Business PAC spending draws ire in council race

With less than a week to go before South Burlington’s City Council elections, the entrance of a political action committee into the fray has stirred criticism and has renewed conversations around campaign finance in the city.

Running for city council has become an increasingly expensive endeavor in South Burlington, with campaign contributions and spending topping out over $15,000 in some cases. This year is no different.

Six candidates are vying for the council’s three open seats. Council Chair Helen Riehle and vice chair Meghan Emery announced that they would be stepping down, while Councilor Larry Kupferman, who replaced former councilor Tyler Barnes, is not seeking reelection.

Planning commissioner Laurie Smith and former 2022 council candidate Linda Bailey are competing for the three-year term vacated by Riehle, while Mike Scanlan, Julian Keenan and Lydia Diamond are competing for Emery’s two-year seat.

Elizabeth Fitzgerald, meanwhile, is running unopposed for the two-year seat that was vacated by Barnes in October. Barring a write-in campaign, she will likely take over the remaining year of that term.

According to campaign disclosure reports filed with the Vermont Secretary of State, more than $12,000 has been raised by the five candidates. Lydia Diamond does not have any reports filed with the state, and Elizabeth Fitzgerald said she has “neither solicited nor accepted any contributions to date” and doesn’t plan to “for the balance of my campaign.”

Contributions to the other four candidates are as follows:

• Smith reported nearly $5,000 in contributions, including donations from Riehle ($200) and Chalnick ($103). Of that amount, $1,000 from contributions totaled less than $100.

• Scanlan reported $3,410 in contributions, including a $1,000 contribution from Roeland Groeneveld, a co-founder of OnLogic. Of that amount, $1,310 came from donations that were less than $100.

• Keenan reported $1,696.68 in contributions. Of that amount, $526.24 came from donations that totaled less than $100.

• Bailey reported $3,700 in contributions, including a $1,000 donation from Groeneveld. Of that amount, $700 came from donations that were less than $100.

Nearly all their cash has been spent on media and various advertisements — be it yard signs, or advertisements in The Other Paper.

But one advertisement, paid for by the South Burlington Business Association’s political action committee, drew immediate backlash. The association’s board of directors, he said, has endorsed Bailey, Scanlan and Fitzgerald for council.

The PAC paid for advertisements first endorsing Bailey, then also for Fitzgerald and Scanlan.

Fitzgerald said she was unaware the PAC endorsed her. Scanlan also said that he was not aware of the advertisement and "did not ask SBBA for its endorsement."

The PAC operates an independent expenditure-only PAC, which means it conducts its activities “entirely independent of candidates” and “does not give contributions to candidates, political committees, or political parties.” It was first formed in April 2023.

According to campaign finance disclosure forms filed this month, the PAC has more than $20,500 in funds on hand. The PAC has received $10,000 in contributions from On Logic, the computer hardware company based near Technology Park. It’s also received cash contributions from Neville Investments, Spear Meadows Inc, MSK Consulting, Geri Reilly Real Estate and from the ReArch Company, a South Burlington-based construction company.

City councilor Andrew Chalnick, who won election to the council in last year’s elections, said that the PAC’s financing “is potentially enough money to control our election and degrade our democracy.”

“What is the mission and purpose of the SBBA PAC?  Is it to benefit the corporate profits of a handful of mega-donors?” he said.

The business association’s PAC has spent nearly $7,000 — mostly on advertisements like the one endorsing Bailey, but also on consulting fees for Meadow Hill, a lobbying firm run by former South Burlington city councilor Matt Cota.

Cota stepped down from the council last year.

In a statement, Cota, speaking as a member of the South Burlington Business Association, said that the organization decided to take the “provocative” step of establishing a PAC “with a broader purpose in mind: to transparently communicate the association’s objectives and mission to the public.”

“The driving force behind the PAC is the shared vision of its members — to cultivate a thriving and inclusive community in South Burlington,” he said. “Recognizing the multifaceted challenges facing the city, from workforce development to affordability, the South Burlington Business Association believes that sustainable solutions hinge on expanding the tax base, fostering economic opportunities, and bolstering housing availability.”

Bailey, in a statement, said she was “very happy to receive the endorsement of the South Burlington Business Association” but added that she had “no knowledge that ads or mailings would occur until I received them in the mail” and did not know of the “political action committee’s plans in this or other campaigns.”

She likened the criticism to an “attack campaign” started by “some of my opponent’s friends and donors.”

“I want my campaign to bring people together and empower all members of our community, so I haven’t, and I won’t engage with negative campaigning,” she said. “I see that South Burlington has a need for a balanced approach to leadership, and that our community could be better united through a more open and transparent city council.”

The entrance of a political action committee into South Burlington’s elections is not new. In 2020, the Citizens for an Affordable South Burlington, Inc., encouraged residents to vote down the school district’s proposed $209.6 million bond article for a new joint middle/high school and athletic complex, according to previous reporting in The Other Paper.

And, in 2022, the Voices of the Environment, a “grassroots group of South Burlington residents concerned about the world that we are leaving to future generations,” formed a political action committee that spent more than $8,000 in various media and advertising expenses and endorsed candidates Emery and Tim Barritt.

Chalnick and Smith are among a group of residents counted among the organization’s supporters listed on its website.

Chalnick said that a comparison between Voices of the Environment’s political action committee and the one started by the South Burlington Business Association “would be inapt” and said the environmental organization “was mostly about the residents, and much less about money.”

“(Voices of the Environment) was funded by modest contributions from many individual residents across the city,” he said. “It was to get across a message of protecting water, air and open space. Its message and mission were clear on its website. It polled all the candidates and posted the responses.”

Cota said that through the business association’s PAC, its members “have a platform to advocate” for their ideals “openly and responsibly.”

“The goal is to spark meaningful conversations within the community, moving South Burlington toward a future that embraces growth, resilience, and prosperity for all residents, businesses and visitors,” he said.

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Updated Sunday, March 3, 2024, to include Michael Scanlan's response to a question about the SBBA endorsement and advertisement.