Sanders runs for president

[W]hen Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., announced his candidacy for president in May, few Vermonters believed the democratic socialist from Burlington would be a real contender.

But to the surprise of the state and national press corps, Sanders’ message hit home with young people across America.

Sanders has been talking about income inequality, fair taxation, more student aid, Medicare-for-all and a host of other progressive issues for 30 years in Vermont.

But on the national stage, his same-old saw was a revelation to middle class voters who feel disenfranchised.

Sanders has also given Hillary Clinton, the favorite in the Democratic primary, more of a run for her money than anticipated. He has refused money from billionaires and has instead raised millions of dollars in small donations. And he’s done pretty well in New Hampshire and Iowa polls, running neck and neck with Clinton.

In the Las Vegas debate, Sanders held his own. Later, in Iowa, he wasn’t strong enough on security issues in the aftermath of the Paris attacks. And in the New Hampshire debate, his single-minded messaging started to become a liability.

A recent brouhaha over Sanders’ staffers viewing Clinton voter registration data hurt the Vermont senator’s fundraising efforts temporarily. While Sanders immediately fired staff involved in the breach, he suffered on the public relations front.

Pundits say Sanders is likely to hang on through the New Hampshire primary, but the real test will be Super Tuesday, when states in the Midwest, South and West go to the polls. Sanders doesn’t have the field staff nationally to compete with Clinton in many states and will likely lose ground in the Bible-belt South where the Jewish guy from Brooklyn is not well known.

Shumlin decides not to seek re-election

Gov. Peter Shumlin was licking his wounds in January.

At the beginning of the year, Shumlin was reeling from his stunningly narrow victory in the 2014 election and his decision to give up on his dream of pursuing a single payer health care system in Vermont.

And to top it all off, the governor’s rival, Republican Scott Milne, decided to contest Shumlin’s third term in the Legislature. Milne insisted that he won more legislative districts than the governor had. And so, on inauguration day, lawmakers cast ballots for the next governor — Peter Shumlin — in a secret vote.

Once the inauguration started, activists with the Vermont Workers’ Center who were disappointed with the governor’s decision to abandon single payer, launched a demonstration that interrupted the ceremony. They unfurled banners, shouted slogans and sang as lawmakers attempted to carry on with the proceedings.

The governor didn’t fare much better during the legislative session. Shumlin’s popularity sagged in a Castleton Polling Institute survey: 47 percent of those polled said they disapproved of the job he was doing as governor.

Lawmakers balked at his insistence on a payroll tax to pay for Medicaid reimbursement increases. Instead, they increased taxes by $30 million to cover a state budget gap.

In June, Shumlin, to the surprise of many, announced he would not seek re-election. He said he never had intended to run for a fourth term and he wanted to return to private life. For the first time, he made his relationship with longtime girlfriend Katie Hunt public and in December, Shumlin announced that the couple had wed in a private ceremony.

McAllister arrested on Statehouse grounds

The legislative session began under a cloud and ended in a storm of controversy.

Sen. Norm McAllister, R-Franklin, was arrested by Vermont State Police on the grounds of the Statehouse on the next to last day of the session. McAllister is accused of repeatedly raping two women, one of whom was an intern who worked with him at the Statehouse. He also engaged in a sex-for-rent scheme, according to the Franklin County state’s attorney.

When McAllister refused to resign his seat, the Senate stripped him of his committee assignments.

A Senate panel voted to recommend McAllister’s suspension in January. There are not enough votes in the Senate to expel the Franklin County senator. If McAllister were to be expelled, Shumlin could name a replacement for his seat. A suspension would create a limbo situation in which McAllister would not be able to cast votes and Franklin County would not be represented.

McAllister’s case goes to trial in February and his supporters in the Senate, namely Sen. Peg Flory, R-Rutland, say a suspension or an expulsion would hurt his constitutional right to a fair trial.

Sen. Joe Benning, the Republican leader, says the Senate is not a court of law and members of the body should be held to the highest ethical standard.

The Senate has never expelled or suspended a member.

The McAllister case has led state officials to call for an independent ethics commission.

Five vie for governor’s race

Politics, like nature, abhors a vacuum, and so it is that five — not one, not two, but five — candidates emerged from the woodwork for the 2016 governor’s race not long after Shumlin announced his retirement from the Fifth Floor.

The full count as of September included two Republicans — Lt. Gov. Phil Scott and former Wall Street mogul Bruce Lisman — and three Democrats — House Speaker Shap Smith, former secretary of the Agency of Transportation Sue Minter and Matt Dunne, a Google executive and former state senator.

Smith dropped out of the race in November to care for his wife, who has breast cancer. He will not seek re-election for his House seat.

Scott and Lisman have staked out similar positions on the economy. Both Republicans want to restrain state spending and boost economic development. Scott wants to keep state budget increases at inflationary rates, change environmental regulations and dramatically increase the state’s population. Lisman wants to cut taxes and keep state spending at 2 percent a year.

Dunne wants to use technology to drive innovation and entrepreneurship in Vermont. Minter said she is most concerned about climate change, preserving the state’s educational system and addressing opiate abuse.

The 2016 election is shaping up to be the most contentious gubernatorial race since 2010 when Shumlin was voted into office. And it’s possible another candidate — former state Sen. Peter Galbraith — may run in the Democratic primary.

Scott’s bid for governor leaves the lieutenant governor’s race wide open. High turnover in the House and Senate is expected.

And T.J. Donovan, the Chittenden County state’s attorney, is running for Vermont Attorney General. This time without opposition from longtime AG Bill Sorrell who became enmeshed in an ethics scandal this spring. The results of an independent investigation are pending.