Former education secretary Rebecca Holcombe says she is not running for governor of Vermont, putting an end to rumors that have circulated in Montpelier for weeks.
Holcombe resigned suddenly on March 27 after more than four years at the helm of the state Agency of Education. She gave less than a week’s notice and has since refused to publicly discuss the reasons for her departure.
Quoting state Board of Education chair Krista Huling and sources close to Holcombe, Seven Days reported last month that the secretary broke with Gov. Phil Scott over his insistence on further school budget cuts — even after local voters approved modest budget increases on Town Meeting Day.
Scott, a first-term Republican, is still in the process of hiring Holcombe’s replacement.
Speculation about a gubernatorial bid grew in Democratic circles after Holcombe began posting thinly veiled criticism of administration policies on social media, and when she spoke at a recent teachers’ union rally at the Statehouse.
Also contributing to the Holcombe-mania was dissatisfaction among some Dems over the field of candidates for governor — and the irresistible potential for Holcombe to challenge Scott’s education funding policies, which have become a flashpoint between Democratic legislature and Republican executive this spring.
Quoting unnamed Democratic Party sources, VTDigger.org columnist Jon Margolis reported last week that Holcombe’s interest in the race was “more than just a rumor.”
The former secretary has refused interviews on the candidacy rumors but provided Seven Days a definitive statement via text.
“I am not running for office,” she wrote. “I am looking for ways to help clarify the choices the state has before it and to contribute to pragmatic solutions to Vermont’s significant policy challenges.”
The filing deadline for major-party candidates is on Thursday. Barring a major surprise, it appears that the field for the Democratic nomination is set at four. It includes former utility executive Christine Hallquist, water quality advocate James Ehlers, arts administrator and anti-poverty activist Brenda Siegel and the now 14-year-old Ethan Sonneborn, whose birthday was May 24.
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If Holcombe’s nascent candidacy was “more than a rumor,” as you claim by publishing a competitor’s failed prediction, then what was it?
What, exactly, is “more than a rumor?”
Apparently, Seven Days considers “more than a rumor” published by a competing news outlet as plenty of grounds for an entire story of a non-candidacy based on that competitor’s unconfirmed speculation.
If “more than a rumor” suggests that this ex-education secretary actually was plotting to seek public office, then to let her off with a rehearsed statement and not subject her to questions is journalistic malpractice.
At the very least, you needed a line such as this: “Holcombe refused to respond to questions beyond a prepared statement.”
Some of those questions would be:
* “To what degree did you consider running for the Democratic nomination? Or were you considering a third party? Or neither?”
* “Why were you testing the waters, if you were? If you did, how did you try to gauge whether you had any public or financial support, or both? Were you serious or was this a self-aggrandizing exercise?”
* “If you seriously considered running, what would have persuaded you to do it – concluding you actually had a chance?”
Vermont must be the laughing stock of the nation or at least New England. A 14 yo kid running for Governor.!!!!!!! I know politics are a joke to many, a lot of people don’t even vote. Yet bet they will vote for this Ethan Sonneborn just because they think it’s funny and not happy with the administration. Why not vote for someone who isn’t still in school, who can vote, who can drive.!!!! I for one take politics seriously. I vote in hopes of making a difference in Vermont. Which Vermont really needs right now, because it’s not good for what we have in all elected position now, especially in the legislation.. Also if someone isn’t running for office don’t write them in..
@Ted Cohen, that is not how John Walters rolls. Those questions are reserved for republicans. I am sure you know that John does a lot of Tim Ashes dirty work through his articles.