Vermont Republicans elected David Sunderland as their new chairman on Saturday and pledged to end a well-documented spat between two factions of the party.
The chairmanship had been at the center of a crusade, led by Lt. Gov. Phil Scott and other lawmakers, to rebrand the party, making it more palatable to moderates and independents.
Sunderland, a former state representative who was handpicked by Scott’s group, bested John MacGovern, who ran for the U.S. Senate against Bernie Sanders in 2012, 48 votes to 30.
MacGovern, like the previous chair, Jack Lindley — who dropped out of the race after a serious illness — strongly objected to the strategy proposed by Scott and Sunderland, saying it would dilute the party’s principles and erode its base.
Standing out with a bright green coat and tie, MacGovern cast himself as a “happy warrior” dedicated to preserving the party’s endangered principles. Highlighting “the right to life,” the right to bear arms, and “protection of marriage and family,” MacGovern urged the crowd to “reject the sirens of those false expectations that voters are waiting to board a rudderless craft.”
Sunderland, described by one of his backers as the “definition of a gentleman,” assured party members, “As your chair, I will work diligently to bring views together.” Sunderland disputes a prediction by his critics that he’ll serve as a mouthpiece for Scott and Republican lawmakers looking to refashion the party.
In a speech, Scott defended himself against accusations hurled his way during the last few weeks — that he’s not conservative enough, that he’s been too cozy with the Shumlin administration, and that he’s trying to mold the party to reflect his own more moderate views.
“To some of you, I’m not conservative enough. I get it. I respect that,” Scott told the crowd. “I’m not asking you to change who you are, I only ask that you consider how you present yourselves.”
Scott and his faction has sought a complete purge of the current party leadership, but Mark Snelling — a Lindley devotee — foiled that effort, just barely holding onto his seat as treasurer by two votes.
Snelling’s victory aside, with 30 delegates casting votes for MacGovern, it’s clear Sunderland will still have skeptics to manage within the party as he tries to steer it in a different direction.
The race for vice chair, secretary, and vice treasurer went uncontested. Brady Toensing, the lawyer who volunteered to represent Gov. Peter Shumlin’s neighbor, Jerry Dodge, during a land dispute, is the party’s new vice chair.
Two prominent Republicans — 2012 gubernatorial candidate, Randy Brock, and Wendy Wilton, the 2012 state treasurer candidate — were elected as at-large delegates.
The event was, by all accounts, unusually well-attended. Seventy-eight delegates cast votes, though the total crowd was roughly twice that size.
Lawn signs and disputes over budget deficits are usually the stuff of statewide elections, not party reorganizations. But signs for David Sunderland lined the drive to the Elks Country Club in Montpelier. And Deborah Bucknam, who challenged the incumbent Snelling for treasurer, distributed papers highlighting the meagerness of the party’s financial resources.
The party currently has a $27,000 deficit, though Snelling said he’s confident a fundraiser, which features New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, will get them out of the red by the year’s end.
