[A] group of Franklin County residents is calling for the resignation of a state senator who is facing criminal charges.
Police arrested Sen. Norm McAllister, R-Franklin, last month on the steps of the Statehouse. The second term senator pleaded not guilty to three counts of sexual assault.
After initial reports that McAllister would resign turned out to be incorrect, the Senate stripped the senator of his committee assignments. McAllister later decided to keep his seat despite statements from Gov. Peter Shumlin, Lt. Gov. Phil Scott and others urging him to step down.
Now, more than a month after McAllister’s arraignment, Franklin County residents are circulating a petition formally asking the state senator to step down. Residents are circulating a petition that calls for McAllister to resign “on the basis that he has violated the public trust.”
“His breach of the public trust and lack of committee membership make him ineffective to represent Franklin County,” the petition states.
Denise Smith of St. Albans is part an informal group of community members concerned about the state senator’s “lackadaisical” response to the charges. The petition was recently finalized, and organizers aim to obtain a few thousand signatures by July Fourth.
Smith said the charges against McAllister have left Franklin County residents with inadequate representation. His absence at community events, she said, as well as the final week of the legislative session, has been conspicuous.
McAllister, reached by phone Monday, said that he has continued to respond to constituent communication as usual.
“Somebody calls me, I answer it,” McAllister said. “I’m not in hiding. I’m farming, so I’m very busy.”
McAllister would not answer questions about whether he plans to resign. He said he has heard from constituents who say they support his decision to retain his seat. “They thought I made the right choice,” McAllister said.
The state senator said he is aware of the petitions calling for his resignation.
“These are not people who have supported me much in the past,” McAllister said. “This gets into the politics.”
Denise Smith says the petition is not politically motivated.
“It’s people from both sides that are shocked that he hasn’t resigned,” Smith said.
McAllister defended his record during the 2015 legislative session, pointing to the water quality bill.
McAllister said he initially wanted to return to the Legislature for the final week of the session, but did not at the urging of his lawyer. He acknowledged that he missed the final votes on the budget, the new revenue package, a health care bill and other key pieces of legislation. McAllister felt his presence would have distracted from the political debate.
“The focus was going to be on me instead of on the budget like it should have been and the issues like it should have been,” McAllister said.
Steve Trahan, chair of the Franklin County Republican Party, said that he has not been involved with discussions about whether McAllister should resign. He did say that the district’s senior senator’s legislative work has been hampered by the criminal charges.
“Right now, he is ineffective because of the situation he is in,” Trahan said.
Trahan said that his only involvement would be to suggest nominees in case McAllister did choose to resign. He did not say what names he would forward to Shumlin as a replacement.
Unclear path for Senate
Meanwhile, McAllister’s refusal to resign has thrown the Senate into unfamiliar procedural territory.
Although several lawmakers have come forward to say they think McAllister should step down, there is not a clear path for the Senate to expel him.
“Norm’s going to have his day in court, but the fact remains that I think the people of Franklin County would be better served if there was somebody else in that seat,” Senate President Pro Tem John Campbell, D-Windsor, said by phone last week.
Campbell said that most likely, lawmakers will wait until they reconvene next January. At that point, he said, “We will do whatever is within our power.”
Secretary of the Senate John Bloomer, who keeps the rules of the upper chamber, said that to his knowledge, the Senate has never moved to expel a member under circumstances like this. He is looking to other states for precedent.
The Senate could expel McAllister through a process that would involve a hearing on the charges he is facing. However, in order for lawmakers to remove McAllister from his seat before January, the full Legislature would need to be called back — a procedural rarity that comes with a price tag of $250,000 per week.
Rep. Kathy Keenan, D-St. Albans, said that she thinks his resignation would be in the “best interest of our county.” However, she fears that the legislative process for removing McAllister would be a “circus,” and she is concerned that a legislative hearing would interfere with the criminal case.
In the meantime, Keenan said she has heard from constituents who have raised questions about why McAllister is still in office.
“I’ve had a lot of folks asking why we haven’t done something,” Keenan said. She added, “There’s not much we can do.”
Calls to Sen. Dustin Degree, R-Franklin, and Rep. Steve Beyor, R-Highgate Springs, were not returned before publication.