[B]URLINGTON — Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George is preparing to launch her 2018 election campaign more than a year before the primary.
George, a Democrat, was appointed by Republican Gov. Phil Scott in January, continuing a time-honored convention of appointing candidates of the same party as the person vacating a position. George replaced TJ Donovan, who is now attorney general.
In a news release sent by Aimee Griffin, a deputy state’s attorney, using a personal email account, George announced a campaign kickoff and fundraiser set for Wednesday at Halvorson’s Upstreet Cafe — a venue popular with Burlington politicos.
An invitation to the fundraiser includes a suggested donation of between $25 and $100. It reminds people that the individual limit for the election cycle is $1,500 and contributions are not tax-deductible.
George’s campaign committee, Sarah for State’s Attorney, is sponsoring the event.
As an appointee and political neophyte, George said doesn’t feel she has all the typical benefits of incumbency. While some observers may feel it’s too early to start the 2018 campaign, George said, she wants to start raising money and building name recognition now.
“It doesn’t feel early to me. As someone who hasn’t done this before it feels a little overwhelming, and it feels like it’s coming up quickly,” she said.
“Nobody really knows who I am outside of the legal field,” she added.
The announcement of the kickoff listed endorsements from Chittenden County Sheriff Kevin McLaughlin; state Reps. Johannah Donovan, Barbara Rachelson, Mary Sullivan and Selene Colburn; City Councilor Joan Shannon; and attorney Norm Blais, a former city councilor.
The fundraiser invitation lists a host committee that includes Faisal Gill, chair of the Vermont Democratic Party; Fauna Hurley, chair of the Burlington Democratic Party; and Tim Jerman, a former state representative who served in the House leadership.
Jerman is also listed as treasurer of George’s campaign committee.
George said she believes she’s likely to face a primary challenge.
“I feel like the more work I do up front, the less work I’ll have to do closer to the primary in terms of raising money and building support. That way I can focus more on door-knocking and talking to constituents,” George said.
She’s also planning a fundraiser June 22 at Simon Pearce, the fine-dining restaurant in Quechee where George still occasionally works a shift.
George said it might seem odd to hold a fundraiser so far from the county where she’s the top prosecutor, but the Quechee native said she hopes to capitalize on a swell of hometown support.
(Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated what the event invitation said about deducting contributions. They aren’t tax-deductible.)
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