WESTMINSTER WEST — I'm supporting Bill Sorrell for attorney general in the Aug. 28 primary, and I hope you will too.
It's possible to quarrel with parts of Sorrell's long record, but by and large he has done an able job, especially in defending Vermont law from corporate challenge.
I don't fault Sorrell for Judge Murtha's decision in the Vermont Yankee case. Murtha's reasoning has left many scratching their heads, and there's good reason to believe it will be overturned by the court of appeals. Sorrell knows that case inside out. What's more, he has long experience dealing with Entergy. He's taken their measure.
Contrast this with Sorrell's challenger, T.J. Donovan. In public statements, Donovan has implied that he doesn't believe in the constitutionality of Vermont's case and perhaps doesn't believe that states have a right to push the legal envelope.
This is troubling. Vermont stands in opposition to many policies taken by the federal government. We need an attorney general who believes in our right to push for change.
More troubling, Donovan has repeatedly talked about “working with” companies like Entergy. It shouldn't be news to anyone in Vermont that that's been tried! Agreements have been crafted and signed, only to be breached the moment Entergy found them inconvenient. We can't afford an attorney general this naive.
Most troubling of all is Donovan's implication that Sorrell failed to work with the Legislature to craft the Yankee and campaign finance laws. Simply untrue, and a serious candidate should know that. To my certain knowledge, Donovan has been informed of his error, yet he continues to repeat the implication.
So because the incumbent has done a good job, and because his opponent has raised substantial doubts about himself in my mind, I'm voting for Bill Sorrell. I also want to thank him for the work he's put in on the Yankee case, and wish him the best of luck on appeal.