The latest and, according to Davis, most egregious slipup came a week before Election Day, when Gekas told Seven Days reporter Paul Heintz that she had a job offer from the Vermont State Employees Association (VSEA).

Eric Davis said this was a “rookie mistake” that signaled to voters a pre-emptive acknowledgment of defeat.

“I’m not a well-honed political machine,” Gekas freely admits.

But, Gekas says being unpolished has actually worked to her advantage. “I speak from my heart and I think people can sense that. That’s a little unusual in politics.”

The toughest part, Gekas says, is that “You can only really share a fraction of yourself in the 30 seconds that you’re speaking with someone. … You have no control over how people spin what you say.”

Gekas says an interview on Vermont Public Radio and a series of lieutenant governor debates were the breakthrough moments of her campaign. Eric Davis also said the debates were Gekas’ strong suit. “What I particularly was impressed with was that she used the broadcast debates effectively to make the case for the Shumlin administration’s policies and for the Democratic Party’s platform.”

Davis says she has managed to carve out political distinctions with a notably non-combative incumbent without injecting “the acrimony that we’ve seen in the other campaigns.”

“It’s challenging to pin him down because he chooses not to take a hard line on the issues,” Gekas said. “I don’t have any interest in attacking him as a person but to me when we debate each other, the contrast stands for itself.”

Gekas says it was a struggle to solidify her campaign infrastructure, and she has been averaging 15-hour days on the campaign trail.

“My entire living room floor is covered with position papers and Chinese takeout,” Gekas said. Undeterred by the grueling lifestyle, Gekas say that regardless of the Election Day outcome, she will continue to pursue a career in public office; as for this particular race, “Someone needed to step up to the plate.”