Thomas J. Donovan, or TJ as most of us know him announced today that he will seek reelection as Chittenden County State’s Attorney. From his press release:
Donovan said “It has been an honor and privilege to serve the citizens of Chittenden County in this important position. If reelected, I will continue to work to hold offenders fully accountable, provide victims the best possible services and work with community members to ensure Chittenden County remains a safe and vibrant place to live and work.”
At this point, I have not heard that anyone else is running against Donovan either in a primary or in the regular election. Some sources to whom I have spoken said that they had assumed Donovan would run for reelection since he did not seek higher office in this election year.
Donovan, 36, a Democrat, was first elected to the post in 2006. As State’s Attorney for the busiest county in Vermont, Donovan manages a staff of 27, prosecutes a caseload of over 7,000 criminal charges and 375 Family Court cases and is responsible for administering a budget of 1.5 million dollars.
More from his press release below the fold.
Donovan stated he will continue to treat homicides, sexual and domestic violence, and drunk driving as his office’s priorities while exploring alternative programs to address and work towards preventing the root causes of criminal behavior. Donovan cited as important achievements in his first term the high profile trials and convictions of Brian Rooney, Christopher Williams, Gerald Montgomery, and Michael Lewis as well as his work on addressing the issue of racial profiling, reparative boards, and promoting alternative justice programs.During his first term, Donovan served on the executive committee for the Department of State’s Attorneys and remained active with local community groups, such as Lund Family Center and Mercy Connections; organizations that help support people at risk and in transition.
Donovan lives with his wife and son in South Burlington.
I remember Mr Donovan from my involvement in the anti-war movement of 7 years ago (that was a brief period when VT had an anti-war movement- it lasted about 8 months)- I don’t have the quote from TJ verbatim, but it was something along the lines of how he wanted to personally “put an end to civil disobedience” in Chittenden County. Apparently TJ’s notion of providing “victims the best possible services” and working “with community members” has no room, whatsoever, for notions of social justice or, ya know, an informed citizenry acting/speaking/standing up against international crimes being committed in our name and with our money/resources.
Chittenden can keep Donovan, I’ll stay here in Washington County.
Fair and hardworking as far as I can see
I went to school around the same time as T.J. and his siblings and I have seen nothing that he’s done or said that suggest he doesn’t deserve re-election.
If I lived in Chittenden County I’d vote for him and I encourage those who can to do so.
I endorse TJ Donovan. He’s a great guy and he’s doing an excellent job. I expect that someday he will step into Leahy’s senate seat.