Vermont Gov. Phil Scott said Wednesday that he supported calls for the resignation of Eva Vekos, the embattled state’s attorney in Addison County. Meanwhile, Vekos was adamant Wednesday that she had no intention of stepping down.
Calls from Scott and other top political leaders in the state come after VTDigger published a story on Monday in which sexual assault survivors criticized Vekos’ handling of their cases and described ethics complaints filed against her.
Scott said he agreed with a statement issued shortly after on Monday by the chair of the Vermont Democratic Party, Lachlan Francis, that Vekos was “unfit to serve as State’s Attorney, and she should resign from her office immediately.” The statement cited VTDigger’s reporting.
“I do think that it’s time to make a change,” Scott, a Republican, said at a Wednesday press conference in Montpelier. The press conference was not specifically about Vekos or her conduct.
“I compliment the Democratic Party for moving forward,” the governor said. “It’s something that I think they feel strongly about — and I believe that there is some merit to that.”
Vekos is in her first term as Addison County’s top prosecutor and ran for office in 2022 as a Democrat. Francis said if Vekos decides to seek reelection to another four-year term in 2026, the Democratic Party would not support her candidacy.
The governor’s comments also come after the Vermont Progressive Party called on Vekos to resign. The party said in a statement Wednedsay that “her complete and total lack of regard and respect for sexual violence victims cannot continue.”
“It is clear that Eva Vekos has failed morally, ethically, and legally to protect the sisters and daughters of Addison County, whom she took an oath to protect,” the Progressive Party said.
If Vekos does not resign, the party added, Addison County’s delegation to the state Legislature should start the process of impeaching her.
Some state leaders have previously called for Vekos’ resignation. After she was arrested for allegedly drunken driving in January 2024, a number of lawmakers in the county demanded that she step down, though she did not.
Asked Wednesday if she would resign in the wake of Scott’s and the other leaders’ comments this week, Vekos was defiant, writing in an email: “Absolutely not.”
“There is no reason for me to step down. I’ve done nothing different than any other prosecutor in VT or anywhere,” she said. “And, anyway, it would be unfair to the residents in Addison County to leave them in the lurch. Not to mention unfair to my staff.”
Vekos also said the Democratic Party chair’s call for her to resign was “short-sighted and rash.”
“He should have first reached out to me — rather than blindly accepting the truth of a one-sided story,” she said, referring to VTDigger’s reporting this week.
In a separate statement Vekos sent Tuesday after VTDigger published its story, Vekos said she was “distressed to hear that some victims are still suffering from the pain and frustration related to the outcomes” of cases described in VTDigger’s reporting. However, Vekos called those outcomes “an unfortunate reality of criminal court.”
“The choices I made in handling these cases was consistent with preceding prosecutors,” she said. Her office, she later wrote, was “crushing it.”
