Tag Archives: Scott Milne for VT Senate

Scott Milne and his axe grinding campaign

July 9, 2016Business, local/regionalAct 250, David Hall, New Vista Foundation, Quechee Highlands, Scott Milne for VT Senate, Vermont regional planning boardsBP

In a recent statement, Republican US Senate candidate Scott Milne, reacting to the massive futuristic “utopian” city David Hall is planning for Vermont, makes it obvious he views the entire New Vista issue through his own peculiar personal lens. Milne zeroes in almost exclusively on his pet issue in his 2014 run for governor: alleged “overreach” by regional development boards and Act 250.

For a number of years Milne and his business partner (and campaign funder), attorney David Boise III have been attempting to build a mixed use development project on land they own in Hartford, Vermont.

The Quechee Highlands project, which borders Interstate 91 in Hartford, has wound its way through the development review process and various court cases for a number of years. After a defeat in one contentious hearing several years ago an angry Milne remarked: “I’m going to try to figure out if I’m going to do anything, and if I do, it’s probably going to involve more lawyers, and it’s just going to continue to brand Vermont as a bad place to do business,” Although the project recently won a significant court case, hurdles remain — along with apparently some bitter feelings on Milne’s part.

Milne’s comment (below) on the massive thousand-acre multi-town New Vista project was part of an ongoing batch of local and statewide candidates’ reactions gathered up by Nicole Antal, who follows this issue for the Daily Upper Valley community website.

“Although I appreciate the candor of folks who are whispering about it not being right — because “it’s inspired by Mormons” or because it could attract hardworking Republicans to Vermont and upset one-party rule — particularly in Windsor County, [only two of the towns targeted by New Vista are in Windsor County] I hope we will get folks with those prejudices out of the way as judges, juries, or regional planners — so Vermont can carefully and soberly review this idea.“

Not sure what he even means by “the candor of folks who are whispering.” But Milne could have taken the time to educate himself about the project’s origin and found that early on it was David Hall himself who said the project was partly inspired by his Mormon background, although Hall has maintained that he does not want the LDS Church’s official involvement. The official LDS (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) reaction to the project can be found here.

Generally, the reactions of all dozen or so Republican, Democratic, and Independent candidates for local and state offices indicated a basic level of caution over the massive project and sympathy for community concerns. And all save Milne seemed thankful to have the Act 250 development review process in place to regulate the process.

Let’s unpack his comment a bit. Milne alone of the candidates contacted fails to comment on objections to the size and scale Hall’s proposed population of up to 20,000 residents for the self-sufficient city/state he has in mind for the rural area. Without evidence, Milne implies New Vista will not get a fair hearing due to “one party rule — particularly in Windsor County” and suggests Democrats are acting out of fear of what Milne thinks would be an influx of “hardworking Republicans.”

While the contest he’s in is a low-key senate campaign for now, Scott Milne is again a man running with his own little axe to grind — a personal dislike, perhaps even a hatred of regional planning boards and the act 250 development review. One wonders how he thinks becoming a US Senator will solve his local development issues. What axe would he be able to wield? And how sharp would it have to be to cut through the red tape of local and state control?

Did Scott Milne just launch a run for U.S. Senate?

May 10, 2016Business, local/regionalB&M Realty, EB-5 investment program, Quechee Highlands, Scott Milne for VT Senate, Senator Leahy, VTGOPBP

Scott Milne recently sold his stake in his family travel agency and began floating serious trial balloons about running against longtime Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy. In March he discussed his qualifications with vtdigger.com:

[…] you know, I’m a travel agent and I think I got a shot at taking out the longest-serving senator in Vermont history and currently the longest-serving senator in the United States,” Milne said.

He now, it seems, is exploring whether the investigations into the (alleged ) “Ponzi” scheme at Jay Peak and Q-Burke is an issue that Senator Leahy, a champion of the Federal EB-5 program, may be vulnerable on. Could it have legs for Milne?

It seems unlikely, so we will see, but Scott Milne didn’t wait and jumped head first into it:

“Peter Shumlin and Patrick Leahy have both displayed a lack of competence and a lack of leadership in the way the EB-5 program has been structured and managed,” Milne said, lumping Leahy in with the Democratic governor he nearly defeated in 2014. “On the federal level, I think it just wasn’t structured with auditability and transparency built into it.”

Milne may not have thought this one through. You see he and his business partner Attorney David Boise (his former college roommate and largest contributor to his failed campaign for governor) explored using EB-5 program to help finance their mixed use Vermont development.

B&M Realty and Development has been attempting to build a mixed used development, Quechee Highlands in Hartford near the intersection of Interstates 89 and 91. B&M’s project has been wrangling in the courts over regional land use regulations (one of Milne’s signature issues).

In 2009 at their own expense, B &M partners Milne and Boise joined an EB-5 road trip to Asia with then-Governor Jim Douglas. Milne must have enjoyed the trip.He returned impressed with EB-5 and sang praises to its entrepreneurial qualities without qualification.

“To me, it [EB-5] is the perfect storm of government policy capturing the best of entrepreneurial spirit,” Milne told the Valley News a week after returning from Asia. “I was pleased beyond my expectations.”

Although still hemming and hawing a bit about challenging Sen. Leahy, Milne says former Vermont Republican Party chair Jim Barnett has been advising him.

I’d think Barnett might have told Scott Milne not to tie his shoe laces together if he wants to run … or walk in the election. Penny loafers might be a safer bet for this Republican.

Milne sells majority stake in Quechee Highlands development

April 1, 2016Business, local/regionalApril 1st, budallenj april, satire/humor, Scott Milne for VT SenateBP

The Upper Valley News is reporting that Scott Milne will sign a tentative agreement today with Utah developer David R. Hall to sell his controlling interest in the Quechee Highlands development in Hartford Vermont.

Hall and Milne took questions at the Vermont Law School. (Hall was visiting VLS in South Royalton to discuss the massive new building he has proposed financing for the struggling school. It would house the D. R. Hall Vista Center for study of experimental econo-systemic communal living.)

Quechee Highlands is Milne’s proposed project for a 15 acre mixed retail and residential development bordering Interstate 91 in Hartford. The project, years in the works, won a significant court case but has several permitting hurdles remaining.

The April 1^st Quechee Highlands agreement with Hall may not be a surprise to Milne’s political fan. Speculation is that this is part of an ongoing plan to simplify his business interests. With an eye on a run on the Republican ticket against Democrat Senator Patrick Leahy, Milne acknowledged the need to simplify his business holdings – He explained that the prior sale of the family travel agency freed him from obligations “should I get lucky … it gives me the ability to step back for six years.”

Motives for Utah millionaire David R. Hall’s purchase of the planned Hartford development are less clear, though it may also be part of a larger vision. Hall has quietly bought an estimated 900 acres of land in four towns in the area. He hopes to build a large contiguous plot to house 15,000 to 20,000 residents who would live in a utopian econo-systemic styled community, modeled on the Mormon teachings of Joseph Smith (who was born nearby in Sharon, VT).

One local Republican office holder commented anonymously on Milne and Hall’s deal:

“At first glance it seems he[Milne] finally made a smart strategic move and freed his campaign to promote more development and rail against regulatory overreach without a blatant conflict of interest .”

However the outspoken Republican says she is worried over the municipal implications of a large retail mall near Interstates 89 and 91 interchanges, that would in her words be owned “…by a quasi- independently governed 20,000 resident tax free ‘city state’.”

And added “It is only April 1^st and heaven only knows how this will all play out for the Upper Valley. But honestly, now he looks to be more a troublesome wealthy fool than a visionary.” It was not clear to whom she was referring.