Peter Freyne never missed a deadline in the 13 years he worked for Seven Days. He delivered his political column, “Inside Track,” every Tuesday by 4 p.m. and was never subtle about it. Shortly after emailing his article, Freyne would show up at the office to answer questions, argue, check last-minute facts and, depending on his mood, terrorize our staff. His column was the last thing we squeezed into the paper before sending it to press.

So it’s ironic — not to mention premature and terribly sad — that Peter Freyne left this Earth early on a Wednesday. After battling cancer, seizures and a strep infection that spread to his brain, he died peacefully at Fletcher Allen Health Care at 12:26 a.m. today — six hours after our weekly deadline. Did he have a hand in the timing of his final departure, knowing the news would break just after the paper went to bed? We wouldn’t put it past him to go out with a poke.

Freyne, 59, came out of the bar-stool school of journalism, along with his hero, Chicago newspaperman Mike Royko. He never went to school to learn to be a political columnist, but brought his considerable and diverse life experiences to a fun and informative “Inside Track” that originated in the Vanguard Press, Burlington’s original alt weekly, in the late ’80s. Freyne was the rare reporter who could skewer a politician in print and have a drink with him two days later — until he gave up drinking. Many of his “victims” became his sources — and in some cases, friends.

Vermont journalism has been a lot less lively since he retired last June. Here’s a video that Eva Sollberger made of Freyne right after that, when Seven Days readers once again named him the state’s “Best Print Journalist” in our annual Daysies survey.

His passing marks the end of an era. He may have planned that, too.

Please direct media inquiries to Seven Days Co-editor Pamela Polston, 864-5684, pamela@sevendaysvt.com.

Click here for downloadable press images of Peter.

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UPDATE: We’ll post information about a memorial service here and in the newspaper next week. Thanks for all of your messages.

From Governor Jim Douglas:

“Early this morning, longtime political columnist Peter Freyne peacefully passed away. I’ve known Peter for many years. Peter was a determined journalist who had a way about him that was uniquely his. You knew where you stood with him – a trait that made all public officials examine their positions more closely. Peter will be missed.”

From Sue Allen at the Times Argus:

“This loss hits close to home for me. I’ve worked with Peter since becoming a journalist in Vermont in in the ’80s, and would like to think I’ve learned a great deal from watching him dig like a terrier for tips, follow up on leads with a tenacity I could only admire, and hold every public official’s feet to a ferocious fire.”

From Jack McCullough at Green Mountain Daily:

“Many Vermont bloggers look at Peter as a kind of godfather. He did the kind of journalism that we aspire to: irreverent, insightful analysis, personal perspective and voice, and a commitment to progressive values.”

From Philip Baruth at Vermont Daily Briefing:

“There’s been no reason to say so until now, but this blog began with a kind note from Freyne, about a VPR commentary I wrote on Vermont’s role in opposing the Bush Administration. He ended that note with the word ‘Bravo!’ And that one word of praise, coming as it did from that one particular guy, was enough to make me think I had it in me to write about politics on a daily basis.”

From Senator Patrick Leahy:

“Marcelle and I have lost a good friend, and Vermont has lost its own version of the legendary Mike Royko.

Though Peter was born in the age of manual typewriters, in recent years he took to blogs like a 20-year-old. Flatlander reporters sought him out first when they wanted to understand our state. He brought insight to some of the biggest stories of our time here in Vermont – the civil unions debate, the Dean campaign, the Jeffords switch and the war in Iraq.

He was courageous in his fight with cancer and helped many others facing similar battles.

He knew the difference between healthy skepticism and hollow cynicism, and his reporting helped make Vermont better.

From Sam “The Sham” Hemingway at the Burlington Free Press:

“I’ll miss Peter, even though I was among the many who he sometimes skewered in his column over the years. I’ll miss him because, while I took issue with some of his tactics, there was nothing phony about the guy. He was a passionate political junkie, which I admired, and it was always great theater watching him use the press conference format to ask a politician an uncomfortable question, just to see how the person would react.”

From Senator Bernie Sanders:

“Peter Freyne was one of the most remarkable individuals I ever met, and I am going to miss him very much. As a friend and occasional antagonist for over 25 years, I knew Peter to be brilliant, honest, courageous and unusually observant. In addition, he was prickly, annoying, and utterly relentless in getting the information that he wanted.

“I first encountered Peter when I became mayor of Burlington in 1981. While he was supportive of many of my initiatives, it was not unusual for us to have strong differences of opinion, to say the least, about some of the decisions I made as mayor.

“A small memory of mine reveals his quirky but perceptive personality. I remember an event that I held as mayor to talk about our success in repaving Burlington’s streets. We served sandwiches. Peter ate about half of them. In his next column, he commented about the absurdity of serving sandwiches at such an event. He was right, as he was on so many other occasions.

“He was also right about bigger issues, including the war in Iraq, which he felt very strongly about. At almost every press conference that he attended, he in one way or another made clear his disgust with the war.

“He was also right in being the lead reporter in Vermont prepared to take on the scandal several years ago at Fletcher Allen Hospital, which ended with the CEO receiving a prison sentence.

“I think it is fair to say that Peter was an institution in the state of Vermont. He will be missed by thousands of his readers, he will be missed by his many friends, and he will most assuredly be missed by me.”

From Congressman Peter Welch:

“Peter Freyne was a gift to Vermont.

“The power and punch of Peter’s writing was rivaled only by his passion for justice and his contempt for pomposity. Those of us who occasionally found ourselves on the receiving end of his acerbic observations rarely considered it an enjoyable experience. But behind the force of his personality and his hard-hitting reportorial instincts, it was clear to all who knew him that his spirit was as gentle as his soul was poetic.

“Peter often seemed to know more about what was going on in Vermont politics than did the state’s politicians – including this one. But it was his understanding of the human condition that set him apart from most.Though he had a deep passion for making the world a better place, he understood all too well the foibles and limitations of the human spirit.

“Peter will truly be missed.”

From Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin:

“I am deeply saddened by the news of Peter Freyne’s death. Peter was an insightful and witty journalist who filled an important niche in Vermont’s press corp. Peter could always be counted on to ask the probing question that would make any public official squirm, find the lead to an exclusive story, and keep Vermonters up to date and smiling with his weekly column. Peter was a great friend and will be sorely missed.”

From Vermont House Speaker Shap Smith:

“It was with sorrow that I heard the news today of Peter Freyne’s death. Peter brought unique insight to the state and its politics.  He used his humor and investigative drive to connect Vermont readers with the inner workings of their government. I am happy to have known Peter and I know he will be missed by many.”

UPDATE 1/8/09: Many media outlets have reported on Peter’s passing. Here are some of the links we’ve collected:

Journalist Freyne dies at 59 (by Sam Hemingway at The Burlington Free Press)

A Rememberence of Peter Freyne (by Ross Sneyd at Vermont Public Radio)

Longtime Vt. political writer Freyne dies, 59 (by Dan Barlow at the Times Argus)

The Times Argus also published an editorial about Peter.

UPDATE 1/13/09: Here’s a video tribute from CCTV.

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This article appears in Jan 7-13, 2009.

105 replies on “Peter Freyne, 1949-2009”

  1. When I saw the news in 7Days last week that Peter had missed his rounds at the local coffee shop, that an infection had spread to his brain and that someone had become his guardian, I suspected the future prospects were grim.
    It is a big loss, though his retirement from Inside Track was an even bigger loss.
    Unafraid is the best word I can think of to describe him. I told him once he loved to poke the bear. He laughed.
    Too bad this. Very sad news indeed. So few people left to poke the bears.

  2. My first job out of college was news director for WDEV and Peter was one of our stringers. He was really generous with someone so wet behind the ears and I learned a great deal from him. It was a thing of beauty to watch him pursue a line of questioning at a governor's press conference. I left that job and our paths didn't cross again until years later when I came to Channel 17. Together we produced the legislative program Point Counterpoint. It was so much fun to watch Peter question the pols – totally in his element. Of course many a time my phone would ring after the latest installment aired and Peter would let me have it because the audio wasn't perfect or he didn't like something else I had done. Tenacious, prickly, thoughtful and kind…you will be missed Peter.

  3. In June 2001, I picked up my phone at the City of South Burlington. "Hi, this is Peter Freyne. Tell me, are you really a communist?" It was, as the saying goes, the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
    Peter couldn't walk away from the issues; he cared compulsively. His exasperating qualities were also his most endearing, uniquely and irreplaceably Peter.
    Give 'em hell in the hereafter, friend. We're counting on you.

  4. So he puts on a Hitler moustache and asks if he's the prez or VP. Hmm. Guy didn't live long enough to see The One take the oath of office.

  5. Peter could be a pain in the ass, particularly in his last year or two on the job.
    However…
    I met him a day or two after I put my suitcase down. He was yelling at Sen. Leahy about something or other during a news conference at the Firehouse.
    I introduced myself, wondering if he was a preeminent local loon. He assured me was the preeminent Vermont journalist and shook his head sadly at me: I was the latest soon-to-be morsel for the Free Press maw.
    Thereafter, I'd sit down with him every now and then at Finnigan's to learn what I'd done wrong since we'd last met.
    I'll miss him, kind of. He was fearless, no small virtue in a reporter. He was not tolerant, but he was broadly social. He liked to talk and sometimes liked to listen.
    If he suffered doubts about his work, he kept it to himself. He surveyed the world from whatever bar-stool he inhabited for the moment. When he drank, all good men drank. When he stopped, only fools continued.
    He was an old-style reporter. He met people rather than hunkering down in front of a computer screen. He had passion.
    One by one, they disappear.

  6. As an Irishman proud of his heritage, Peter was blessed with the gifts of gab and storytelling. Not only were his columns replete with political truth telling, the rare misjudgment, and lots of twinkley pokes, he was a true everyman. I was a total stranger when we met waiting for the light to change to cross Main Street at St. Paul a couple of years ago. By the time we had walked through City Hall park, up Church Street to the top, I knew a Cliff Notes version of his history, politics and how he got to Vermont and he heard mine. We were about to part ways on Pearl Street when on a whim, I invited him to our home for Thanksgiving dinner. Let me tell you, he was an incredibly gracious guest — he brought beverage, a signed copy of Chris Graff’s book, great company, an appreciation of food, and articulate homage to the Irish (which I share). It was great fun and no doubt there are as many stories about Peter out there as there folks with whom he had interaction. Atheism notwithstanding:May you have food and raiment,A soft pillow for your head,May you be forty years in heavenBefore the devil knows you’re dead.

  7. My favorite memory of Peter is of him coming up to me outside Nectar’s, in 1996. I’d just written a piece for 7D about my Dad’s battle with cancer. His words of encouragement meant a lot to me as a young writer. I am grateful to have known him and will never forget him.

  8. My first job out of college was working at Seven Days. Because I had interned for Gov. Dean my senior year, Freyne would often chat politics with me. When I left Seven Days to work for Gov. Dean, I could still look forward to seeing Peter at the Governor’s weekly press conference. I’ve collected a lot of Freyne stories over the years, but here’s a classic:The setting was the Governor’s weekly press conference during a legislative session in the early 2000s. The legislature was working on legalizing medical marijuana, and one of the Governor’s complaints was that the delivery method of smoking was carcinogenic. A reporter asked what he would suggest, and the Gov. said seriously: “How about suppositories.” Silence swept over the press, and then Freyne was heard to quietly predict the headline: “Dean to Legislature: Stick it up your ass.”Freyne was witty, courageous, cranky, and tender-hearted. Peter, Vermont just won’t be the same without you.

  9. I was saddened to hear of Peter’s passing. When I was doing news for WVAA, I met him at a press conference and found him to be one of the most knowledgeable, kind people I have had the honor of meeting.Peter, the Burlington political landscape won’t be the same without you.

  10. Three memories:I come home late one night to the apartment we shared for a couple of years on lower King Street. As I enter, I hear a recording of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech coming over the speaker. Peter’s sitting in a darkened room. He’s drinking, of course, and has a candle burning. He starts to say something and stops. I see that he’s crying.I’m walking through the Old North End in the early morning hours. A light rain is starting to fall and the streets are deserted. Suddenly I hear laughter. An old bicycle – the kind with a big basket in front — crosses through the intersection in front of me. It’s Peter. He doesn’t see me. His attention is on the young lady riding in the basket. As he pedals on down the street, I hear the young lady begin to sing.The campaign for and against civil unions is the hot political issue of the day. Peter and I no longer share quarters, but we talk sometimes. He calls me on the phone. He has a story – like many of his best, it involves a politician’s hypocrisy. But writing it would shine a light on a third party’s sexual preferences. This third party is a gay man, out of the closet, but undeserving of public scrutiny of his sexual life. Should he go with the story? Would it be ethical? Would withholding the story be a cop-out, letting a hypocritical politician off the hook? “I wouldn’t run it,” I tell him. “Well, I’m not going to,” he said, “but I just wanted to check.”

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