Vermont
Democratic candidates for Vermont secretary of state debate the details of good governance
The three Democrats within the major for Vermont secretary of state introduced views from three separate sectors of presidency to the primary media-sponsored debate of the race Tuesday night time, whereas finally sharing related political values on points starting from voting entry to public data.
However throughout the cordial dialogue between Rep. Sarah Copeland Hanzas, D-Bradford, Deputy Secretary of State Chris Winters and Montpelier Metropolis Clerk John Odum — who’ve labored with one another beforehand on election legal guidelines and implementation — they discovered room to debate the main points of public data legislation and the function of occupational licensing.
And as longtime Montpelier insiders who’ve labored intently with the Secretary of State’s Workplace, they famous particular challenges they noticed to implementing main reforms — even these they supported, similar to ranked selection voting.
Copeland Hanzas chairs the Home Authorities Operations Committee, which handles payments associated to elections and authorities transparency. Winters has spent 25 years within the workplace, and spent the final seven as deputy. Odum has held his publish for the previous decade and spearheaded non-citizen voting, which is now legislation in Montpelier and Winooski.
The Democratic hopefuls are working for the prospect to interchange Secretary of State Jim Condos, who’s retiring after greater than a decade in workplace.
The web discussion board was hosted by VTDigger.
The Vermont Secretary of State’s Workplace has a sprawling vary of tasks — occupational licensing, public data, marketing campaign finance, elections and voting — that embody points of fine governance and transparency that at the moment are hot-button subjects throughout the nation.
Odum pitched himself as an outsider with cybersecurity expertise who may come into the workplace to “shake issues up,” and use the workplace in a extra activist function. By comparability, Winters and Copeland Hanzas touted their expertise in state authorities.
Winters mentioned he was working as a result of “Vermont wants stability and continuity within the Secretary of State’s Workplace.”
“I need to take the abilities and fervour that I’ve demonstrated over the 18 years that I have been within the Home, and take these to work to defend democracy in Vermont,” Copeland Hanzas mentioned.
Elections and voting
Lawmakers made common mail-in voting a everlasting characteristic of Vermont’s common elections final 12 months, after the preliminary rollout in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Requested in the event that they supported increasing the measure to incorporate major and native elections, the candidates discovered some room to differentiate themselves.
Winters hedged, and mentioned that his workplace was finding out the topic to supply a report for the Legislature.
“There are plenty of pluses and plenty of minuses,” he mentioned.
Odum supported common vote-by-mail for all elections, and mentioned he believed major voting must be simplified.
Copeland Hanzas mentioned common mail-in voting was “a dialog that’s actually vital to have with Vermonters,” however appeared inclined to maintain the present system, at the least for native elections.
Common mail-in ballots would “imply the top of City Assembly as we all know it,” Copeland Hanzas mentioned. “And City Assembly is a superb expertise for many who are lucky sufficient to have the ability to take part in it of their small communities.”
On ranked selection voting, all three candidates voiced their help — whereas generally, once more, acknowledging the challenges to implementation.
Below a ranked selection system, voters can forged ballots for a number of candidates so as of desire. If no candidate wins a decisive majority vote (greater than 50%), the candidate with the least help is eradicated. Anybody who voted for the eradicated candidate then has their second-choice candidate counted.
Supporters contend it makes working for workplace extra accessible to voters outdoors of the key celebration norms and helps to keep away from “spoilers,” the place help may very well be divided between a number of similarly-minded candidates.
“Whereas the advocate in me has at all times been for ranked selection voting, the election administrator in me has nice issues,” Odum mentioned. “As a clerk, I attempt to think about doing a hand recount in a ranked selection voting election, however having mentioned that, (the) issues are issues that may be solved.”
Copeland Hanzas mentioned if she was elected, she would search to ascertain ranked selection voting for presidential primaries in 2024.
Every candidate had their very own tackle what they noticed as the best risk dealing with Vermont elections. For Odum, it was “international mischief in our elections.” He proposed enhanced cybersecurity, and mentioned he desires Vermont to maneuver away from a non-public election contractor to an open-source election system.
To Winters, the largest risk was voters’ weakened belief within the election course of. Copeland Hanzas mentioned it was the tenor of political discourse.
“I feel it is time that we get again to the proverbial dinner desk and discover ways to discuss to one another once more,” she mentioned.
Transparency
There are greater than 260 exemptions to Vermont’s Public Data Act that authorities businesses can use to maintain data out of public view — and the secretary of state advises native and state officers to observe public data and open assembly legal guidelines. Every candidate was requested in the event that they’d help lowering the exemptions to Vermont’s public data necessities.
Winters mentioned the exemptions “may very well be drastically lowered,” however added, “It’s going to take arduous work.”
Odum in contrast the general public data guidelines to “a little bit of a Frankenstein’s monster.”
“I feel it could in all probability be worthwhile to step again and take a look at it from the underside up,” he mentioned.
Copeland Hanzas was extra cautious. She applauded the Legislature’s diversifications to the Covid-19 pandemic — similar to livestreaming on YouTube — which she mentioned made the lawmaking course of extra clear. And he or she mentioned she believed elevated transparency going ahead will probably be from making extra authorities processes accessible on-line.
Nevertheless, she expressed issues that authorities staffers have restricted sources to reply to intensive public data requests, draining money and time.
“I understand how a lot time was taken up by members of the Legislative Council workers to be able to fulfill public data requests that went past simply having the ability to watch the YouTube dialog or see what the committee dialogue was,” Copeland Hanzas mentioned.
In response to additional questioning, Copeland Hanzas mentioned she was “undecided” if some exemptions to the Public Data Act must be eliminated.
“I feel we have to ensure that the exemptions that exist are being utilized equally throughout all branches and all ranges of presidency,” she mentioned.
All three candidates mentioned they’d help the creation of a public data ombudsman, to make sure that state businesses adjust to public data requests.
The candidates additionally provided completely different stances on the Workplace of Skilled Regulation, an arm of the secretary’s workplace that oversees occupational licensing.
Copeland Hanzas proposed turning the secretary’s registry right into a public-facing instrument that Vermonters may search to search out professionals of their space.
Winters had a extra conservative strategy, and mentioned that the workplace ought to go “solely as far to guard the general public as mandatory and never an inch farther, in order that you do not intervene with {the marketplace}.”
Each Winters and Odum recommended the Workplace of Skilled Regulation may very well be a instrument for workforce growth, however Odum described a extra expansive imaginative and prescient for regulators.
“Once I discuss being a little bit extra activist, a little bit extra representing our values within the Secretary of State’s Workplace, I am primarily speaking about (the Workplace of Skilled Regulation),” Odum mentioned.
Cross examination
Along with answering questions from VTDigger journalists and readers, the candidates additionally posed questions to one another — at occasions pointed ones within the usually amicable debate.
Winters, up first, selected to question Copeland Hanzas. He requested, “What in your background has ready you to handle an 80-person company with a $17 million finances, 4 divisions, an investigative unit, a legislation enforcement company and a broad array of tasks for providers which are so crucial to Vermont?”
Copeland Hanzas cited her expertise as a enterprise proprietor, the place she’s needed to handle a finances and meet payroll. Copeland Hanzas owned The Native Buzz Cafe in Bradford till it closed final 12 months. She additionally cited her work “in very advanced and complex legislative environments.”
“I feel general the flexibility to handle individuals, the flexibility to be an open and accessible chief of a company, is basically what’s crucial to the success of that group,” Copeland Hanzas mentioned.
Copeland Hanzas subsequent directed her query to Odum. When she talks to Vermonters about her 18 years in elected workplace, she mentioned, “they stroll away excited to vote for a certified lady for secretary of state. Do you assume it is time to elect extra girls to statewide workplace?”
In response, Odum mentioned he believed that Copeland Hanzas was “fully certified,” and that the will to vote a lady into workplace was official.
“I’m in all probability gonna vote for myself on this one,” Odum mentioned, “however I might by no means attempt to dissuade any individual from approaching elections that method.”
Moderator Paul Heintz, managing editor at VTDigger, then posed the identical query to Winters, who implied he would appoint a lady as his deputy.
“I am actually wanting ahead to having the ability to select my very own deputy, as secretary of state, and I am assured that she goes to be an incredible addition to the management group,” Winters mentioned.
In his second query, Winters turned to Copeland Hanzas once more and requested, “Which of the divisions would you wish to study extra about?”
Copeland Hanzas responded that she’d hope to spend extra time within the state archives.
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There are 125 open positions at the University of Vermont. And for the next two months, the majority of those jobs very likely won’t be filled. That’s after the university announced a 60-day hiring pause starting this week, citing uncertainty of multiple sources of federal funding and the potential for a partial federal government shutdown next week.
“We think it’s better to not be hiring people if we don’t know if we can continue to afford to pay them,” Richard Cate, vice president for finance at UVM, said in an interview.
The hiring pause applies to all open faculty, staff and postdoc positions, not to temporary or student positions. Cate said the university will honor offers already extended and they’ll make some exceptions to the hiring pause — like to replace faculty members who are retiring at the end of the year.
Multiple universities across the country have enacted hiring freezes in recent weeks. That’s as the Trump administration has repeatedly threatened to cut funding for research, including executive orders blocking funding for research related to race and gender and reducing grant funding from the National Institutes of Health — a policy that has been temporarily halted in federal court.
“Whether it’s NIH, or NSF (National Science Foundation) or the Department of Agriculture, they’re all about the degree to which the federal government will support the cost of the research,” Cate said. “All of the proposals that have been out there would reduce what they’re currently paying.”
The university received over $266 million in research funding last year, including $49 million from the NIH.
Last month, Kirk Dombrowski, vice president for research at UVM, told Vermont Public that research activities related to government contracts would continue as normal for the time being.
“As it is right now, we don’t have any reason to stop doing what we’ve always done,” he said.
Separately, the university was already planning for a roughly 2% reduction in spending to cover the rising costs of employee health insurance.
For now, Cate said the pause in hiring is a way to buy time to better understand what changes might happen and when.
“Hopefully we know more in 60 days,” he said.
“If there is still a lot of unanswered questions at that point, we might well extend.”
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SUTTON — Vermont Gov. Phil Scott tapped a maple tree at Pure Gold Sugaring in Sutton on March 3 to mark the start of the state’s maple season, according to a community announcement.
Scott was joined by the Solinsky family and Vermont Secretary of Agriculture Anson Tebbetts to celebrate the state’s maple industry, which plays a significant role in Vermont’s economy and culture.
“This important event recognizes Vermont’s maple industry and the hard-working families that produce the best maple in the world,” Scott said. “The Solinsky family, and so many families like theirs, work to make sure our state is producing the highest quality maple syrup. Their hard work and dedication year-round is why we continue to lead the nation in maple production and excellence.”
History of Pure Gold Sugaring
The Solinsky family began their maple operation in the 1940s, using wooden buckets and horse-drawn sleighs to collect sap. Today, the operation has expanded to include over 7,000 pipelined maples with modern amenities, allowing them to collect more sap while preserving the integrity of the trees.
“Sugaring season is about connecting with our friends, family and community through the wonders of Mother Nature, with our maple syrup as a sweet bonus,” Kurt Solinsky of Pure Gold Sugaring said. “We are fortunate to have had past generations instill the importance of forest management and care to help us be able to expand to the size we are today, while still producing the highest quality maple syrup that we can. We hope to continue that tradition for my sons and our family’s future generations and prove what my dad always said after each boil, that ‘this is the best syrup ever!’”
The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets supports the state’s maple industry through marketing programs, labeling and product quality inspections, and funding for the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association Sugarhouse Certification Program. In 2024, the agency awarded Maple Agriculture Development Grants totaling $540,000 to 11 Vermont maple producers. These grants aim to improve infrastructure, enhance food safety, increase operational efficiency and adapt to climate changes.
“For generations, the Solinsky family has helped Vermont become the leading maple syrup producer in the nation, with the help of families like theirs across the state,” Tebbetts said. “The impact this industry has on Vermont’s economy and brand is significant and special. We are here to recognize families like the Solinskys who help Vermont maintain the high quantity and quality of maple production year-to-year. We celebrate the sweetness of Vermont’s maple producers and products!”
Upcoming maple events
Vermont sugar makers are now working to produce pure Vermont maple syrup for the season. The annual Vermont Maple Open House Weekend, scheduled for March 22-23, will offer Vermonters and visitors the opportunity to visit sugarhouses around the state. More information can be found at vermontmaple.org/mohw.
Two additional events in April will celebrate the state’s maple industry. The Vermont Maple Festival, taking place April 25-27, will feature various events and food opportunities. The Kingdom Maple Festival, scheduled for April 19 in St. Johnsbury, will showcase Northeast Kingdom maple history and producers, along with treats and activities for the whole family.
This story was created by reporter Beth McDermott, bmcdermott1@gannett.com, with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more.
Four federal facilities in Vermont could be on the chopping block as the Trump administration seeks to sell off what it has deemed “non-core” government properties in an effort to cut costs.
The U.S. General Services Administration on Tuesday published a list of 320 federal facilities considered “not core to government operations” that the agency said it would look to shutter or sell, including the Winston Prouty Federal Building in Essex Junction, the U.S. Post Office and Customs building in St. Albans and the Social Security Administration offices on School St. in Montpelier.
A “shed” in Derby Line that was listed as used by the federal Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service was also included in the inventory.
By Wednesday afternoon, the list had been removed entirely from the agency’s website and replaced with a web page that said the list was now “coming soon.” The quick change raised further questions about whether the Trump administration would follow through on its plan to “dispose of” all the properties listed, as described on the web page.
“To be clear, just because an asset is on the list doesn’t mean it’s immediately for sale,” Paul Hughes, a spokesperson for the General Services Administration, said in a written statement to VTDigger.
During the disposal process, the General Services Administration, which manages real estate belonging to the federal government, can transfer or sell a property to any number of entities, including private companies and organs of state or local government.
Assuming the agency does move forward with its plans, it’s unclear what would happen to operations at the Vermont properties, some of which provide essential services to Vermonters and residents of neighboring states.
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Formerly a post office facility, the St. Albans property now houses the state’s only U.S. passport center, as well as offices for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the State Department, according to city manager Dominic Cloud.
“The building has been a prominent fixture of downtown for a generation,” he said. “People from all over the Northeast come to get their passports here.”
Cloud emphasized that he hoped the decision to sell the facility wouldn’t necessarily spell the end of the passport center, as the offices could be moved elsewhere. But he also questioned the building’s designation as a “non-core” facility.
“Over the 15 years that I’ve been here the building has been nearly constantly invested in and improved,” Cloud said. “It’s not a white elephant by any measure.”
“We’re monitoring the situation to see where it goes from here,” he said.
In Montpelier, Mayor Jack McCullough said that although he was aware that the city’s Social Security office had appeared on the General Services Administration list, the city had received “no communication” from the federal government about possible plans for the building.
The General Services Administration is currently in the process of trying to sell off the Federal Building in Montpelier, which housed the city’s post office and other federal offices until it sustained significant flooding damage in July 2023 and shuttered its doors.
But McCullough said that, as far as he knew, the Social Security offices were still operating and serving Vermonters.
“It’s a real concern to me because I think people in the community have been relying on that office as a way of communicating with the Social Security Administration,” McCullough said.
Assuming the building does get sold off, McCullough said, he hoped that the Social Security Administration would find another way to provide services to community members and that the facility would eventually fill a different need for Montpelier.
“One can imagine productive uses for the building,” McCullough said. “But I don’t really know what’s happening with it at this point.”
According to Hughes, the General Services Administration expects to republish the list “in the near future” and had received “an overwhelming amount of interest” in various properties on the list — though he did not specify whether any of the Vermont properties had garnered interest.
“To be clear, just because an asset is on the list doesn’t mean it’s immediately for sale. However, we will consider compelling offers (in accordance with applicable laws and regulations) and do what’s best for the needs of the federal government and taxpayer,” Hughes said.
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