The Debate is on .... Kind of.

Though the elected officials who authored Proposal 5 don't have the courage of their convictions to debate, Vermonters for Good Government Spokeswoman Representative Anne Donahue will have the opportunity to discuss the proposed amendment this Sunday with a proponent on NBC5 "In Depth."

"While I wish the authors of this amendment would be willing to publicly defend their work, I am happy to discuss with anyone what Proposal 5 really is about - enshrining late term abortion in our state's constitution," said Representative Donahue.

This forum entitled "Reproductive Liberty Amendment" may be your only opportunity to hear our expert, Representative Anne Donahue, discuss Proposal 5 directly with a supporter of this proposal on television.


Sunday, October 2nd
Debate: "Reproductive Liberty Amendment/ "In Depth"
10:00 -10:30 AM
NBC5 "In Depth" program

Representative Donahue's credentials as one of the most respected and informed health care policy experts in the Vermont State House are unquestioned.

That's why Vermonters for Good Government has been eager to engage the authors of Proposal 5 in a civil debate about the truth behind this amendment.

Instead the authors are trying to hide the facts and convince voters this amendment is about codifying Roe vs. Wade.

Proposal 5 is about nothing more than enshrining late-term abortion -- terminating a fully developed baby, days or hours before birth -- in Vermont's Constitution.

Late-term abortion is not what most voters - including pro-choice voters - want in our state Constitution.

The authors of Proposal 5 know this and that is why they have been trying to duck our debates.

Please tune in this Sunday, October 2nd at 10:00 am on NBC5 and forward this email to your friends and family encouraging them to join you.

Michael Tagliavia

My journey to becoming a Vermonter began in 2014 after a friend moved here with his wife, who has multiple generations of Vermonters in her blood. My wife and I purchased our log cabin on a mountain in the town of Corinth in 2015 and became permanent residents in 2019.  I am impressed on a daily basis with the kindness, trust, generosity, and helpfulness of the Vermonters I come into contact with.

But these qualities are what is allowing the Vermont lifestyle to come under attack. People no longer feel as safe as they once did in the cities and small towns of the Green Mountain State. This trend can be reversed with common sense solutions.

Law and order must be restored in all corners of this little green gem in the northeast of this great country of ours.  My plan is to do that with simple, straight forward steps to “right the ship”. The Governor has put forward a 10-point plan to get the rising crime under wraps, and I hope to integrate my proposals into that plan.

First, put most of the $100 million “Big Pharma” settlement money into law enforcement and drug abatement programs. This should include reopening the Windsor detention facility with a focus on addicts who have committed crimes to support their habit.  The facility would focus on rehab, treatment, and vocational training with a goal of breaking the cycle of relapse. 

Another step would be to enhance drug interdiction efforts to stop drug traffickers before they are able to get the drugs on the street. This would include working with federal agencies where necessary. 

An integral part of the plan must be a focus on bringing back a bail system that works to make it clear to “would be” criminals that they will be held to account. The average Vermonter does not have faith that if a person has committed a crime, they will be taken off the street, or will even be held responsible for their offense.

Stop the revolving door! Today, a victim of theft, whether it be a stolen catalytic converter, or jewelry, or cash, has no hope of restitution. In short, the revolving door system does not work. In fact, it has only served to make the situation worse.  

I also find it necessary to speak directly to all of the men and women in law enforcement. I oppose any reduction of qualified immunity. This has been proposed by Progressives and Democrats in the legislature. At this time in our history, I believe the best approach is to fully fund, and give the best possible training and equipment to law enforcement.

Also, they need the support of the citizens of the towns and counties that they serve. We should get to know them and they should get to know us. Law enforcement officers swear an oath to protect and serve, and I believe that the very highest percentage of them do. Let’s not forget that they answer to the law as well. 

Education through the LEAD program should also be expanded. This is a low cost, high impact program to educate even the youngest students of the dangers of drug abuse. 

I am a strong proponent of Article 16 of the Vermont Constitution and the Second Amendment of the US Constitution. 

My name is Michael Tagliavia and I am asking for your vote for Attorney General of Vermont. 

Source: https://vermontdailychronicle.com/gop-candidate-for-attorney-general-wants-tighter-bail-backs-qualified-immunity/

This month, Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Rep. Peter Welch has received at least three pieces of bad campaign news: critical coverage of his stock trading on the front page of the New York Times, positive national news coverage of GOP darkhorse challenger Gerald Malloy, and a national poll showing Malloy just 6.5% behind him.

Welch’s thumbnail photo appeared with many other members of Congress of both parties in an above-the-fold news story headlined “Stock Trades Reported by Nearly a Fifth of Congress Show Possible Conflicts.” The story named lawmakers owning stock in companies their committees oversee, transactions of these stocks, and lawmakers’ efforts to hide these transactions.

The New York Times story didn’t go into detail about Welch’s eyebrow-raising stock transactions. But other media already had. 

According to Capitol Trades, Welch was the only member of the Vermont Congressional delegation to make stock market trades in the previous three years. Almost all of his 55 trades were “sell.” The most recent “buys” occurred in March, 2020, when Welch purchased between $1000 and $15,000 shares of Medtronic, a medical equipment company; PayPal; and Consolidated Edison, an energy company serving New York City and Westchester County.

The Washington Times reported December 28, 2021 that Welch and his wife Margaret Cheney failed to promptly report a September $6,238 sale of Exxon stock. Cheney reportedly had inherited the stock from her mother. Cheney is the former chair of the Vermont Public Service Board, the state’s ‘energy court.’ She also is a former chair of the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee, where she oversaw pro-renewable power energy legislation.

The Exxon trade went unreported for 53 days. The tardy reporting violated a 2012 law co-sponsored by Welch regulating congressional stock sales. The law sets a 30-45 day trade reporting deadline.

On October 28, Welch grilled Exxon’s CEO at a House hearing, including challenging his ‘credibility.’

Those facts were not lost on a non-partisan government watchdog group, Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT). 

Recent reporting shows that Rep. Welch failed to disclose that his wife sold $6,238 in ExxonMobil stock on September 17, 2021, by the November 1, 2021, deadline,” FACT reported Dec. 22. “Although Rep. Welch’s spokesperson admitted that he had learned of the trade on October 25, 2021, he grilled ExxonMobil’s CEO in a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on October 28, 2021, and didn’t disclose the transaction until November 9, 2021, eight days after he was required to.

“Rep. Welch has been a member of Congress for nearly 15 years and is well aware of the financial reporting requirements. What makes this case egregious, beyond the violation itself, is that his office acknowledged that he knew of the transaction prior to the reporting deadline and not only missed it, but grilled the ExxonMobil CEO about transparency and credibility just days later. The OCE must fully investigate this violation and apply the requisite penalties,” said Kendra Arnold, Executive Director of FACT.

It also wasn’t the only tardily-reported trade. A sale of Cloetta AB worth $1000 – $15,000, went unreported for 106 days, Capitol Trades reports. Cloetta AB is a Swedish confectionary company.

Welch’s spokesperson told the Washington Times in December he would no longer trade stock. The most recent stock transaction attributed to Welch on Capitol Trades is November 18, 2021 – a month before the December, 2021 promise. 

Vermont Daily Chronicle published details of the Trafalgar national poll on September 11. Breitbart published its news story on September 18. The first four paragraphs are republished below:

Vermont’s Republican U.S. Senate nominee Gerald Malloy said that “Vermonters are ready for change” after being “fed up” with the current leadership in the country during an appearance on Breitbart News Saturday.

“I can tell you campaigning in the last seven months [with] boots on the ground… Vermonters are ready for change,” Malloy told Breitbart News Saturday host, Breitbart News’ Washington Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle.

“Vermonters have common sense, and they see, you know, paying at the pump and paying at the grocery store, and they’re fed up with the performance… from their leadership in Congress, and they’re ready for change,” Malloy explained.

He also noted that the campaign is moving in a “very positive” direction after a recent poll from the Trafalgar Group showed that Malloy is only 6.5 percent down from Rep. Peter Welsh (D-VT), a career politician who’s been endorsed by socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

Courtesy Vermont Daily Chronicle

Many people, including myself, are starting to get their offers to pre-buy home heating fuel for the upcoming winter. My offer was almost 35% higher than what I paid just 6 months ago. Others are telling me they are paying 50% to 70% more than they pre-ordered last year. And winter pre-buying is usually supposed to be a discount – so it makes many of us wonder what this winter might have in store.

But as bad as it will be for Vermonters to be paying hundreds more to get warm this winter, one thing to be thankful for is that if we had been missing just one Republican legislator last May to help sustain Gov. Scott’s veto on a new carbon tax, home heating fuel might have been even more expensive.

Despite this set-back, Montpelier Democrats have promised to go back and pass the SAME bill to override Gov. Scott’s veto – unless they lose some seats. Democrats have not made any changes to their policies in light of the struggles many Vermonters are facing. Their intention is to keep pushing punitive carbon taxes that disproportionately hurt rural Vermonters.

Adding a new carbon tax is bad enough. But because Democrats don’t want to be seen raising taxes in these economic conditions – they proposed to transfer their power to a group of unelected bureaucrats who can add and raise the tax at will and NEVER be accountable to voters for it. Then Democrats could shrug their shoulders to voters in future elections and tell them “It’s not me – it’s the board. Sorry, nothing I can do.” At best it’s irresponsible, at worst it’s unconstitutional.

Unfortunately for Vermonters, this responsibility shirking has become all too commonplace with the Democratic Party in Vermont, and across America. If something bad happens, they always point somewhere else, but they never take responsibility for how they are going to achieve a different outcome. We elect leaders to fix problems, not just to message them better. I’m starting to think if we had a famine Democrats would point to the reduction in childhood obesity.

Recently President Biden was asked about the 8.4% inflation we’ve been having, and his response was to brag that after last month it’s down to 8.3%. He won’t take responsibility for the 8.4% increase, but he is going to jump over the fact that it went down 0.1%. That is denial, we need determination. Rather than taking the problem seriously, and telling Americans how he is planning on fixing it he told us our concerns were unjustified because the unemployment numbers were good. Instead of fixing the problem we do have, Democrats weasel out of it by pointing you towards another problem they tell you is worse (Abortion, Trump, etc) – or trying to gaslight you into believing you are alone in your frustration. Republicans want you to know that you are NOT alone and your concerns are in fact serious. We hear you and are fighting to restore a degree of common sense to Montpelier.

I’ve been talking to several of our House & Senate candidates who have been going door to door in our communities across Vermont for several months. We hear the serious concerns and stories of Vermonters who are having a hard time making ends meet. We understand that Biden’s distraction of unemployment numbers doesn’t help the seniors on fixed incomes when their heating and grocery bills go up, but their pension or social security doesn’t. We know that student loan forgiveness doesn’t make it easier for young electricians and plumbers trying to buy a house in a severely restricted market. We know that “reimagining” and defunding the police does not make Burlington any safer to visit or live in.

Republicans know that we just can’t afford the Progressive Democrat agenda any more. We need to get serious about our essential energy supply and costs for workers and seniors alike. We need to make it easier to build affordable first-time homes to keep young people here, both tradesmen and professionals. We need to fully fund our local police and prosecute criminals to make our streets safer again for workers, students and tourists. While I won’t go so far as to say that Democrats can’t do that – they have made it clear that they won’t. If you think things are better now than they were two years ago, ask your neighbors, your mechanic, your senior center coordinator, your local teachers how everyone else is doing. They will tell you that something is broken and it needs real change not just better messaging. Vermont Republicans stand ready to answer the call, be your voice of reason, address the serious problems we are all experiencing, and focus on creating a Vermont that really works.

By John McClaughry

Relax, Vermonters. Nothing will prevent you from buying and registering your new gasoline or diesel powered sedan, SUV or light duty truck — until 2035.

Then if the Vermont Public Interest Research Group, Vermont Natural Resources Council. Conservation Law Foundation and their allies have their way, if you want to buy a new car or truck, you’ll have only the one choice of buying a California-compliant electric car.

In 1977 California, concerned about the persistent smog in the Los Angeles bowl caused by nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, ozone, and other harmful tailpipe emissions, obtained a Clean Air Act waiver. It allowed the state to adopt more stringent emission rules than those required of the rest of the country. Vermont signed on as a “California state” in 1996.

California has now amended its rule to require all new cars and light duty trucks sold or registered in the state to be plug-in electric, or possibly fuel cell powered, by model year 2035.

In smog-free Vermont, the motivation for adopting the new California rule is to reduce tailpipe emissions of carbon dioxide to meet the requirements of the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2020. The Scott administration is now moving to adopt a rule that conforms Vermont to the new California rule.

The evolution of this EV enthusiasm is interesting. A decade ago, the Vermont environmental machine demanded a sweeping carbon tax to price carbon fuel beyond the reach of ordinary consumers. But “carbon tax” became an alarming word to taxpayers, so the enviros replaced it with euphemisms such as “carbon pricing,” “cap and trade,” “cap and invest,” and “Clean Heat Standard.”

Transportation currently accounts for 40 percent of Vermont’s CO2 emissions. The transportation component of the emissions reduction campaign was called Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI). It was to be a 10-state agreement to impose a tax on upstream motor fuel suppliers to drive up the price of gasoline and diesel fuel — and rebate millions of dollars from the TCI taxes to the states to underwrite a large menu of subsidies. It collapsed last fall when states started to bail out.

The Vermont Climate Council is still keen on resurrecting TCI. But with carbon taxes politically unpopular, it and its enviro allies are pushing for state action to pay — rather than tax — motorists to quit using petroleum fuel. The favored way to pay them is to offer increasing subsidies to get them to trade in their gasoline powered cars and buy electric vehicles they don’t much want and can’t otherwise afford. Since EVs are an upper income product, the subsidies have to be greater and greater until even a low income motorist can drive around in a new electric car or truck.

Where will Vermont get the millions of dollars to pay people to switch to EVs? With TCI unavailable to bring in the big bucks, and federal pandemic spending running out, Vermonters are going to have to pay for this.

This problem will neatly be solved — in 2035 — by adopting the California rule: stop paying people, and just prohibit them from buying or registering new internal combustion cars, SUVs, minivans and pickup trucks, whether they like it or not.

As I’ve acknowledged since 2018, EVs have some attractive features: classy looks, quiet rides, avoiding motor fuel price volatility (although risking electric grid price increases), exemption from motor fuel taxes to pay for roads and bridges (for now), and jackrabbit acceleration (if that’s your thing).

There are plenty of EV concerns that will make unattainable the Climate Council’s “pathway” to replacing 164,000 petroleum vehicles with EVs on Vermont’s roads by 2030. Most auto and light truck consumers will continue to choose familiar ICE vehicles because of the EV’s higher cost, uncertain resale value, servicing bottlenecks, range anxiety, slow, crowded and dysfunctional public charging stations, fading battery performance in cold weather and hilly terrain, and if dependent on the power grid for charging, whether the power grid will be dependably available to charge a hundred thousand EVs when needed.

A foreshadowing of that latter problem occurred a month ago when California’s governor was touting its “all EV by 2035” rule, while the state’s power grid regulators, facing a serious threat of blackouts, were pleading with grid-dependent EV owners to stop charging their cars.

The 2035 deadline is far away, but I suspect a lot of Vermont motorists, after making their own choices for the past 120 years, really won’t like the idea of the state forcing them to choose what vehicles state decrees, at the behest of clamoring enviro groups obsessed with arresting the menace of climate change. That’s especially so when eliminating ICE vehicles from Vermont will have no detectable effect whatsoever on arresting climate change.

John McClaughry is vice president of the Ethan Allen Institute.

Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos this week encouraged Vermonters to register to vote for National Voter Registration Day (NVRD) on September 20^th. NVRD is a nonpartisan civic holiday celebrating democracy, held annually in September.

“When you register to vote and cast your ballot, you are strengthening our democracy just by participating,” Condos said. “National Voter Registration Day is an opportunity for us to try and further reach those eligible Vermonters who are not yet registered.”

“No matter how you vote, or how you cast your ballot, we want you to register and vote. We’ve made it easy: you can register online at https://olvr.vermont.gov, automatically at the Department of Motor Vehicles, or by registering directly with your Town or City Clerk.

“The November 8 General Election will be here before you know it. Vermont does have same-day voter registration, so if you forget to register before Election Day, you can still show up at the polls, register, and vote, but why wait and risk any complications? Register today, or for NVRD, and save yourself the hassle. Plus, once registered you have a number of early voting options you can consider,” Condos said.

Other states backing off from joining California 2035 ban

by Guy Page

Many adults share a recurring nightmare that they are back in school, the final exam is upon them, and they haven’t even attended the class all year long. They are going to fail! The eight members of the Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules (LCAR) may be living that nightmare over a major rule change in Vermont that would begin restricting the sale of new internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in 2026 leading up to an outright ban on such sales after 2035. 

California passed emissions standards for vehicles sold in that state that will ultimately ban the sale of new gas/diesel powered cars and light trucks by 2035. Other states are required to choose to follow either California’s emissions standards or the federal governments, which are less restrictive. Since 2005, when the California waver was first established, sixteen states have traditionally followed California’s lead, and Vermont is one of them. Vermont now must decide whether or not to stay on the California path to banning ICE vehicles or get back to operating under federal standards, which do not ban ICE vehicles. 

LCAR will be voting YES or NO before December 1st. But until Vermont Daily Chronicle contacted the LCAR members and asked them what they were thinking in regard to Vermont and the California car ban, almost none of them appeared to know the issue was even going to come before them, or that they had to be prepared to make a decision. 

Senator Chris Bray (D-Addison), who in addition to being a member of LCAR is chair of the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee, which is a committee of jurisdiction over this issue, responded to VDC’s inquiry, “Such a rule, or even draft rule, is news to me.”

Senator Mark MacDonald (D-Orange), who chairs the LCAR committee, stated, “I’m glad we have over 4470 days until implementation of CA’s newly announced standards. Vermonters will be sifting through it for some time.” 

But MacDonald’s arithmetic is wrong by a factor of sixty. 

A memo from Athena Dexter-Cooper, the legal counsel for the LCAR committee, is clear, “In terms of timing… the Climate Action Plan [created by the Climate Council formed under the Global Warming Solutions Act] directs ANR [the Agency of Natural Resources] to adopt this suite of rules, with Advanced Clean Cars II being adopted not later than December 1, 2022.” That’s not 4470 days away, it’s less than seventy five. And LCAR needs to let ANR know what their recommendation is before then. 

Other states in the same boat as Vermont, those that have traditionally followed California, are aware of what is going on and are taking action to disassociate from the ban.

According to Governing.com, Gov. Janet Mills of Maine says, “she doesn’t support a California-style mandate to phase out all new gasoline-only vehicles by 2035.” And even the Sierra Club of Maine agrees the proposal is just too radical for a small, rural population. “’At this point in Maine, a mandate probably doesn’t make much sense,’ said Anna Wright, the legislative and political strategist at Sierra Club Maine.”

Another such state is Colorado. The Colorado Sun reports, “Colorado regulators, who adopted California’s older rules, won’t follow California’s new ones, the administration of Democratic Gov. Jared Polis said.” The article also reports that other states, including Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Minnesota are balking at the policy as too radical and impractical. Time will tell what the rest decided.

“We obviously have a choice to make here,” said Rob Roper of the Ethan Allen Institute board of directors, who has been following this issue closely, “but the Climate Council and the Agency of Natural Resources under the Scott Administration are behaving as if following California over the cliff is a done deal. This despite the fact that a landslide majority of Vermonters do not approve of this policy.”

Roper was referring to a poll done by The UVM Center for Rural Studies earlier this summer that showed 65% of Vermonters do not approve of banning the sale of internal combustion engine vehicles for the purposes of reducing carbon emissions. Only 15% approved of the policy and 20% were unsure. 

“That our elected representatives are apparently clueless as to what’s going on here and what their role is in protecting the interests and desires of their constituents is pathetic. I wish I could say shocking,” said Roper. 

ANR and the Climate Council are conducting a series of public meetings on the California vehicle ban but are not presenting the policy as an option to the public. The meetings are simply informing those who show up that the rule will be adopted by Vermont, so get ready, and what the potential impacts might be. 

The one LCAR member who responded with clear understanding of the issue and who had thought through the implications was Senator Joe Benning (R-Caledonia), who is also a candidate for Lieutenant Governor. “The [electric] infrastructure [in Vermont] does not currently have the ability to accommodate expected purchases and won’t likely have it for some time.  That’s one of the reasons why I have consistently voted against this legislation from the beginning. I tell Vermonters who can’t afford EV’s or can’t use them that they need to get to the polls in November and vote Republican.  I’m pretty sure I’ve been on record as saying that for the past 12 years or so.

“I voted against the original GWSA, have consistently argued against it whenever the argument comes up, and will do what I can on LCAR to point out that this will produce an undue and very expensive burden on Vermonters,” said Benning.

Rick Morton

Buyers’ Remorse. A lot of people who voted for our president are experiencing it now. Name an issue and this administration is dropping the ball: Inflation, border security, energy policy, education priorities, Afghan extraction, on and on it goes. These are national issues impacting Vermont citizens at the gas pump, the grocery store, the schoolhouse, and our workplaces. The majority party in DC wants to Federalize elections, pack the Supreme Court, and provide amnesty for millions of immigrants. While most are fine people, they came here illegally. 

In Vermont, our politicians are more rational than DC politicians, right? Well, not so fast. In this past session we had a run-a-way legislature. Where did legislative leaders in Montpelier get these ideas? “Mystery” taxation on energy, Clean Heat Standard’s unelected board transforming Vermont’s home heating industry, a proposed registry of home repair specialists, an attempt at registration of all rented housing, decriminalizing prostitution (Burlington), a charter change (Brattleboro) allowing 16- & 17-year old’s to vote and hold office. 

One of the more egregious outcomes from this last session was passing Proposition 5 (Article 22) to amend Article 1 of the VT Constitution for the first time since 1876. It is unnecessary, vague and dangerous. 

Article 22 doesn’t mention women, or any age limit. Could it actually lead to more third trimester abortions? Or lead to a healthcare worker shortage as workers leave Vermont or the healthcare field due to the elimination of conscience exceptions? Or could it lead to parents and family being excluded from life changing adult decisions being made by children under the influence of non-family? It would stop future legislatures from correcting these serious flaws. I will vote No on Article 22 and hope other voters will join me in doing so.   

If Vermont voters are dissatisfied with our country’s direction and our state legislature’s actions, there is an alternative: change the party balance in Montpelier and elevate more Republicans to statewide office. 

I am running for Auditor of Accounts.  Yawn? Boring? 

Consider this: What the IRS is to ordinary US citizens and businesses, the Auditor of Accounts is to government at all levels and jurisdictions. The Auditor leads staff in reviewing and reporting on governmental efficiency and honesty, potentially including such things as election integrity from the Secretary of State’s office to various election practices in towns across Vermont. I will work to see that Vermont is fiscally responsible, efficient, and using best practices.

With a strong background in bank compliance and the heart of an ordained chaplain at a southern Vermont assisted living facility, I have an “outside the echo chamber” point of view. Not sure? Call 802-257-2780, email [email protected], Web site: morton4vtsenate.com. 

The author is a Brattleboro resident, Republican candidate for Vermont Senate, and Republican candidate for Auditor of Accounts.

Courtesy True North Reports

This commentary is by Gerald Malloy, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate.

Gerald Malloy

One of the benefits of living in one of the smallest populated states in the nation like Vermont should be accessibility, direct contact and engagement with our elected officials, including our two United States senators and our single House representative.

However, when constituents try to reach Senators Leahy and Sanders, or even Representative Welch, most of the time they never get the opportunity to talk to them directly. What happens too often is that their telephone calls, emails, and any other attempt for an in-person meeting or communication are vetted by a third party such as their staff members and handlers.

This is why these officials, in large measures, are out-of-touch with the people, and one of the reasons why the federal government is a huge turnoff for many Vermont constituents who try to navigate it.

When officials lose sight and knowledge of their own people, well, they forget that they’re supposed to be working for the people. It is their job to engage with and materialize the true interests and will of their Vermont residents, and stay connected. As a Vermont parent with three children in Vermont schools, I am not disconnected from the challenges Vermonters currently face.

I pledge that when I am elected U.S. senator, there will be full accountability and transparency. My first and foremost priority will be personally meeting and communicating with Vermonters who have any specific requests or issues. Additionally, when I am in one of my offices, I will work hard to make sure that my door is always open so any Vermonter will be able to see firsthand what is going on and what changes are being made (instead of a traditional closed-door, off-limits, prohibitive syndrome).

Furthermore, the names of all my staff members, together with their photos, titles, e-mails and phone numbers, will be readily and easily available. At the present time, this is not the case for many of these people working in the offices of Leahy, Sanders, and Welch, as they are often difficult to identify.

I also pledge that if there is a meeting request made by an industry or special interest group, it will have to originate through a Vermont resident, not some random entity with no regard for the state or the people’s interest.

My goal will be to make personal visits at least once a year to every county in the State of Vermont — not just to present speeches like Leahy, Sanders, and Welch, but also to listen and learn about the needs and concerns of Vermonters.

I also promise to operate an office in the southern part of Vermont (in addition to one in the north). It is unfair to expect a Vermonter to have to travel several hours for a meeting with their U.S. senator.

I am a Vermont citizen and I understand the frustration and disappointment of so many Vermonters who have tried to reach out to Leahy, Sanders, or Welch about an issue, concern, or general desire, only to be discouraged by an indifferent response, or worst case, even no response at all. My priority as your U.S. senator will be to correct and improve upon this process of communication, to be fully accessible in serving all Vermonters.

For Immediate Release
September 12, 2022

Contacts:
Joe Benning, Candidate
[email protected]
(802) 274-1346

Alex McCracken, Campaign Manager
[email protected]
(513) 646-4883

Lyndonville, VT – September 12th, 2022 – Sen. Joe Benning is honored to receive another high profile endorsement this week with the support of former Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie. In a statement to the campaign, Former Lt. Gov. Dubie said “Joe Benning is exactly who we need in the Lt. Governor’s office.” He added that “Joe has earned a reputation as a person of distinguished integrity, and proven leadership, with the respect of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Joe will be a fantastic partner to Gov. Scott as they work together to lower Vermonters’ cost of living, and address the biggest issues facing our state.”

Former Lt. Governor Dubie’s endorsement follows a long list of current and former lawmakers and state officials that have endorsed Sen. Benning’s candidacy. Former Governor Jim Douglas, whom Lt. Gov. Dubie served alongside in their respective offices, endorsed Sen. Benning in May. Governor Scott made his official endorsement at the end of July. Both of their endorsements, and Lt. Gov. Dubie’s full statement, can be found below:

“Joe Benning is exactly who we need in the Lt. Governor’s office. Joe has over a decade of experience in the Vermont Senate, and is well equipped to preside over the chamber. He has earned a reputation as a person of distinguished integrity, and proven leadership, with the respect of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Joe will be a fantastic partner to Gov. Scott as they work together to lower Vermonters’ cost of living, and address the biggest issues facing our state. I know that Joe will work hard in Montpelier, and all across the state, to promote Vermont’s economy and interests. Please consider joining me by voting for Joe Benning for our next Lt. Governor.” – Former Lt. Governor Brian Dubie

“Joe Benning has the experience needed to be a great Lieutenant Governor. He’s been a Senate leader, he works hard, he loves Vermont, and he’s respected by his colleagues across the political spectrum. Joe knows how to bring people together to get things done.” -Former Governor Jim Douglas

“I’m voting for Joe Benning and here’s why: As we face serious challenges, we need more elected officials with Joe’s integrity, fairness, and experience to help get results for everyday Vermonters – and he’s earned the respect of his Senate colleagues on both sides of the aisle. He will make a great Lieutenant Governor.

When I was Lt. Governor, I forwarded his name to take my place as Chair of the Institutions Committee. I think a lot of him, he has a lot of integrity, he’s ethical, and he understands we have to get our cost of living under control here. We’ll work together. I’ll be supporting him; I’ll be voting for him.

I think Joe has the right attitude. He’s respectful, he’s civil, and he has the same vision that I do for the Republican Party getting back to our roots in terms of fiscal responsibility. I’m a Joe Benning supporter.” -Governor Phil Scott