In this week’s “Fair Game,” State Auditor Tom Salmon demonstrated his way with words. I had queried him about an email sent from his office, welcoming Sen. Ed Flanagan into the auditor’s race.

Using state computers for political business is not allowed, as is spelled out in the state’s personnel manual and other administrative bulletins.

In fact, last year Salmon ran afoul of state regs by allowing a state staffer use a taxpayer-bought  camcorder to videotape a political fundraising speech in Burlington.

Salmon’s response to my email?

Fuck off

Immaterial

I’m wasting more state time on your political bullshit

Clever. Several more well-placed syllables would have netted Salmon a nice little Haiku.

After receiving this email on Monday, I responded to Salmon with this email:

Tom,
 
I asked the same question of Katie Manaras back in April 2008 when she sent a political note for Peter Shumlin from his state email account congratulating House Speaker Gaye Symington’s entrance into the governor’s race, and of Dennise Casey later that year after she left the Douglas administration and was a campaign worker and was using her state-issued ID badge to get to the fifth floor after hours.
 
But, thanks for the frank response.
 
Shay

He then responded with an even longer response, in which he calls me “son,” suggests I’m an “unadulterated hypocrite” and that I “find out what the hell you were put on earth for.”

My editors and I decided we should post this email exchange in its entirety. Here is what he wrote in response to my reply:

Look son, you need to get very clear on something. You and I once had a personal relationship that was forming with a good batch of sincerity. It was ruined by the way you reported the handling of my financial troubles and mischaracterizations (being dragged into court, etc) that never occurred, and many many years of struggle that you didn’t think were germane that may have balanced the story. So what, right?

I believe that you love Vermont and you love your family, and I wish you the best. However, the way you have been acting toward our office with disregard for the work that we do, more inclined to ask political or personal questions, is unacceptable. So that is where the Fuck off derives from.

I am tempted to run a press release about Vermont’s hidden waste: Reporter requests that have no basis for productive news. Or would that be considered campaigning? You tied our time up today on questions about the survey- what day?  How are you using that?  For who?  (When it starts with Dear Legislator?)  You’ve riddled my deputy with extensive questions about our budget trying to catch me in a lie from my Nov 20 speech?  You have asked about the number 5 license plate which is probably hanging in Randy’s barn? (I never exercised my option for that) and the report could go on.

So, for you to tie up our state time today, then jump on the news release about issues affecting the state’s accountability office in a blurb that was 5 minute cut- paste-send exercise, is the work of an unadulterated hypocrite. You get to prance around and be a “political columnist” but are expected to taken as a serious journalist? You get to ask questions of our office that are politically motivated- or by your personal agenda- and we are expected to answer them with a straight face?

You may be looking to get me to help you sell papers. It’s too bad you have pissed on all the capital you had with me, for both of us. Why? Because it’s  too bad you and I do not collaborate on getting productive word to citizens (and that would make public service or reporting more noble professions). I’m serving Vermont to improve the lives of others. Why do you do what you do?

I hope you figure what the hell you were put on earth for………….cause this ain’t  it. You are better than this, son.

TMS

To be clear, I didn’t “riddle” his deputy with questions. From April 12 through Monday, I sent Deputy Auditor Joe Juhasz eight emails. Six were related to the auditor’s budget and two asked about a legislative survey Salmon distributed to lawmakers.

The reason I sent eight emails related to the auditor’s budget is due to the fact that Juhasz never fully responded to my requests about the auditor’s budget. Actually, it took four attempts to get Juhasz to provide the detail that was originally requested. I had asked not just how much the office paid out in salaries for FY 2009, 2010 and 2011, but also which funds were used to cover those costs.

The original request was made April 12, but it wasn’t until April 28 that I received the information. Once I saw the financial details, I wanted to ask a follow-up question. After all, that’s my job.

This article appears in May 12-18, 2010.

Shay Totten wrote "Fair Game," a weekly political column, from April 2008-December 2011.

44 replies on “Raw Salmon: Vermont’s State Auditor In His Own Words”

  3. The only thing more disturbing than Tom Salmon holding elected office is the fact that the Democrats can’t find a decent candidate to run against him.At this point, it’s a little odd that the Republicans have not kicked him out of the party.

  4. “In my opinion Shay Totten is an asshole.” Nice way to contribute to a debate, or rather your lack of mindless input. You display such a classy and intelligent disposition that you are a true authority on what is truly newsworthy. In essence, you can pull out of your rear end what is truly newsworthy. The only newsworthy thing about you Mr. Lancer is the fact that what you pull out of your rear end reveals that you are in effect what you accuse others of falsely being. There’s a reason why buttholes don’t see the light of day, and that’s because they’re full of crap.

  5. So. Will 7 days be holding a debate involving the candidates in the auditors race? That could be interesting.Auditor Salmon seems to have a BidenBushCheneyNixonTrumanesque approach to life.

  6. Sweet. So now we get to choice between Salmon and Ed Flanagan for Auditor? Everyone knows that Flanagan’s mental state is unstable, at best, and that he does things in the bathroom of the Y that you wouldn’t want your mother to see.Salmon clearly doesn’t understand that you shouldn’t write anything in an email you wouldn’t want to read in the paper, especially to a journalist.What’s up with this office? Liz Ready, who was also super-self-involved, used her state phone illegally. She lied about her academic degrees. She even wiped out on a biking to an event (after having driven there and leaving her car a few blocks away) so she could appear to be green.The only auditor I think that’s done an honest job is Randy Brock. Let’s bring him back.

  7. I am not sure what your personal opinion of Shay Totten has to do with anything. The fact is, Shay Totten is a political reporter, it is his job to report on the politics in Vermont. It seems to me Shay (Mr. Totten? – I’m going with Shay, hope no one minds) was pointing out how difficult it has been to get information from the auditor’s office that is supposed to be public information.Tom Salmon was pretty non-plussed by the idea that someone might actually call him out on something – something, which I might add, Shay had previously called other people out on – and reacted very badly. The fact that he put it in an email instead of calling Shay was a HUGE mistake. The fact that Shay and Seven Days now get to reprint that email is HILARIOUS!P.S. I’m pretty sure being a political reporter is a “real job”

  8. In my opinion Shay Totten is an asshole. He is not trying to write news, he is trying to make news. He should get a real job.

  9. Who is auditing the state auditor’s office? Sounds like someone should do so, particularly when they seem to be stonewalling the press and then flaming as well as blaming them so badly in return. It also sounds like the auditor needs to be audited, yet in a much different fashion, however that will come in November when the voters have their say expressed in one fashion or another.One would think sonny boy er, the state auditor would know better. Guess they do not believe in the free press and all that.Lastly, if they cannot take the heat, they should get out of the kitchen.

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