The horses are barely out of the gate and we’ve got a bit of Franklin County melodrama to mark the day.

Sitting Senator (R) Norm McAllister had a letter in the Messenger saying that one of his Democratic opponents, Bill Roberts,  told a neighbor that he was “running with” McAllister:

I was shocked to hear that Bill Roberts, a Democrat running for the Senate, was soliciting signatures and told a neighbor that he and I were running together. I don’t know the exact circumstances of the conversation, but I do know that she came away with that impression and I’d like to set the record straight.

It’s pretty easy to guess what happened.  Roberts must have said to her that he was running for the Vermont Senate, to which she might have  replied that her neighbor, McAllister, was also running for the Senate.  

Roberts probably then explained that they were both in the race, and that there were two seats up for grabs, or something like that; and she confused this with a claim to be McAllister’s “running mate.”

This is just conjecture, of course, but it would be completely absurd and pointless for Roberts to deliberately lie to the “neighbor.”  

What would be the point?  Does McAllister actually believe that his political mojo is so powerful that a Democrat might try to steal it, voter by voter?

Instead of making the obvious assumption that there had simply been some misunderstanding on his neighbor’s part, McAllister leaps into print on the very first day of the official campaign to accuse an opponent of malfeasance.

The utter pettiness of the letter is pretty stunning from a sitting senator.  He goes on to whine:

I look forward to the coming campaign, and I welcome all candidates to it, but I don’t appreciate any candidate misleading my constituents about my views and beliefs. That’s not how we do things here.

Well, “how we do things here” is an opening to remind our readers of the 2012 campaign in which somebody who had an interest in the three-candidate Republican senate primary targetted Joe Sinagra, one of the three candidates, with an attempted dirty trick.  It backfired because whoever was responsible tried to involve me and I had no interest in helping the other two Republican candidates to cull the herd.

McAllister, of course, went on to win the seat.

Now that, apparently, was

“…how we (Republicans) do things here.”

The filing deadline has come and gone, and there were no stunning surprises as 4:59 ticked over to 5:00 p.m.

The Republicans, as expected, failed to find a single candidate for Attorney General, Secretary of State, Treasurer, or Auditor. The fact that Scott Milne came through and will, presumably, occupy the top of their ticket, should not diminish the shame or embarrassment of this moment. The Republicans are, thanks to the consistent support of voters through the years, one of our two major parties. This year they will fail to uphold their duty to inhabit their given space in our politics. And whether or not you or I planned to vote for any of them, they should feel a responsibility to represent themselves.

I don’t blame the current management; I blame their predecessors, for leaving the VTGOP in such a parlous state that it’s reduced to hoping for a handful of gains in the Legislature. I’m sure we’ll hear catcalls from the likes of Darcie Johnston and Jack Lindley; but this wretched state of affairs is their fault much more than it’s David Sunderland’s or Phil Scott’s. Lindley and Johnston and their fellows are the tenants who trash an apartment, move out, and then blame their successors for the mess.

To my great disappointment, there were no gadfly slash nutbar candidates taking advantage of the Republicans’ abdication. I’d love to have seen a Republican ticket full of Emily Peytons, but no such luck.

At least, not yet. There’s still the option of mounting a write-in campaign for one of the vacant Republican slots. Much easier than gathering hundreds of petition signatures.

And congratulations to the soon-tio-be re-elected Auditor Doug Hoffer, who will have no opposition from any major or minor party, barring a write-in. Not even the Liberty Union will challenge the man who was believed to be such an underdog two years ago against consummate insider Vince Illuzzi.  

There was a final-day flurry of filings for legislative offices, but those returns are not yet final. Candidates have the option of filing with their local clerks, and those functionaries have 72 hours to forward the petitions to the Secretary of State.

Now let’s ask for some voluntary crowd-sourcing. The Secretary of State’s candidate list is posted online; I invite you to give it a scan, and see if any names jump out at you. Let us know in the Comments. I’ll mention a couple right here:

— Marvin Malek is running for a State House seat in Washington County as both a Dem and a Prog. He’s a doctor, and one of the leading advocates of single-payer health care in the medical community.

— Designated shitkicker Rama Schneider is running as an Independent for the House in Orange County. He’d definitely enliven, and lengthen, the debates.

— Some guy named Don Russell is running for Congress as a Republican, one of three fringey candidates vying for the chance to get steamrolled by Peter Welch. I mention Russell because his campaign website is entertainingly over-the-top and is worth a visit. Looks like something out of the early days of Angelfire, with an ALL-CAPS HEADLINE IN A HUGE FONT and waving American flags and just about everything ugly and cheap in a website. His purpose in the race, I infer, is to make Mark Donka look mainstream.

Ooh, one of his pages is entitled “Don’s Poems.” Er, I mean “DON’S POEMS.” Here’s one about his campaign:

Doesn’t that just make you want to saddle up and take back this country? After all, I’d hate to lose my “this an’ that.” I believe that phrase was borrowed from James Madison’s Federalist Letters.

And that’s only the first half of this patriotic epic.

Ladies and gentlement, Don Russell, Real American(™).  

The last remaining shred of doubt has dissipated: Scott Milne, owner of Milne Travel, will run for Governor as a Republican… setting up what must certainly be the first Travel Agent vs. Travel Agent gubernatorial election in Vermont history.

Milne showed up at the Secretary of State’s office around 4 p.m. to turn in his petitions, and have his first media confab as a formal candidate.

He talked about running a grassroots campaign on “pocketbook issues,” with an emphasis on finding affordable solutions for health care reform and the public education system.

He was short on specific ideas. He allowed as to how Governor Shumlin’s refusal to actively campaign until September gives him some time to fashion policy initiatives. Job one for his newborn campaign is building an organization; he doesn’t even have a campaign manager yet. And his official announcement isn’t likely to happen until around the Fourth of July.  

He said he’d actually decided to be a candidate “about three weeks ago,” but rethought the situation after Randy Brock’s withdrawal. Milne was hoping for a strong primary that would give the Republicans the media spotlight throughout the summer. After concluding that victory was still possible — even though unlikely — he affirmed his earlier decision.

As of this writing, we’re still waiting for an updated candidate list from the Secretary of State; they’ve had their hands full processing petitions today.

Also, a footnote to my earlier post about John Bauer’s failure to qualify for public financing and subsequent withdrawal from the race for Lieutenant Governor. I put the blame on the Democratic Party for failing to give him the backing that the Progressive Party gave to Dean Corren. I talked with a well-connected Democrat who said that a lack of communication from Bauer’s side was part of the problem — that as of yesterday afternoon, party officials were being assured that Bauer would, in fact, qualify.

I don’t want to start a shitfight here. My sense is that there’s substantial goodwill between Bauer and the party. Maybe some bruised feelings, but nothing that will last. But the Dems — at least a lot of them — did want to see Bauer qualify for public financing, and were surprised that he didn’t.

One more note: we might very well see the Dems endorse Corren, which would be a positive thing.

Stay tuned, as they say.  

John Bauer, Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor, has announced he fell short of qualifying for public financing. Further, he’s withdrawing from the race, leaving Progressive Dean Corren to challenge Phil Scott.

It’s disappointing. Although Bauer and Corren are fairly similar policy-wise, I think a name-brand Democrat would have had an easier time than a Progressive in mounting an effective challenge to Scott.

And it’s disappointing that the Democratic Party failed — or didn’t try — to help Bauer qualify for public funds while the Progs did manage the trick.

No, wait. It’s not disappointing. It’s shameful. Limiting the influence of money in politics is supposed to be a Democratic issue. And in the post-Citizens United world, offering a robust public-financing option is one of the best ways to level the playing field. In this case, the Democratic Party failed to live up to its principles.

I have to suspect the Powers That Be didn’t really want a liberal Democrat on the ticket. They gave Bauer lip service, but was there any effort to get loyal party members to kick in a few bucks to Bauer’s campaign? I doubt it. Because if there had been, he could have qualified.

As it is, the Dems can leave the Lt. Gov. race alone and let Scott cruise to re-election and return to his cushy spot in the Shumlin Cabinet. Dirty deals done dirt cheap.

(Note to 80s rock devotees: Yes, I know it’s “deeds.” Accept the pun.)

Two of the larger questions for Deadline Day have been answered: Scott Milne and Shap Smith are in the running.

Milne finally announced that he’s in as a Republican candidate for Governor. He did so this morning on WDEV’s “Mark Johnson Show.” (Link is to interview podcast; following quotes are taken from Paul “The Huntsman” Heintz at Seven Days.) Curiously, he left the door very slightly open for a last-second change of heart:

You know, if [former governor] Jim Douglas calls me up and says, ‘Scott, I want you to step aside because I’m coming back’ or I get hit by lightning today or something like that, there’s always the chance something could change. But I have petitions ready and plan on being a full-fledged candidate for governor by the end of the day.

He acknowledged he would be an underfunded longshot against Governor Shumlin. He invoked the underdog’s favorite meme:

…We’ll be working on a grassroots organization enabling folks to get to know me and the folks I’m going to be surrounded with a little bit better.

He estimated he would try to raise and spend about $200,000. That would, indeed, be a different kind of campaign; Randy Brock spent more than 600K and his only regret was he ran out of money to pour on his political bonfire.  

Milne’s a different kind of politico, and he might actually make things interesting — in the abstract sense, not in the “he stands a chance” sense. He’s certainly a good person to make the case for a new, more inclusive Republican Party.

After the jump: Milne unconsciously criticizes Jim Douglas… and a little praise for the Speaker.

One other comment worthy of note: Milne dinged Shumlin as a career politician who only knows one thing:

I think Gov. Shumlin has been, I think, getting elected pretty much since he was 24 years old,” Milne said. “I think with folks that have been getting elected every two years or every four years for 10 or 20 or 30 years, in Gov. Shumlin’s case, your filters become more about what you need to do to be successful politically.

Unintentionally ironic on two levels: First of all, Shumlin was a successful businessman — in Milne’s own line of work, travel. And second, Milne could have said the very same thing about his own Patron Saint, Jim Douglas, who was first elected to public office at age 25 and stayed there, with one brief interruption, until he was sixty years old.

In other news, Shap Smith will run for another term. And presumably win, and retain the Speakership.

In the end, I realized I really like the job and I thought that there was work left to be done on education, education finance, health care and health care finance,” Smith told Seven Days. “And I really wanted to finish that work, if my constituents give me the opportunity.

Noble sentiments, although I doubt that any living soul is going to ever “finish that work.” There’s always more boulders to roll up the lawmaking mountain.

I’ve been critical of Shap often enough in the past, but I have a lot of respect for his political skills and his body of work as Speaker. He’s to my right on some key issues, but overall he’s been an asset to the Democratic agenda. He’s like the swimming duck, placid on the surface and paddling furiously underneath. If he weren’t Speaker, we might find out just how hard the job really is.  

(With apologies for the Eighties Earworm.)

It’s Deadline Day for Vermont candidates. And given the one-sidedness of our politics these days, this might be one of the more exciting days of the whole campaign season — including Election Day. Among the questions hanging fire:

— Will Scott Milne file as a Republican candidate for Governor? Will the alleged mystery Republican step up? Or will the party be forced into an embarrassing write-in campaign to keep Emily Peyton from grabbing the top spot on their ticket?

— Will anybody file for the Republican nomination for Attorney General, Secretary of State, Auditor, or Treasurer? We’re not expecting any actual Republicans, but I’m still hoping for a gadfly or two. (Probably the first, and only, time I’ll ever be rooting for Annette Smith.)

— Will Shap Smith run for re-election? He has yet to file, and at last check was still wrestling with the decision. (Having apparently collected petition signatures in case he decides to run.)

— Will there be any more surprise candidates and/or stealth candidates for the legislature, a la Roger Allbee?

— Will John Bauer join Dean Corren in qualifying for public financing? The Progressive Corren says he has done so; Bauer’s closing in, but still needs a last-minute burst of donations before 5 p.m. today. (Link to online donation option at his campaign website.)

In Other News, Phil Scott is being a dick about public financing.

I guess he’s uncomfortable with the prospect of facing financially competitive challengers for a change. Paul “The Huntsman” Heintz reports that Scott recently sent a red-meat fundraising pitch including this passage:

Whoever I end up running against will have a very formidable organization supporting them, with at least two of them seeking to use up to $200,000 of your tax dollars, known as ‘public financing,’ to fund their campaign.

When Heintz asked Everybody’s Buddy to elaborate, he was happy to do so:

“My reaction is that it’s just taking money from those that may not support you, and I just have a hard time wrapping my arms around that,” he said. “When I think of $200,000, I think of 5,000 or 6,000 potholes. I think of three or four [Department of Children and Families] folks that might be able to be out in the field. I just think there are better ways to spend taxpayer money than in a campaign.”

Dick.

Stay tuned for updates during the day and this evening!

Continuing the theme of corporate tea-leaf reading begun by JV with IBM, the stock movements over at Vermont Yankee’s parent, Entergy deserve a mention as well.

American Banking News reports that  Donald W. Vinci, a Senior Vice President at Entergy just dumped 3,000 shares of the company’s stock.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) SVP Donald W. Vinci sold 3,000 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.50, for a total transaction of $235,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,891 shares in the company, valued at approximately $540,944.

Mr. Vinci, who joined Entergy on September 1 of 2013, already sold 185 shares @ $63.05 per share on January 31 of this year.

It isn’t at all unusual for a man in his position to dump some of the stock or options he must have received on sign-up, but it might be taken as a lack of confidence in the future of Entergy that he has been on board less than two years and has already disposed of roughly half of his interest in the company.  

Perhaps someone at Entergy thought so, too, because on the same day that Mr. Vinci sold his 3,000 shares, another SVP and Chief Accounting Officer, Allison M. Mount, acquired 72 shares of company stock. A token show of confidence, on balance?

Entergy stock is variously recommended as a “sell” or a “hold” by stock analysts, and a few even say it’s a “buy.” The consensus seems to be to “hold”…for now.  So far, so good.

We want to keep a close eye on the fortunes of Entergy in the marketplace.  There is a great big question mark out there as to what happens with responsibility for decommissioning costs when an LLC (which Vermont Yankee is) goes belly up. The idea of an LLC is to “limit liability” of partners and associated businesses when the LLC files for bankruptcy.

If the price they can get for nuclear generated electricity isn’t worth the operating investment, and Entergy’s leaky creaky fleet of old reactors begins to be too much of a drag on resources, the LLC’s may begin to fall like petals from a dying rose.

Hey, remember the news about former Douglas Administration functionary Roger Allbee’s candidacy for State Senate… as a Democrat?

Well, the Brattleboro Reformer ran a story today about Allbee’s newly announced bid. And reporter Mike Faher (and his editors) did a remarkable thing.

Never once was Allbee’s lifelong Republicanism mentioned. And while there were two references to his service as Agriculture Secretary, the story did not say which administration he served in.  

Nothing whatsoever to indicate that Roger Allbee was, until very recently, a Republican. Quite literally, the article ignores the elephant in the room.

I’m sure Allbee appreciates the Reformer’s contortionist act, since Windham County is solidly Democratic and his best hope is that voters will recognize his name but not clearly recall the details of his past service.  

The article starts off with Allbee’s self-encomiums about his leadership and experience, cites his “long history of interest in agricultural issues,” and lists his educational background. Yeah, I think Faher basically retyped Allbee’s resume.

Allbee runs through a comprehensive and unsurprising list of key issues; his positions on same are the extremely generic sort of stuff you could hear from almost any candidate in either party.

The story also covers his interest in health care and his current post, as CEO of Grace Cottage Hospital. The story does NOT mention the fact that Grace Cottage Hospital just had a very close call with losing its eligibility for Medicare reimbursement.

Which is doubly fascinating because the Reformer’s story about Grace’s near-disaster was written about two weeks ago by… Mike Faher.

You’d think that little detail would be fresh in his mind, and might be considered relevant to a piece that touts his “first-hand experience” as a hospital administrator.  But no.

Looks like a hometown whitewash to me. Or, should I say, tongue bath.  

Oh boy. That deal Governor Shumlin made with IBM for cheap electricity? Yeah, that’ll do the trick.

Bloomberg News reports that IBM “is nearing a deal with Globalfoundries Inc. for its chip-manufacturing business… after searching for a buyer for the money-losing unit since last year.”

The deal would be very bad news for Essex Junction and the northwest Vermont economy, because GF isn’t interested in the Essex plant.

Globalfoundries is primarily interested in acquiring IBM’s engineers and intellectual property rather than manufacturing facilities, which have little value as they are more than a decade old, said people with knowledge of the matter…

“Little value,” ouch!

If the deal goes down and GF consolidates production at its existing plant in New York, I’m sure the Republicans will be screaming that it’s all Shumlin’s fault. But it’s not, not at all.

Two facts:  

— The Essex plant is, according to Bloomberg, “of little value” because it’s too old. Not because of expensive electricity or any other factor related to Vermont or Essex.

— IBM’s been ruthlessly divesting itself of businesses and product lines, not to mention tens of thousands of domestic employees, in an all-out effort to meet very ambitious earnings goals. Farmers call that “selling the seed corn,” but it makes Wall Street happy. This process has been going on for years at a global level, and has nothing whatsoever to do with Vermont state policies, regulations, taxes, or electricity prices. As El Jefe General would say, it’s the free market at work, bucko.

Ironically, according to Bloomberg, the IBM chip-making business “has been a successful developer of fundamental process technology, yet failed to deliver the level of sales and profit that [other firms] have achieved.”  

Makes me pine for the good old days, when IBM became a global titan based on its heavy investments in R&D.

I’ve been writing about IBM’s future in Vermont — or lack thereof — for two years now, starting with a diary entitled “Expect IBM to leave Vermont within three years. No matter what we do.”

Nothing’s changed; the corporation is shedding jobs and productive units, and our state’s economy is just collateral damage. And no amount of tax breaks, utility deals, regulatory relaxations, or Republican officeholders would make the slightest bit of difference.  

I can see why Scott wouldn’t take the bait and run, this being a remarkably bad year for the VTGOP. But if he is ever seized with the uncontrollable ambition to gain the big office, the odds are heavily against a win.

Well at least according to a study of elections by the online magazine Governing, he might have tough time of it.They looked at electoral records of lite governors who ran for the governorship since the early 1990’s, excluding those elevated by death of their predecessor and found …

Democratic lieutenant governors were more likely to make a gubernatorial bid, with 37 taking the plunge, compared to 17 Republicans and one Independent. Still, lieutenant governors from both major parties had similar troubles winning gubernatorial races. Democrats won just 35 percent of contests and Republicans won 24 percent.

Phil Scott knows the odds, gets paid well, and, what the heck, being the big dog can’t beat having the time off for racing season.