Nine months ahead of Vermont’s gubernatorial election, the Vermont Democratic Party is amping up its criticism of the highest-profile Republican candidate, Lt. Gov. Phil Scott, both directly and through operatives.
James Valente, a Brattleboro lawyer and former vice chair of the Vermont Democratic Party, filed a complaint with the attorney general’s office alleging campaign finance violations by Scott’s campaign in a political ad.
Valente, in a written complaint filed in late January, said the video failed to meet various requirements, including an audio or text statement at the end indicating who paid for the spot.
Scott’s campaign acknowledged the misstep and responded quickly, inserting the typical disclaimer that Scott’s campaign had paid for and authorized the ad.
“We were notified and recognize that we had a few errors,” said Brittney Wilson, a spokeswoman for Scott’s campaign. “We took actions to correct those immediately.”
Wilson said Scott was not the only candidate who didn’t insert disclaimers into ads.
“I think it’s a bit unfair, considering the other three candidates for governor were in violation,” Wilson said. “… It’s just a distraction from the real issues.”
By Thursday, online political spots from Bruce Lisman, Sue Minter and Matt Dunne were all updated to include proper disclaimers.
Another allegation was that Scott improperly shot part of a TV ad in his Statehouse office. Valente claimed that breaks state personnel policy, which restricts any political activity from being conducted in “any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties.”
Wilson said the restriction did not apply to officials including the lieutenant governor.
Valente’s complaint is being handled by Washington County State’s Attorney Scott Williams, who did not respond to a call for comment.
Although the Vermont Democratic Party was not directly involved in the complaint, Executive Director Conor Casey said the alleged violations were concerning.
“You’ve got to be ready for primetime, and that means you have to adhere to the campaign finance laws, and some of them are pretty recent,” Casey said. “But people want transparency. They want to know who’s paying for the ad.”
