The company, which rebranded in 2016, is one of the country’s largest private prison operators. For a decade, it housed several hundred Vermont inmates in Kentucky and Arizona.
Under the Scott administration’s proposal, Vermont would contract with a private company to construct a $140 million prison in Franklin County over a 10-year period, which the state would then operate. The vision is far from becoming a reality. Lawmakers only started reviewing the concept Tuesday.
In an apparent effort to position itself for that contract, CoreCivic lobbyists are making overtures to key state lawmakers. The company has four employees registered to lobby in the state and is also represented by the Vermont lobbying firm MMR.
Its outreach isn’t going over well in some quarters of the Statehouse.
Calling CoreCivic a “notorious company” that has done “plenty of damage,” Senate President Pro Tempore Tim Ashe (D/P-Chittenden) told reporters Tuesday that its potential involvement “will merit a lot of discussion.” Ashe said he personally had not been contacted by the lobbyists.
The company’s public-private partnership with the state, which ended in 2015, became increasingly controversial, particularly after several violent episodes took place in CCA prisons.
CoreCivic donated $1,000 to Scott’s campaign ahead of his 2016 election.
In a emailed statement to Seven Days, company public affairs director Jonathan Burns emphasized that, “CoreCivic would not be operating any facility in Vermont. We welcome a discussion with Vermont policy makers on a privately financed real estate-only solution.”
Disclosure: Tim Ashe is the domestic partner of Seven Days publisher and coeditor Paula Routly. Find our conflict-of-interest policy here: sevendaysvt.com/disclosure.
Got something to say?
Send a letter to the editor and we'll publish your feedback in print!
The prison industrial complex is one of the most despicable forms of vulture capitalism, and the State of Vermont should have nothing to do with it, including handing money over to it to build prison real estate. Interesting that Corrections Corporation of America has changed its name in a rebranding effort to try to cover up its dark, exploitative and horrible past. Reminds me of the rebrandng effort of Blackwater, the private mercenary company with a dark history of multiple war crimes and human rights violations, and its multiple name changes. No amount of lipstick on these corporate criminal pigs will change them or make them more acceptable.
Vermont does not need a privatized prison system that profits from putting more people in jail. It particularly does not need this company.
“The Vanguard Group and Fidelity Investments.. two of the private prison industry’s biggest investors.” Clintons may have funneled their stolen gains through Vanguard. http://vice.com/en_us/article/… since these prisons are making money hand over fist…the only way to make sure that we’re not individually and collectively profiting off of it is to close these things.” Who’s getting rich off the private prison complex: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/mvpzkp/… Who’s Getting Rich off the Prison-Industrial Complex?
Finally, people, a voice of reason: mine. You’ve read the three hissy-fitting Lefties above commenting on the evils of capitalism. Well, it’s still the best system in the world to efficiently do things, probably (yes, probably, the jury is still out) including running a prison system. Please consider three letters: DMV. The Department of Motor Vehicles. Think they’re efficient? Or our current Department of Corrections, how well have they performed? (My company has a contract to do some painting at the Northwest Correctional Facility. Turns out one of our employees has a criminal record. He has been barred from working at the prison because of it. In other words: the Department of Corrections won’t let a criminal into their medium security prison, figuring, I guess, it’s better that he be among the general public without a job than working in the prison! Pure genius, huh? And it’s TRUE!!) My point is: Please don’t knee-jerk us away from a possible solution due to typical VT bias against profit. We should manage the private company to our advantage. Maybe. Maybe maybe.