A group founded and funded by retired Wall Street banker Bruce Lisman has accused a St. Albans Democrat of violating House rules by voting for legislation that would help his employer.

In a letter (see below) to House Speaker Shap Smith, Campaign for Vermont lobbyist Shawn Shouldice took Rep. Mike McCarthy (D-St. Albans) to task Thursday for supporting legislation that would expand Vermont’s net-metering program.

Net metering encourages Vermonters to produce electricity at home and work, in exchange for a break on their power bills. Shouldice said that the bill would benefit SunCommon, the Waterbury-based solar leasing company for which McCarthy works as a community organizer.

The legislation increases the amount of renewable energy utilities can buy from customers from 4 percent of the companies’ peak demand to 15 percent. The bill won preliminary approval Wednesday by a 136-8 margin and final passage Thursday by voice vote.

In her letter, Shouldice said the episode demonstrates the need for ethics reform, a cause Lisman and Campaign for Vermont have been trumpeting lately.

Paul Heintz was part of the Seven Days news team from 2012 to 2020. He served as political editor and wrote the "Fair Game" political column before becoming a staff writer.

13 replies on “Lisman’s Group Accuses House Democrat of Solar Conflict”

  1. I would say his paycheck would act as evidence. Many utility companies have already stopped allowing net metering. If there is no net metering McCarthy is out of a job, by increasing the mandate on net metering that means there is more work for McCarthy. That’s a pretty clear direct interest.
    I think it’s a great program and I’m glad the bill passed. But that doesn’t change the fact that McCarthy should have recused himself.

  2. Actually you are wrong. There should be evidence that financial benefit as a direct result of the connection between this person and the entity cited. Without such evidence this is merely a self-promoting (marketing) witch hunt and nothing more…

  3. Should this apply in committees too? Should legislators on comittees recuse themselves from voting on bills that they have an interest in? I mean, Norm Mcalllister is a farmer, who grows GMO crops, and he voted against the honest labeling bill when it came before his committee in 2012, and now as senator, is set to vote against it again, despite the overwhelming public support for honest labels… or, do we accept that we do have amcitizen legislature, and that we do have a need for folks with direct knowledge and expertese in those fields to weigh in? Either way, it needs to be consistent. If Mcarthy is wrong, so is mccallister, if McAllister is ok, so is McCarthy…
    And how about on local levels, like in Montpelier, where our mayor, John Hollar, is a lobbyist for the big banking industry… every day the city conducts business with those banks. As mayor, he makes three thousand dollars a year… 30 Benjamins. A good lobbyist with big clients can make that in a day. Where do his loyalties lie?

    DISCLOSURE:I AM A MEMBER OF THE MONTPELIER CONSERVATION COMMISSION. THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED HERE ARE MINE AS A PRIVATE CITIZEN, AND SHOULD NOT BE INTERPERETED TO REPRESENT THE OPINIONS OF THE CITY OF MONTPELIER, NOR THE CONSERVATION COMMISSION.

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