STOWE — Vermont Democrats reelected top party officials at a statewide meeting Saturday.
The reelection of Chair Terje Anderson and other Democratic officials comes on the heels of high staff turnover and an embezzlement scandal.
Party officials attempted to put that chapter behind them and issued a call to unseat Republican Gov. Phil Scott and tighten their grip on the Legislature in 2020. Anderson, who has led the party since 2017 and was reelected with unanimous support, told Democrats that they are poised to make major gains in next year’s election.
“Vermonters are going to come out en masse to vote against Donald Trump, but they are also going to come out en masse, I’m convinced, to take back the governorship and increase our margins in the state Legislature,” he said.
In August, Democratic officials accused former party operations manager Brandon Batham of embezzling $18,500 from party coffers over a six-month period early this year.
Anderson said in August that Batham was the only party official who had access to the organization’s payroll and bank account information. The party chair said that he should have acted sooner to prevent the embezzlement.
Anderson did not refer to Batham by name in his remarks Saturday at the Stoweflake Mountain Resort, but he made reference to the alleged embezzlement. He told Democrats that the party wasn’t able to accomplish some of its goals in the past two years because staff “had to deal with taking on other roles, and putting fires out, and dealing with legal problems.”
But he and other officials say that party has turned a corner, and taken steps to secure party finances. The Vermont Democrats recently hired a third-party consultant, Political CFOs, to oversee its accounts and approve its transactions.
Democratic officials said they still felt confident in the party’s leadership team and its handling of the embezzlement scandal.
“The situation that occurred is a sad one, tragic one, but I think people were relying too much on trust that wasn’t there,” Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos said after the elections. “And I think we’re better for it now, we’ve got good systems in place to overcome.”
Democrats on Saturday also vowed to pass a minimum wage increase and a mandatory paid family leave program, measures Scott has said he would veto.
Scott has said he will not announce whether he is seeking reelection until next spring, but Democrats are operating under the assumption that the Republican will run for a third term.
“We’re going to see Governor Scott be presented with some painful vetoes that we either will override, or we will put around his neck,” Anderson said.
Last session, Democrats in the House and Senate fought over minimum wage and paid leave bills, and ultimately failed to send either proposal to Scott’s desk. This year, Democrats plan to immediately take up that legislation again when lawmakers return to Montpelier in January. The governor vetoed other versions of the paid leave and minimum wage bills in 2018.
In a speech to Democratic officials following Saturday’s election, Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman said that in order to make gains, particularly in the governor’s office, Democrats in the Statehouse need to pass more of their priorities like paid leave, minimum wage, criminal justice reform, and climate change policy.
Zuckerman, who is considering a gubernatorial run, said the party’s elected officials have been too concerned about securing the 100 House votes they need to override a veto from Scott.
“If we say we’re not going to do it because we can’t get to 100, then we never expose the governor for his lack of vision, his lack of work for the state of Vermont with respect to working Vermonters and our rural economy,” he said.
Rebecca Holcombe, a former Vermont education secretary and the only Democrat to have announced her candidacy for governor in 2020, said in a speech after the party elections that her campaign will focus on policies to help the state retain and attract young people. She mentioned the importance of taking action to combat climate change, strengthening Vermont’s public school system, and expanding affordable housing options.
“I want our young people to feel hope and they need to know that we have their backs,” she said.
After the party election, Democrats held a fundraiser, with 275 Democratic legislators, operatives, and supporters packed into a ballroom at the resort.
The event’s keynote speaker was U.S. Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., the vice chair of the Democratic National Committee.
Surrogates for the Democratic presidential candidates Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and billionaire Tom Steyer, who all bought tables at the fundraiser, also spoke.
Just before the fundraiser began, party officials said the event had brought in about $26,000.
The speakers gave rallying cries for the state’s Democrats to reestablish one-party rule in the state.
“We’re going to vote Phil Scott out of office right here in Vermont,” Meng said.
Nina Turner, a senior campaign advisor to Sanders, told Democrats that it’s important for them to make use of the control they have over both chambers of the Legislature in 2020.
“Got to make sure we don’t squander that opportunity,” she said.
“Challenge that governor, override his vetoes,” she said. “But don’t play games with the people.”
In the party elections, Anderson and all other party officials ran unopposed. Tess Taylor, Billi Gosh and David Glidden were reelected party vice chair, treasurer and assistant treasurer, respectively. Noah Detzer, who had served as party secretary, did not seek reelection. Steve Amos was voted in to fill the post.
