UPDATE POSTED BELOW:
The Democratic machine that helped elect Miro Weinberger mayor of Burlington and pushed Gov. Peter Shumlin to a landslide victory last fall is humming again.
And by humming, we mean dishing out the nasty to its political enemies.
The Vermont Democratic Party has fired off two missives in the past week aimed at Ward 2 city council candidate Jane Knodell, an old-guard Progressive hoping to reclaim the seat she held for 14 years. She’s facing Democrat Emily Lee, a neighborhood activist and vice president at Merrill Lynch.
Last Friday, the Dems issued a press release attacking Knodell (pictured) for voting against a symbolic resolution supporting the decriminalization of marijuana in 2009, and for saying during a recent candidate forum that she couldn’t remember a single vote on which she differed from Republican former councilor Kurt Wright.
Then, on Wednesday, the party went after Knodell for what it called a “golden parachute” she’s receiving during a leave of absence from the University of Vermont, where she served as provost and will return as a professor in 2014. As Seven Days reported last week, and the Burlington Free Press expanded upon on Wednesday, Knodell will be paid her salary of $270,000 through June — when her contract as provost was set to expire — followed by 12 months’ pay at the professor’s salary of $150,000 during a year’s leave of absence.
“Knodell’s golden parachute sounds like an elite, big-city retirement plan, not one that comes from an organization like UVM that exists to serve Vermonters — and that receives taxpayer money to do so,” Burlington Democratic Chair David Scherr said in a statement. “At a time when tuition is going up and budgets are being cut, it is hard to understand why Knodell would choose to profit from a golden parachute at the expense of workers and students.”
Progressive City Councilor Max Tracy, who is managing Knodell’s campaign, hadn’t seen the press releases until Seven Days asked him for a reaction to them on Wednesday, but he responded forcefully.
“We had every intention of bringing a positive, issue-based campaign that emphasized Jane’s unbelievable record of public service and her ability to execute for Ward 2,” he said. “Unfortunately, party hacks have decided to take it in a decidedly negative direction because they realized there was no way that Emily was going to be able to match Jane’s tremendous amount of service to the Old North End.”
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“Reporter” Andy Bromage goes on the attack against the Vermont Democratic Party for what he believes is their attack against Progressive Council Candidate Knodell.
Congrats, Dem. Party Machine: Once again, the ends of electing one of “yours” justify any means, however low, dirty, cynical, misleading, or false they may be. This has become par for the course for the Dem. Party in VT. Even the candidate is distancing herself from your filthy attack. Shame. And I’m not a Prog or Prog supporter.
What the Progs have attacked the Dems for years but its a mortal sin for the Dems to point out the failed record of a Prog. Moderate income Vermonters struggle to send their kids to College and she walks away with a 6 figure parachute. It is somehow unacceptable to critisize a Prog for sucking at the public teet but its OK to attack a Dem or Republican’t. Get real and show some spine over Knodell ‘s Hypocracy.
It’s spelled “hypocrisy” and the H is not capitalized. Whether it’s Progs or Republicans or Dems, engaging in attack-dog partisan propaganda attacks is wrong. The press releases did not point out her “failed record as a Prog.” The Dems support Bernie, who’s done nothing but suck at the “public teat” since he moved to Vermont from Brooklyn in the late 60’s.
David Scherr and the Vermont Democratic Party need to learn how to lead without criticizing a candidate because she has been successful. Talk about modeling poor leadership – grow up!
Welcome to the brave new world of the Burlington Democrats, seems like they want to be like the old Paquette administration, my way or the highway, developers and trust funders running our town, again!
Whoa, there. As if there’s no trustafarians among the ranks of the Progs? Get real.
It’s funny that “machine politics” in Vermont takes the form of two press releases from the state party. Not exactly major league ball here, accusations of “dishing out the nasty” notwithstanding.
What was false? Or misleading, even? Or are you throwing all the negative adjectives at the wall and hoping some will stick?
“Or are you throwing all the negative adjectives at the wall and hoping some will stick?”
You mean, like the two press releases did?
As long as you admit it, I suppose.