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.
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@ Jimmy: In fact, Dennise Casey wasn’t using a “different pass”, but a pass she was not authorized to use. She was no longer a state employee, and used a state employee swipe badge to access secured state buildings after hours while running the governor’s reelection campaign.This week’s column had more to do with his response to me than the simple issue of using the state computer for political purposes. If he had said “whoops”, as did Katie Manaras and said it shouldn’t have been sent from a private email, it would have warranted a shorter mention & focus.And, again, what the auditor dubbed “political bullshit” was my inquiry into his staff salary increases despite his claims last year that he had cut his budget.As for “the entire email exchange”, what would you like to read? His initial political email? My one-line response with a citation from the personnel manual? Happy to share more, but we were focused on providing the exchange mentioned in the column.
Interesting – the two republicans “use state resources” (actually, in Casey’s case, just using a different pass than the one she was supposed to) and it’s the basis for an entire column. Shumlin’s assistant does it, and it merits less than a sentence in passing.BTW, the “entire email exchange” was not posted as promised. Only Salmon’s emails, and the one Shay wrote when he knew he was going to post it.
Thanks for pointing that out Jimmy. You say its classless, I think of it as pointing out at the stupidity of the comment. My reply could have been far worse, but I do feel that the guy has the equivalent IQ of a passenger pigeon and I felt that I should throw back at him the what he used, although with less vulgar language. A little classless, now that I think about it, yeah. I just hate when people insult others without thinking about it twice and hence should be called out on it and put in their place. About Salmon, if I were him and there’s a reporter who I’m getting annoyed by, there’s just no use using such language, it doesn’t help you and it builds on a somewhat shoddy reputation. Next time, he should take a deep breath and write something creative back, poking fun at the reporter rather than hurling a bunch of insults. To Salmon all I can say is, dude, that’s lame. As for Totten, keep on annoying the politicians. It’s called news reporting and you’re doing a good job.
Wow Shay! This is huge! Mr. Salmon’s actions to date hinted at an unstable state of mind but this e-mail confirms it.People can opine unfavorably over your journalistic style (personally, I think it’s a testament to the level of media illiteracy in our country). However, the fact is that Salmon’s behavior is inexcusable. He violated state law regardless of its severity and tarnished the reputation of the office by lashing out at the public with obscenities. Maybe admission to the Republican Party requires reading a How To manual by Dick Cheney.Keep up the good work! Maybe Salmon will bar you from his office not unlike Entergy did when you probed misstatements back in your VT Guardian days.Tiki
Speak for yourself Scott. I find it difficult to accept opinions from people that claim to be speaking for so many others. Whoever they are! The icing on the cake is your schoolyard cursing to conclude. Obviously you are the voice of Vermont – not.
Salmon simply put into words what so many people privately think about Shay: that his muckraking, immature journalism is below the standards of 7days. Vermonters deserve better. As a Democrat, I lost all respect for salmon for leaving the party, as well for his antics and the DWI. But through it, the guy just does his job and works hard. Shay is just a piss poor journalist.
@ Jimmy: I mentioned Katie Manaras’ email violation in this column from May 2008 when Gaye Symington jumped into race for governorhttp://www.7dvt.com/2008/three-s-crowd
The point is that politicians have too few checks and balances these days. At least someone has the testicular fortitude to demand our rights be honored. Tom Salmon expressed mostly that he is angry because in his view Mr. Totten caused him political strife whilst campaigning for his office by publishing some facts about Mr. Salmons life and career that wasn’t in Mr. Salmons favor.Most journalists are nothing more than corporate-politico puppets and mouth pieces nowadays. KUDOS to ANY actual journalist with the integrity of Mr. Totten. He is a rare person. A journalist in the truest sense of the word.Honest people of integrity are not rewarded. In most cases people of integrity are now punished in this modern society of perception ruling over reality. Spin over facts. Money over substance. This is sad and discouraging to more of us each day.
Also, can you provide a link to your reporting of Katie Manaras’ response to your query?
Hey Dan Sanchez, there’s nothing funnier than someone who criticizes someone else for being classless, then repeatedly compares them to an anus in the same paragraph.I think Salmon had some good points. The fact that a (kind of) political missive was sent from a state computer is not news, even in this small state. It’s akin to calling someone out for jaywalking.