From a Shumlin campaign press release:
Today, Treasurer Jeb Spaulding endorsed Peter Shumlin for Governor of Vermont.
“Peter has the track record, capacity and commitment to protect the public purse and the vision, creativity and passion to make Vermont a great place to grow jobs,” said Jeb Spaulding.
A significant endorsement snagged by the Senate President Pro Tem. Though a social liberal (among the first elected officials to openly suggest full marriage equality back in the civil union era), Treasurer Jeb Spaulding is very popular with the moderate-to-conservative set. He is fondly spoken of at Republican-oriented Vermont Tiger, and has even been featured at their events (to the admitted chagrin of many Democrats).
As such, the endorsement is as much a boon to Shumlin as it likely is a blow to Susan Bartlett, who has been courting the more conservative wing of the party in her campaign.
(NOTE: The GMD byline represents collaborative work by multiple – but not necessarily all – site contributors)
eh? what was that? oh. zzzzzzzzzzzz
but one can’t ignore the fact that Douglas has somehow gotten himself elected repeatedly, despite the more progressive lean of the state.
Sen. Shumlin is not an attractive candidate to me.
The “experience” that Senator Shumlin has consists of a series of unnecessary and damaging compromises with our ultra-conservative governor. His track record is epitomized by the “two-vote” mandate for school meetings…a massive stupidity dressed up as a cost-control measure, which was rammed through the legislature with no debate in a midnight backroom deal. It accomplished nothing other than to anger school board members and confuse voters all over the state. Great work.
This foolishness was then compounded by a massive display of arrogance. Anyone who disagreed with him was a “special interest”…taking several pages from the Jim Douglas Enemy Demonization playbook. This does not reflect the kind of governing, nor governor, that I want. I’d rather have someone more liberal than my perfect tastes whom I could at least trust to support basic Democratic principles instead of throwing them over the side in 2 seconds for a quick headline.
Seriously, as a lifelong Vermonter and political junky, it’s my opinion that this endorsement will mean little to the public. My guess is that 7 out of 10 Vermont voters couldn’t identify Jeb or name the office he’s held since 2002. Including some who’ve voted for him 4 times.