12-NOVEMBER 29, 1986/VANGUARO PRESS

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One such combination landed at th~North
Creek Condominiums residence of O,:",se Per-
raudin, an ERA supporter with a sticker on
the door saying so. A friend, Evelyn Biddie,
says Perraudin was busy and so she called
mith headquarters.
"There was a scream on the other end of the
phone when they found out," aocordln~ to
Biddle, who adds that even though she IS not
voting for the candidate, "I only made the call
to protect Peter Smith." Biddle doubts that
Perraudin's home was the only one targeted,
"when there's 200 condos out there. The
point is that Peter Smith' people did ~ot .
know that this was going on. I beheve Inmce
dean campaigns and I think this isdirty pool."
Perraudin identifies the leafleter as 34year
old Michael Codding, a resident of the same
condo complex who isactive inRepublican cir-
des. Codding, amember of both the Essex and
Chittenden County Repubhcan Committees,
acknowledges distributing the antiERA and
mith brochures simultaneously to "quite a
few" Essex homes. Coddingsays hevolunteered
to hand out literature for both the ERA I nfer-
mation Committee and the Smith campaign.
Asked if the two brochures were folded
together as Perraudin reports, Coddingadmits,
"They were together." But Codding says he
heard of no complaints until contacted by a
reporter. When told Smith an?,pro ERA force;;
were upset, Codding asked, then why didn t
t h ey call m e? "
Some ERA supporters wish that Smith,
who is on record in support of the ERA, had
publicly disavowed any connection with the
antiERA forces and denounced the dirty trick.
"We heard indirectly that he did not know
about it and ,.,ould not have approved it,"
says Nedene Martin of the Vermont Coalition
for the Equal Rights Amendment. "But we
were hoping that when he heard about it a.lot
of noise would be made. I t makes I t look hke
Peter Smith is against the ERA." Martin as-
sesses Smith's stance as, "When asked, he
says he supports it, but when not asked, he
d o es n ' t b r i n g it u p ."
The depth of Smith's support for the ERA
is also criticized from other quarters. I n an
interview with Vermont Woman, a monthly
newspaper preparing to issue agubernatorial
endorsement, Smith equivocated, according
to Editor Rickey Gard Diamond, who explained,
"We noted that he wasn't going to stick his
neck out."
The Republican party's platform conven-
tion- which cooservatives packed while many
main- line Republicans stayed home-had just
voted to remove the ERA plank that had been
a GOP feature since 1981.
Diamond says Smith begged off with the
explanation that "he had to work with people
in the party. We said, 'Well, what happened
on Saturday, Peter?' He laughed, because
oddly enough he wasn't at the Republican
convention. He was at the NOW conference
[a meeting of the National Organization for
Women held inVermootthe sameday1assuring
attendants that he was confident that the ERA
would pass that day. And he was wrong.'
A group of Republican women, including
several state legislators, held a news confer-
ence the following Monday to criticize the de-
mise of the ERA plank. "And quite frankly,"
says Diamond, "we were disappointed that
Peter wasn't willing to do the same sort of
outspoken thing."

B y A n d y P o tte r
stumbling along the
campaign trail
During a live debate on Green Mountain
Cablevision this week, a telephone caller asked
for Smith's reactionto the alleged flyer incident.
"I bave never heard of a confinned report,"
Smith said. He suggested it was a matter of
dirty tricks from "overzealous people inanother
campaign tr ying to hang o ne o n me ."
Later, Smithangrily responded toa reporter's
question about the complaints from Martin
and Diamond. "They know me better than
that. I think what's happening is that in both
cases they support my opponent and they're
trying to create an issue in the last week of
the campaign." Smith also asserted, "Y outake
a look and you've got more antiERA people
voting for Madeleine Kunin than you do Peter
Smith. Read the polls. This is utter nonsense."
Given that both Kunin and Sanders count
themselves as strong ERA supporters, Smith,
whose party opted to withdraw its support,
"may back off a bit," notes political scientist
Garrison Nelson of the University of Vermont.
"He cannot do so publicly because that, in
fact, would backfire. But he can make it known
in a subtle fashion that he would probably be
the least pro-ERA of the three."
During the Vennont Woman interview, Smith
flubbed a question about teenage pregnancy,
Diamond claims. "He didn't have any clear
idea how to address this problem. He gave lip
service to believing it was fairly important,
but at the same time said he wasn't at all sure
that public education was the way to go. We
asked, if push carne to shove, would these be
programs [pregnancy and women's health.
related programs1you would withdraw support
from? He said 'no' because they don't cost that
much. But at the same time we we.'e not con-
ineed of his commitment to those kinds of pro-
v ms either and what we need is real leader-
grhap"Smi th ~kindof waltzed around" the rest of
smn, . d Id "I t
t h e i n t er vi ew, Diamon co n e u es . was
pretty clear to us that he had not spent agr~at
deal of time preparing for the questions whl~
were sent out to him well ahead [of time).
Sanders was also invited for an mtervle~
but "ended up standing us up Wlthout apology.
Sanders later responded inwnting, and accord-
ing to Diamond, "has a very strong record on
women's issues." Not surprisingly, Diamond
co nce de s, Vermont W~mangav~.ltsendo~~e.
ment this week to Kunin for her mas~~ry. of
women's issues and her comnutment, which
is refreshing to see in a woman candidate for
whom many times it makes political sense to
back away from those issues. She did not."
Kunin's trouble is traced at least Inpart to a
big stumble in which she was forced to admit
that, contrary to her d~nial, a deal had been
made to get rid of the highly unpoP,ul~ direc-
tor of the Agriculture Department s dI VI SI O~
of marketing and promotion. Barbara Monti
had been persuaded to resign quietly in ~e~
for a $25,000 consulting contract. Kunin s
gesture to set the record straight came on the
heels of a front-page account of the matter in
the Rutland Herald. A crisis of confidence
had been created, which Smith hoped to make
into a crisis of credibility. .
Did Kunin lie about it? "Y ou bet she did,"
Smith replied to a reporter, employing the
same question-and-answer cadence that punc-
tuates his campaign ads: "Does it really make
a difference who's governor of Vermont?
Y ou bet it does."
But Smith encountered his own credibility
problem when reporters compared his cam-
paign positions with his record over the past
four years as lieutenant governor. Srmth has
been pledging "no mandates without money,"
promising to veto any bill that carries a cost to
local government not covered by state funding.
Smith later admitted that the state can't pay
for everything that emanates from Montpelier.
And Smith had been unclear on his stance on
a measure sponsored in the House that would
have required what he now urges-state
reimbursement for state- mandated programs.
Smith explained that the bill never made it
to the Senate floor, where he presided. For
that matter, the proposal never made it into
his current campaign platform. It was also
noted that at one point Smith supported man-
datory kindergarten and advocated, then later
abandoned, a statewide tax on commercial
property to fund additional state aid to edu-
cation. A statewide property tax is now the
cornerstone of the agenda he accuses Kunin
of planning. The Free Press and the Herald
both printed editorials this week taking Smith
to task for the apparent discrepancies.
S
anders' campaign is in much worse
trouble, having fizzled at the starting
line. The self-styled socialist mayor
of Burlington had hedged for months
on whether or not he would make the race,
having told reporters he would do so only if
he could demonstrate the ability to raise at
least $180,000 and mobilize a statewide coali-
tion of the working poor, the unemployed, the
elderly, labor union members, teachers, women
and the handicapped. Sanders' plan was to
bring in elements of the peace and environ-
mental movements under the banner of the
Vermont Rambow CoahtlDn, whose leading
activist, Ellen David-Friedman, would serve
as Sanders' campaign chairman.
It all came unglued when David-Friedman
announced she was leaving to concentrate on
local legislative races, and Sanders announced
that he was reluctantly closing his Montpelier
campaign office, laying off 10 paid staffers
andmoving intomorespartan quarters ablock
away from his home hase at Burlington City
Hall. Sanders also said he was dropping his
"grassroots" effort to sign up 30,000 new
voters and instead would rely on personal
appearances and news conferences.
Money was the reason. Sanders had trou-
bleraising it, he explained, because you can't
expect himto receive the same financial infu-
sion enjoyed by Democrats and Republicans
who can tap rich friends, corporations and
political action committees. Sanders last re-
ported raising $47,500-a little more than a
tenth of the treasury raised by each of his
rivals.
Frequent Sanders critic Murray Bookchin,
a Burlington-based radical political theorist,
blames Sanders for failing to run an "edu-
cational" campaign that might help the poor
help themselves. "One has the impression
that if he ever gets into the Statehouse, he
will sort of beneficently take care of their
affairsand handle their problems. It's all going
to depend on good old Bernie."
An equally critical assessment comes from
former campaign manager David-Friedman
andVermont Rainbowactivist DavidDellinger,
writing in the September-October issue of a
newsletter published by the New Y ork City-
based National Committee for Independent
Political Action.
"Wehave found, intrying toraise the funds
necessary for the campaign," they wrote, "that
thetraditional sources for liberal causes were
wary of this independent challenge. Others
with financial resources or organizing skills
have held back because of [Sanders'] reputa-
tion for a lack of political accountability ... "
Furthermore, "Amongst liberals, the fear has
grown that Bernie will end up serving as a
' spoi l er ' r at her t han a wi nner ."
By late September, Smith had tossed aside
his initial low-key approach and gotten tough,
charging that Kunin harbors secret plans for
a statewide property tax and state land use
planning. Smith has tried to wrap himself
tightly in the old Vermont political cloak of
"local control."
Kunin denied the accusations, stopping just
short of accusing Smith of lying. "Pure fabri-
cation on his part, and he knows it is pure
fabrication," she countercharged, interrupting
a day of campaigning for a news conference
called on such short notice that no television
camera crews showed up.
The exchange set the tone for October's tele-
viseddebates and other forums, where observ-
ers agree that Sanders looked good above the
fray. The usually rumpled Sanders has been
dressing up incoat and tie for most campaign
appearances.
"Bernie has won the debates," observes
Nelson. "He is the one with the greatest pres-
ence,thegreatest persona. Hehascomethrough
withaclear agenda that's easy to understand.
Y ouknow, cutting peoples' property taxes is
a wonderful gesture, people are delighted
about that. And certainly Vermonters are not
wildabout the millionaires intheir midst who
comeand go as they please and lopoff the top
of a mountain for their rather sumpluous
hom es."
By the final week of the campaign, most
observers believe that Kunin's predicament
Withthe Barbara Monti affair has blown over.
"I can't imagine people being more bored by
something," maintains state Representative
Karen "Micque" Glitrnan, aprogressive Bur-
lington Democrat who backs Kunin. Unlike
the stir created by last year's forced resigna-
tion of then-Administration Secretary Arthur
Ristau, awell-known veteran of state govern-
ment who fell from favor for telling off-color
jokesabout women, "nooneknew who Barbara
Monti was. Who cares? It was big yawn."
Fonner Republican Governor Deane Davis
remarks the Monti affair "hurt her temporarily;
[don't think it's a lasting thing." Davis' Dern-
ocralic successor, Thomas Salmon, acknowl-
edges "there's no way it can be helpful, but
it's not a truly major factor in the campaign."
Still, the Monti affair brought serious reper-
cussions, according to political analyst Nelson.
"The press corps, which had been supportive
of Kuninandgivenher aprolonged'honeymoon'
for more than a year and a half," Nelson ob-
served, "started taking her to task, started
to scrutinize her statements with a degree of
care which they hadn't taken before. And
Kunin's campaign organization, which had
been semi-dormant, came under scrutiny
and it became quite clear to people that there
really was no Kunin organization of the size
. and dimension of previous years. Soit became
clear," he continued, "that there was some
vulnerability, and this changed the game as
far as Peter Smith was concerned."
Smith, meanwhile, had junked his original
image-building television ads launched last
spring showing the candidate out on Lake
Champlain onaferry boat or eating icecream,
Nelson notes Smith "decided to go after her
now and not to wait until 1988, not to accumu-
latepoints for afuturecandidacy for governor,"
as Kunin herself did during her first losing
bid against incumbent Richard Snelling in
1982, arace shelater credited with helping set
the stage for victory two years later. So Smith
relegated the soft ads to the trash bin inorder
to "really come out swinging with ads chal-
lenging her trust, her reliability," says Nelson.
Nelson warns, however, that Smith's latest
strategy, in which he sheds his "nice guy"
image, runs the risk of backfiring. "Should he
lose, then it's not quite Peter Smith's turnin
1988, and he may come under fire in some
Republican quarters that he may have cam-
paignedtoovigorously,andthereby cost Repub-
licans a shot."
Dogging Kunin throughout her first re-elec-
tioncampaign istheperception by many know-
1edgeab~eofficials that she failed to appoint
the best and the brightest to the top posts in
state government. J erome Kelley, Barbara
Monti's predecessor at the Agriculture Depart-
ment under the administration of Richard
Snelling, claims the department is riddled
withincompetenceat thetopand that theMonti
affair isjust the tip of the iceberg.
Kelley, an outspoken eighth-generation
Vermonter who gained notoriety for success-
ful promotions like the 1984 gourmet food
exhibit at Bloomingdale's in New Y ork City,
resigned in a huff over Kunin's appointment
of Orwell dairy fanner Paul Stone as Agricul-
ture Commissioner. Stone had lived in Ver-
montfor only 10years and, accordingto Kelley,
"did not have a decent grip onthe total scope
of Vermont agriculture. He didn't know the
principal players, didn't know the politics and
surrounded himself with people who knew
even less."
Kelley faults Kunin for ignoring clear signs
of trouble. "Early on, when she was getting
complaints-and believe me, they had plenty
over there from every segment of the fann
community -she didn't address herself to the
thing until this whole Barbara Monti affair
blew up inher face. Monti never should have
been in that job," Kelley claims, still angry.
"She had no experience. How the hell do you
bend job specs to get her in? Because she was
a friend of Stone's wife, which they lieabout
outright in the press?"
Kelley predicts a backlash against Kunin
without regard to party politics. "I don't think
by-and-large you can say the farm commu-
nity is Democratic or Republican. If you take
Franklin County, there's more Democratic
farmers up there, probably nine-to-one. Those
people are totally pissed off with this whole
situation. Go to [predominantly Republican]
Addison County and it's the same way."
Some Kunin supporters explain Kelley's
bitterness by noting hewas due to bereplaced
by the new regime.
Additional trouble couldplague Kunin over
economic, environmental and law enforcement
issues. A charge that Kunin ignored econom-
ically-depressed Franklin County was leveled
by fanner Democratic County Chairman J ac-
ques Nadeau, who enlisted his efforts inPeter
Smith's behalf. A petition callingfor reinstate-
ment of the death penalty following the mur-
der of St. Albans restaurant owner Steve
Lawrence, who was knifed todeath for saying
the "wrong" thing to a deranged shoplifter,
garnered 35,000 signatures statewide. But
Nadeau claims that "Madeleine ignored that
completely."
Fonner Chittenden County Sheriff Earl
"Buzzy" McLaughlintheorizes that Kunin"will
lose the law enforcement vote" over her order
prohibiting the Vermont State Police from
using the "come-along" hold on protesters
whoget themselves arrested at peaceful demon-
strations. Last week, 26 police chiefs, state
troopers andsheriffs deputies endorsed Smith,
who has advocated minimum mandatory sen-
tences for convicted murderers and immedi-
ate l i cense suspensi ons for dr unken dr i ver s.
In Rutland County, state Senator Gilbert
Godnick, aconservative Democrat, says Kunin
could be hurt by her strong support for tough
clean water standards, whichhave comeunder
repeated attack from the ski resort industry.
"Y ougotta remember that the businesspeople
here have a tremendous number of peopk
who work for them, and relatives of people,
and definitely it's going to have some effect,
says Godnick.
m
helher Smith or Sanders can gain
ground by attacking Kunin's flanks
depends largely on how their own
perceived images of "preppie" and
"radical" play with the voters. Both take their
lumps from some of the same quarters. Con-
servative Republican J ohn McClaughry of
Kirby, himself a candidate for state Senate
from Caledonia County, notes that Smith "is
not a well known quantity up here," and as
recently as six months ago was seen as "sort
of a political operator, a hatcher of schemes,
VANGUARD PRESS/NOVEMBER 2-9, 1986-13
but not a man who would step into the gov-
ernor's chair and lead the state .... But oncehe
seized the party's banner and went off tocorn-
bat, I think everybody will tell you on the
Republican side, that Peter's really grown up
in a hurry."
Of Sanders, McClaughry says, "Hehas pro-
jected a leadership image and if he had any
progam other than the one he has, he would
be a very serious candidate."
As evidence that conservatives have no
darling this time, Godnick calls Smith "a
nice young gentleman, probably as liberal as
Madeleine is, maybe more." Godnick pre-
dicts Sanders will get "12 to 15percent of the
vote, withall the promises he's madeto people,
which I personally know he'll never beable to
fulfill."
Sanders is expected to cut into Kunin's
vote in the city of Burlington, a place both
call home and where both have appealed to
the same constituencies. Glitman predicts that
Sanders will have trouble gaining more than
his base support of city progressives. But
Glitman expects Sanders will take morevotes
fromSmiththanfromKuninoutsideChittenden
County. "I think Bernie really does appeal to
conservative Y ankee Republicans in a way
that Peter Smith can't. Smith's image is a bit
more preppie and I just don't see farmers in
Franklin County going for it."
Fonner Governor SalmoncallsSanders "very
articulate; he's a show-person. As they said
about [fanner Alabama Senator] George Wal-
lace, 'you know where he stands.' He'll play
much better in his own backyard."
Salmon believes Kunin should have been
much quicker to launch acounteroffensive to
Smith's campaign attacks on her credibility.
"If I were in her situation, 1would become
more aggressive much sooner because Peter,
a young man with a good deal of talent, has
run arather bizarre campaign onher so-called
'bidden agenda.' It's really afascinating ploy.
I don't think it will beparticularly successful."
J
ust how does Kunin measure up? os.
servers generally give high marks on
style, with reservations about her ad-
ministrative ability. Salmon calls her
"one of the best extemporaneous speakers
I've met in the world of politics, but she has
not had significant experience inthe manage-
ment of alarge organization,like fanner Gov-
ernor Richard Snelling, for instance."
Fonner Governor Davis agrees that Kunin
"has shown an extraordinary ability to grasp
the issues of the day and to take sides and be
articulate about them. But 1do not think she
has yet developed theskillsof administration."
Smith, says Davis, "has the maturity to do
the job. I think his problem isthat perhaps the
image of him is still one of a young ern-
sader. ..and in Vermont, historically, we feel
that if a person does afairly good job they
should be returned for a second term.'
In Nelson' opinion, "Kunin has enough gas
in the engine to get through the re-election.
But the problem is going to be governance.
Some of the people who have felt slighted by
her administration-this includes a number
of conservative Democrats-are not going to
be quite as sympathetic to her for this second
term, The basicproblemwith beinggovernor,"
says Nelson, "isthat youstart offwth aflourish,
alot of popularity, ahoneymoon, and youlose
power over time. Y our friends drop off and
your enemies accumulate."