Seven Days to Hold Election Night Live Blog at 7 p.m.

It's Election Day — and that means we here at Seven Days are getting ready for a night of hitting 'refresh' on our laptops.

It also means we'll be firing up the venerable Seven Days election night live blog just as soon as the polls close at 7 p.m. We'll be joined by our co-host, Channel 17/CCTV, as well as by reporters from the Stowe Reporter, Waterbury Record, Addison County Independent, Bennington Banner, Windham County's The Commons and hopefully more!

Seven Days' Tyler Machado and Cathy Resmer will be anchoring the live blog. Andy Bromage will be reporting from the Republican gathering at Montpelier's Capitol Plaza, Kevin J. Kelley will be with the Progressives at Burlington's Magnolia Bistro, and I'll be with the Democrats at the Burlington Hilton. Ken Picard will anchor live election coverage on Channel 17/CCTV, which will be streamed alongside our live blog, and Kathryn Flagg will be covering everything else there is to cover in the state.

Please join us at sevendaysvt.com at 7 p.m. and share with us what's happening in your neck of the woods. And remember, if you're out and about today and tonight, be sure to tweet election-related content with hashtag #vtpoli so we can pull it into the blog.

Photo credit: Cathy Resmer (Pictured: Voting in Winooski)

With 60-Second Ad, "Anti-Super PAC" Super PAC Tries to Get Super PACs Out of Vermont. Kind of.

If you're jamming out to WCAX's election night coverage Tuesday, you might find yourself watching this 60-second ad from Vermont's favorite lefty super PAC, Priorities PAC:

 

According to Priorities PAC consultant Todd Bailey, the group paid roughly $3000 to produce the ad and another $1500 to air it — just once — on election night. He said they may re-purpose it down the road to support the super PAC's advocacy work in the Statehouse.

What kind of advocacy work, you ask? To put super PACs out of business, of course!

Well, not exactly.

Photo: Conservative Super PAC Funder Lenore Broughton Caught on Camera

It took all campaign season, but we finally got a photo of Lenore Broughton, the Burlington heiress who's bankrolling the conservative super PAC Vermonters First to the tune of $1 million this election. 

Despite her outsize influence on state elections this year, Broughton keeps a low public profile. She declines every interview request she gets and has turned away numerous reporters looking for quotes from her front door this fall.

Prior to a recent Seven Days story and others that followed, there wasn't much known about her background or the source of her sizable fortune. And there don't appear to be any photos of her on the web.

Our last attempt to photograph the elusive Broughton didn't go so well. She walked away from a public meeting rather than be photographed. So we had to get a little more aggressive on the second try.

Seven Days hired freelance photographer Andy Duback to photograph Broughton at a public meeting of a board on which she serves. On Monday, Duback snapped this photo at Burlington City Hall as Broughton was getting on an elevator following the meeting. Along with being a member of the Burlington Telecom Cable Advisory Council, Broughton serves on the Burlington Board for Registration of Voters. That's the volunteer panel charged with maintaining Burlington's voter lists.

Statewide Candidates Spend Half a Million on Advertising in Race's Final Month

In the final month of the 2012 campaign, eight candidates for statewide office have collectively spent more than half a million dollars on mass media.

In total, they invested $532,000 in television, radio and newspaper advertising, and in direct mail. A little less than half of that money went toward Vermont's gubernatorial race. The two candidates — Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin and Republican challenger Randy Brock, a Franklin County state senator — have spent $240,000 on television advertising alone during the past month.

Of course, with the advent of Vermont-based super PACs, candidate spending only tells half the story.

For instance, the two leading candidates for state treasurer — appointed incumbent Democrat Beth Pearce and Rutland's Republican city treasurer, Wendy Wilton — have spent $119,000 on mass media in the past month. But independent groups — primarily the conservative super PAC Vermonters First, which has heavily backed Wilton — spent another $220,000 exclusively on that race during the same period.

Factoring in all reported candidate spending during the two-year election cycle coming to a close this Tuesday, Brock has vastly outspent the others. He has spent at least $706,000 since launching his gubernatorial campaign last winter. Behind him are Shumlin ($285,000), Pearce ($194,000) and the Republican candidate for attorney general, Jack McMullen ($191,000).

Last week, we brought you a list of the biggest-spending independent groups in the 2012 election (please note, that list is now a few days out of date). Below is a list of the biggest-spending candidates:

Media Note: More Newspapers Endorse, While the Brattleboro Reformer Ends the Practice

Last week, we brought you a somewhat comprehensive tally of newspaper endorsements in Vermont's statewide races. Well, a few more rolled in over the weekend, so we're updating it below.

The new additions? The Rutland Herald and Barre-Montpelier Times Argus endorsed Gov. Peter Shumlin and Lite Gov. Phil Scott. The Valley News backed Shumlin. And the Vermont Standard endorsed all the incumbents, with the exception of Democratic State Treasurer Beth Pearce; instead, they backed her Republican challenger, Rutland City treasurer Wendy Wilton. The Standard also went for Sen. Vince Illuzzi in the open race for state auditor.

Notably, in a Saturday editorial the Brattleboro Reformer announced it will no longer endorse political candidates, writing:

Readers of our editorial page don't need us to tell them we have a certain ideological standpoint when it comes to politics, and it probably would come as no surprise as to who we would endorse if we were to continue to do so.

But it's not for that self-evident reason we are discontinuing our participation in this hallowed practice.

This shouldn't be a surprise to regular readers. Over the past several years, we've begun to pull back on regular endorsements, first at the local level (selectboards), and then expanding that process to more high-profile candidates.

Simply put, the editorial board believes our job here at the Reformer is to profile the candidates and present their stances on various issues and let readers make their own decisions.

The Week Ahead: November 5-11, 2012

It's election week! Here's what's happening in the world of Vermont politics and news this week. Got an event you want listed in next week's calendar? Email us by Friday to submit it.

Monday, November 5

• It's the last day of campaigning before the big day, and the last day to request an absentee ballot (click here for more info.)
• Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin has a light (or incomplete) schedule for today. His campaign website shows the guv honking and waving at 7:30 a.m. in Barre, "visiting businesses and walking" in Richmond at 9:30 and doing the same at Five Corners in Essex at 10:45. Full schedule.
• Republican gubernatorial candidate Randy Brock starts the day with a 6:30 a.m. interview on ABC 22/Fox 44, and ends at 5:30 p.m. in the Springfield "GOP Victory Office." He'll be on "Charlie, Ernie and Lisa" on WVMT-AM at 8 a.m. Full schedule.
• Republican Lt. Gov. Phil Scott kicks off a "vote tomorrow" tour today, with the gimmicky idea of making 14 stops in each of Vermont's 14 counties, and spending 14 minutes at each location. The lite guv starts at the ungoldly hour of 4:45 a.m. in St. Albans and finishes at 6:35 p.m. in Barre. Full schedule.
• Republican candidate for attorney general Jack McMullen has just two stops on his schedule for today: a 2 p.m. sign wave outside the Sheraton Hotel in South Burlington, and a somewhat inexplicable 6 p.m. visit to the Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism. Presumably to court the all-important undecided herbalist bloc.
• At 9 a.m., "The Mark Johnson Show" on WDEV-FM welcomes guests Howard Dean and Vermont Pundit Laureate Eric Davis. Listen live.
• At noon, Vermont Public Radio's topic on "Vermont Edition" is the middle class — that nebulous group politicians have been courting so hard this year. Guests are UVM economics professor Elaine McCrate and Dartmouth sociology professor Marc Dixon. Listen live.
• Obama and Romney won't talk about climate change, but Norwich University will. At 7:45 p.m., award-winning microbiologist Dr. Brigit Sattler gives a talk titled "Ice and Life: Living Cryosphere" about the impact of melting polar icecaps on the ecosystem.

Rest of the week after the break...

Brock-Sponsored Poll Shows Him Five Points Behind Shumlin

Citing a new poll his campaign commissioned, Republican gubernatorial candidate Randy Brock argued Saturday that his bid to depose Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin is gaining traction.

Brock's campaign released partial results of a survey conducted last Thursday by Ohio-based, Republican pollster Fritz Wenzel showing that likely voters favor Shumlin 46 to 41 percent. Eight percent favor three other candidates and 5 percent are undecided, the poll found.

The automated survey of 520 Vermonters has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.

"It's a close race," Wenzel said Saturday. "Obviously Shumlin has the advantage going into this last weekend. Clearly people are open to considering change. It fits with everything else I'm seeing in polling I'm doing all over the country. People are not satisfied with the status quo."

Neither Wenzel nor the Brock campaign would release complete results of their poll. Here's the scant data they included in a one-page polling memo (Click here to read it for yourself):

• Democrats favor Shumlin 74 percent to Brock's 19 percent, with 3 percent undecided.
• Republicans favor Brock 82 percent to Shumlin's 11 percent.
• Independents favor Shumlin 43 percent to Brock's 39 percent.
• Men favor Brock 49 percent to Shumlin's 38 percent.
• Women favor Shumlin 56 percent to Brock's 34 percent.
• 59 percent of those surveyed have a favorable opinion of Shumlin, while 35 percent have an unfavorable opinion. Six percent say they don't know enough about him to say one way or the other.
• 50 percent have a favorable opinion of Brock, while 29 percent have an unfavorable opinion. 21 percent say they don't know enough about Brock to say.

Okay, now that we've thrown a bunch of numbers at you, let's take a step back and look at a few reasons you should be skeptical of this survey.

UPDATED: Vermonters First Dives into Debate Over Queen City Ballot Question

Updated below with details of a Burlington City Hall press conference Mayor Miro Weinberger called Saturday afternoon to refute Vermonters First’s claims.

First they supported statewide candidates. Then they tackled legislative races. Now Vermonters First, the big-spending, conservative super PAC, is going local.

The group's latest mailer, which reached Burlington homes Saturday, targets a Queen City ballot item.

"Vote no on question 1. Say no to new debt," it reads. "A tax increase is not a fresh start."

That line appears to be a dig at Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger, who promised a "fresh start" during his successful mayoral campaign last winter. Weinberger has championed the $9 million ballot question, which seeks to refinance short-term borrowing made necessary by the Burlington Telecom fiasco with long-term bonding.

The ballot item requires two-thirds support from Burlington voters Nov. 6 in order to pass.

Thirteen of the city's 14 city councilors support it. Its sole opponent, Republican Paul Decelles, tells Seven Days he worked with Vermonters First treasurer and consultant Tayt Brooks on the super PAC's new mailer.

"We definitely talked about it," Decelles says. "They ran some things by us and we ran some things by them."

Decelles says he can't quite recall whose idea the mailer was. He says he's in close touch with Brooks, with whom he worked closely when Brooks managed former Republican city councilor Kurt Wright's mayoral campaign against Weinberger. Decelles says he sees no problem with a super PAC delving into municipal politics.

"I see no issue with it," he says. "I don't necessarily have issues with super PACs in general trying to spread their message."

Weinberger certainly does.

Super Scoreboard: This Week's Winners and Losers

It's been quite a week. Between Superstorm Sandy and a looming election, there was no shortage of news.

So this week we bring you an expanded edition of The Scoreboard. And, somewhat unusually, we've found way more winners than losers.

Here's the list for the week of Friday, Nov. 2:

Winners:

Vermont — Fourteen months after Tropical Storm Irene, Vermont would've had a tough time taking another direct weather hit. We're thankful Sandy mostly passed us by — and we're thinking of our friends in New Jersey, New York and elsewhere in the eye of the storm.

Green Mountain Power — Vermont's dominant power company faced its first major test since gobbling up CVPS earlier this year — and it passed with flying colors. GMP secured out-of-state (and -country) line-workers early, turned the lights back for 29,000 customers by 7:30 Tuesday morning (eventually 48,000 within 48 hours), and then sent its line-workers down south to help harder-hit states. A job well done.

The Media — With Irene in mind, Vermont news outlets took Sandy seriously and worked hard to get good information out quickly. The Burlington Free Press, Rutland Herald and Barre-Montpelier Times Argus dropped their online paywalls, Vermont Public Radio produced special coverage Monday night and the state's TV stations flooded the zone.

Bill and Lou — The Green Mountain College oxen got a temporary reprieve after hippies freaked out.

Doug Hoffer — The Democratic/Progressive state auditor candidate produced the best ad of the election season this week. And he managed to make a serious point about the influence of money in politics without sounding like a Debbie Downer. As of this writing, more than 3000 people have watched the video on YouTube (and likely many more on Vimeo). But because it won't see the light of day on TV, most folks who haven't made up their mind probably won't get a chance to see it.

Phil Scott — The Republican lieutenant governor burnished his bipartisan bona fides this week by attaching himself to Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin during the state's response to Sandy. Then he spoke out against a negative ad produced by Sen. Randy Brock, his party's gubernatorial nominee. Like Republican state auditor candidate Vince Illuzzi, he's done an effective job of distancing himself from the more extreme elements of his party.

Brattleboro — More jobs and more yogurt. Everybody wins!

M. Dickey Drysdale — As first reported by Green Mountain Daily, the conservative super PAC Vermonters First recently bought two quarter-page ads in the Herald of Randolph attacking Rep. Sarah Buxton (D-Tunbridge). But because he "deplores" super PACs, Herald editor Dickey Drysdale donated the $504 payment from Vermonters First to the Randolph Area Food Shelf. Talk about leading by example.

Gene Bergman — One of two Progressives running for a two-member House district in Burlington's Old North End, Bergman took part in a debate I moderated last night featuring local candidates for the House and Senate. In one of his answers, Bergman took the unusual step of bashing the moderator for writing a weekly blog feature calling out the week's winners and losers. Ballsy move. You, sir, are definitely a winner!

Losers after the break...

Weinberger to Robocall Burlington Households in Support of Ballot Questions

Call it a Mirobocall.

On Sunday, almost every land line in Burlington will get a pre-recorded call from Mayor Miro Weinberger urging them to vote yes on three ballot items next Tuesday, and inviting them to participate in a "telephone town hall" about the initiatives.

The robocall, which will go out to roughly 10,000 phone numbers, is part of a $17,000 campaign to win support for three ballot questions that go to Burlington voters on Election Day: a $9 million "fiscal stability bond" that requires a difficult-to-achieve two-thirds majority to pass; and two initiatives to improve and repair waterfront instrastructure, which can each pass with simply majorities.

The campaign, organized by a group called the Partnership for Burlington's Future, is not advocating for passage of a fourth ballot question: a nonbinding referendum on legalizing marijuana and hemp products.

Seven months into his administration, Weinberger is making a strong push for approval of plans that define the direction in which he wants to take the city and that will act as a gauge of his political standing. Weinberger and his supporters have scheduled a rally for passage on Sunday evening at Club Metronome with the Dave Grippo Funk Band and DJ Craig Mitchell providing the tunes.

So who's bankrolling the Partnership for Burlington's Future?