Tag Archives: dustin degree

What and when they knew: the shadow over Degree and Parent

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Election day is nearing and Franklin County voters must decide whether or not it is important for them to have representatives in Montpelier who are at least minimally aware of potentially dangerous or compromising situations close at hand.

So far, we have not had the privilege of hearing substantive accounts from either Dustin Degree or Corey Parent of their day-to-day interactions with Norm McAllister and his teenaged “intern.”

It is a troubling gap.

Mr. Degree appears to have been an intimate of Mr. McAllister, who has himself implied that Mr. Degree knows far more about him and the situation with the teenager than anyone else; and Corey Parent has said in a sworn deposition that he often drove the teenager to and from Montpelier. Furthermore, the “intern” herself has testified that she devoted time to working both for Mr. McAllister’s and Mr. Degree’s election.

While no one would accuse either Degree or Parent of being complicit with Mr. McAllister’s alleged crimes, to accept that they were wholly unaware of the unhealthy relationship is to also accept that both gentlemen are singularly lacking in curiosity and intuition; two things that would seem fairly important to the offices that they currently hold.

Their inability in such close proximity to appreciate the real danger to the young girl (or even a hint of impropriety) represents a failure by Degree, at the very least, and possibly Parent as well, to uphold the sworn obligation to protect their constituents.

If I were a Franklin County Republican, I would be taking a second look at the Democrats in this election cycle, because all of the incumbent Republicans must share some guilt for allowing McAllister to run rampant over their party and failing to protect the best interests of the county.

Primary Flashback and Franklin County Frolics

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A belated congratulations are due to GMD’s own Mike McCarthy, who now, officially joins Rep. Kathy Keenan as our excellent  Democratic candidates for the Vermont House from St. Albans City.  Mike has already served a term as St. Albans’ House Rep. so we look forward to having him back again.

The heat knocked me out for the past week or so, but I’ve recovered enough to want to comment on the outcome of the primary.

Although I wasn’t particularly active in the primary, I could not be more pleased with the outcome. Despite the pain we all feel at the national spectacle, I think we have much to be grateful for, here at home.

Sue Minter and Dave Zuckerman comprise a very strong Democratic ticket. I look forward to the debates with relish!

I was also pleased to learn that despite the early endorsement pass by the VCV, Philip Baruth will be defending his seat against the Republican challengers once again.

Returning to Franklin County, it was, I think, a relief for the entire county that disgraced senator Norm McAllister went down in defeat. We can now refer to him summarily as ‘disgraced ex-senator’ Norm McAllister…and doesn’t that feel good.

Nevertheless, roughly 700 Franklin County voters actually endorsed candidate McAllister, leaving one to ponder whether his family is exceptionally large, or there is a significant population out there with disturbing attitudes toward women.

None could have been more relieved with the primary results than Franklin County Republicans, who would have not found it a pleasant experience to campaign on the same ticket with a virtual pariah

Stepping into the breech for Republicans was Representative Carolyn Branagan, who will join Dustin Degree in competition against our two outstanding Democratic candidates for senate, former Senator Sara Kittell and clean lake activist, Denise Smith.

It goes without saying that I support Sara and Denise without reservation, but I have to say that Brannagan would be a strong third choice. She’s a good moderate representative for her district and has a pretty good environmental voting record.

Incredibly, Branagan got some grief from McAllister and some of his supporters for having had the temerity to offer herself as a candidate in the scorched aftermath of McAllister’s untimely departure. No one expected him to run again, given that he was facing numerous charges for crimes against women; but run he did, submitting his petition in the last minute of the eleventh hour, when no one had a chance to discover that it did not satisfy the minimum of the law before time ran out on a challenge. That didn’t stop him from attacking, in a parting shot, the only woman on Franklin County’s Republican senate ticket

So now we have an interesting race shaping up for two senate seats in Franklin County: two strong Democratic women, one respected Republican woman…and Dustin Degree.

It does seem fitting that, for his sins, McAllister will definitely see a woman he probably loathes in his senatorial seat….no matter which woman that ends up being.

Of course, popular wisdom around here probably has Degree holding onto his seat, but I beg to differ. Branagan came in a strong second to Degree in the primary; and I think that even Republicans may be ready for a little more estrogen in the Franklin County delegation.

And there are those nagging, unanswered questions about who-knew-what-when.

In what could only be imagined as an attempt to drag Degree under the bus along with him, thus improving his own chances in the primary, McAllister himself hinted broadly that Degree knew more about him (and presumably, the ‘intern’) than anyone else.

We may never learn the whole story about the intern, but McAllister’s statement means Degree is in for some increased scrutiny.

Degree and McAllister campaigned almost in tandem in the past two election cycles. They passed two years as seatmates in the senate. The intern maintains that she helped on their shared campaign.

It is difficult to believe that Degree never visited the apartment where McAllister shared a bedroom with the intern, and that he never observed how very young and fragile she looked next to the sexagenarian farmer who presumably bossed her around at the statehouse.

Also to be questioned is Mike McCarthy’s House opponent Cory Parent, who gave the teenaged intern rides back to Franklin County from the statehouse. He seems to have been another close intimate of McAllister’s. One would think the relationship between McAllister and the intern could not have been entirely unobserved by Parent and Degree.

So, it should be interesting over the next couple of months. I sincerely hope that whoever conducts the debates does not shy away from the McAllister question. The voters deserve some answers before they cast their ballots again.

The Unshameable Norm McAllister

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Accused child exploiter, accused rapist, accused sex trafficker, and suspended senator, Norm McAllister of Highgate today filed his petition for reelection.

Since Franklin County now has three Republicans competing to take on the Dems for the two available seats, members of that erstwhile ‘conservative’ party will be subjected to what will most likely be a pretty awkward  experience even as McAllister faces his dates in court on June 13 through 16th.

The other entries are sitting senator and St. Albans resident Dustin Degree, and Rep. Carolyn Branigan (Georgia).

I have every confidence that Branagan and Degree will prevail in that primary race because I have met precious few Republicans who have any use for McAllister at this point.

His was a violation of community standards that crossed all political boundaries.

Nevertheless, I am left in utter disbelief that there were enough Franklin County residents (one hundred) willing to sign his petition in order to get him on the ballot.

There is something to be said for assuming someone is innocent until proven guilty of a crime in a court of law, but that is an irrelevant technicality when it comes to assessing McAllister’s qualification to represent the people of Franklin County in the state senate. Plenty of guilty men have prevailed in a court of law.

The predatory acts to which he has confessed in conversation should be sufficient to convince any Franklin County voter that he cannot represent our best interests. and is therefor disqualified.

His successful petition to get on the ballot suggests that we, as a county, have a lot of work to do to shine a bright light on the underlying culture that has apparently enabled his prathological disrespect for women. That at least 100 Franklin County residents still think he is fit to be our senator makes his behavior not just a one-off anomaly, but part of a pattern of tolerance for abuse that must lie hidden in pockets of the community.

For that reason, I sincerely hope we will be afforded an opportunity to put questions directly to the candidates in a public forum.

I feel more than a little sympathy for Ms. Branagan who would presumably have to sit on a stage with McAllister for such a forum; and even for Dustin Degree, whom McAllister seems determined to compromise by association:

“We practically lived together through the campaign cycle,” McAllister said. “He knows more than what a lot of people do. He was with me.”

It’s an unholy local mess, on top of the unholy mess that Trump represents at the national level.
By November, a lot of Franklin County Republicans may have joined the millions across the nation demanding a different party option.

Cozy Committee Assignment Goes to Degree

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Well, isn’t this nice? The boys on the Committee of Committees, all three of them, had a huddle and decided to put Dustin Degree onto the Finance Committee. That’s gubernatorial candidate Phil Scott, resigning Senate Pro-Tem, John Campbell and reliable blue-dog, Dick Mazza.

Don’t ask to see a record of the deliberations. There isn’t one. Just three good ol’ boys making it work…for them.

Guess whose going out stumping for Phil Scott, other than Dick Mazza whose allegiance is already a matter of public record?

Look for a dutiful DD to hit the election trail with Scott…and maybe even a surprise appearance from good-buddy Campbell.

We, in Franklin County have some serious doubts about Dustin Degree’s judgment, following the Norm McAllister debacle; and they will no doubt be raised in the heat of the election campaign. McAllister and Degree campaigned in tandem in the last two election cycles, often appearing joined at the hip.

If we are to believe he had no idea of McAllister’s penchant for predatory sex, even after his teenaged ‘intern’ repeatedly accompanied McAllister on his overnights in Montpelier, it is difficult to understand how Degree’s powers of observation and simple judgment should not be suspect, too.

So when a vacancy opened on one of the most desirable committees in the statehouse, how is it that Degree sprang so quickly to mind for the gang of three?

Surely there is someone in the senate who has a more impressive record of good judgment than has McAllister’s sidekick.

How’s that ethics committee coming along, Boys?  Is it going to be seated in a similar manner?

Cultural Mysogyny and the Defense of Norm McAllister

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Well it appears that Norm McAllister may soon face his fellow Senators in an expulsion hearing initiated by fellow Republican Senator Joe Benning, who makes a very effective case for expulsion in this editorial.

It’s fairly clear from Senator Benning’s words that he appreciates the over-arching issue that too many still seem to ignore: Mr. McAllister admits to having sex with his teenaged employee.

That is just plain wrong.

The wrong is amplified by the fact that Mr. McAllister has sworn an oath to serve and protect his constituents, one of whom is that child.

Others, including his fellow Franklin County Republican senator, Dustin Degree, say they will support the expulsion, but only because Mr. McAllister, having earlier been stripped of his committee assignments, has lost his ability to effectively represent the interests of his constituents at the Statehouse.

Beyond that, Sen. Degree and others say that Mr. McAllister is “innocent” until proven guilty of the charges in a court of law.

That position ignores his own admission of having violated someone whom most of us would readily regard as a child.

Mr. McAllister apparently debates the exact age at which he began forcing himself on her, insisting that she was “at least sixteen;” but does that make it any less an act of abuse?

This reluctance to judge Mr. McAllister in the court of public opinion is very puzzling to me, since it is routinely done to less influential individuals under far less damning circumstances.

As a woman, I cannot help but wonder whether or not, if the young victim were male rather than female, outrage concerning the magnitude of Mr. McAllister’s admitted violation would be greater.

If Mr. McAllister had violated a sixteen year old boy who worked on his farm, I suspect he would have been publicly shunned as soon as the news became public.

As things now stand, Mr. McAllister feels free to stroll around the county fair as if nothing had happened, insisting on his innocence.  According to online comments, some people apparently wish to see him completely exonerated; they’re talking about ‘poor Norm McAllister’ and the injustice of it all.

Because his victim was a female there seems to be a question in some people’s minds as to whether or not what this 70-year old man did could technically be regarded as rape.

Something in the culture suggests to them that sixteen-year-old girls can give their consent to violation by employers who are old enough to be their grandfathers.

What that says about some of my neighbors I find truly disturbing.

Will McAllister Get the Heave-Ho?

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Finally, someone within the Republican Party is stepping up to demand expulsion of their disgraced Franklin County Senator, Norm McAllister.

Citing disappointment that McAllister does not appear willing to live up to his promise to resign voluntarily by November 1, Sen. Joe Benning (R-Caledonia) says he will file a motion seeking McAllister’s expulsion on this coming Monday, November 2.

My first question is: why has it taken so long for anyone to show true leadership on the McAllister situation, when shockingly straightforward evidence that he violated community standards as well as his oath of office has been a matter of public record for months?

Almost equally pressing is the question of why it was left to a Republican from Caledonia county to administer the coup de gras.

Since McAllister’s indecencies were committed against Franklin County constituents and his refusal to resign made collateral victims of all Franklin County citizens, most especially Franklin County women, it was up to the Franklin County GOP to force McAllister out of the Senate without delay.

For Franklin County Republicans to just stand by for six months, wringing their hands ineffectually, speaks volumes about the leadership void the County suffers under Republican domination.

Franklin County’s only other state senator, Republican Dustin Degree was quoted in last Wednesday’s Messenger as saying he would vote to expel McAllister if it came to a vote.

The reason he gave had nothing to do with the fact that McAllister had sexually victimized at least two vulnerable women, nor that he had admitted to having sex with his teenaged ‘intern.’

“For me, it’s really about insuring the folks up our way have the representation they deserve, that they are constitutionally entitled to.”

The very next day, to Vermont Digger, Degree seemed to be singing a slightly different tune.

Degree revealed that he had opposed stripping McAllister of his committee assignments last spring in the wake of the freshly laid charges.

As for his constituents? Degree seemed largely ignorant of the disgust and outrage that I personally have witnessed percolating through the community among Democrats, Republicans and those who would bring a pox on both their houses.

“It’s a topic of conversation for some people, and there are certainly folks who are vehement on both sides,” Degree said. “I think a majority of folks are reserving judgement and seeing how the process plays out.”      

                                                                                                                                                                                
I have heard a lot of sound and fury about how he should be regarded as innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, and lacking conclusive public evidence of his violations in the form of recorded admissions of guilt, I would have certainly agreed.

However, we have that conclusive evidence from the telephone conversations recorded by States Attorney Jim Hughes in which McAllister discusses the acts and circumstances with two of the victims.

McAllister’s trial isn’t expected to take place before spring, and could very well be delayed even longer. That is no reason to hold the population of Franklin County hostage to diminished representation in Montpelier for an indeterminate length of time.

It is a complete misunderstanding of the difference between Mr. McAllister’s right to a fair trial on criminal charges, and his service as a State Senator under the rules of the Legislature. The two are completely separate matters.

As I have said over and over again, McAllister has no ‘right’ to his senate seat. He has had the privilege of occupying that seat at the behest of Franklin County voters who retain all of the rights associated with elected officeholders.

Once Mr. McAllister has been duly ejected, it will be time to look a little deeper into the matter of who knew what and when about the teenaged ‘intern.’

With two other legislators sharing McAllister’s living accommodations, where other legislators probably dropped by on occasions, it defies belief that no one ever remarked on the extreme youth of Mr. McAllister’s companion and the fact that she disappeared into the same room with the 70-year old legislator to sleep at night.

Anyone who is so uncurious or unobservant is arguably unsuited to representing the people’s interests at the State House.