(Host) The two Democrats running for secretary of state have very different ideas about the role of the office.
The disagreement is whether a secretary of state should get involved in policy discussions about election issues with the Legislature.
VPR’s Bob Kinzel reports.
(Kinzel) When lawmakers consider campaign finance reform legislation or a bill to implement instant run-off voting for statewide races, is it appropriate for the secretary of state to take a public position on these controversial issues at the Statehouse?
The answer to this question is one of the main differences between the two candidates who are seeking the Democratic nomination for secretary of state.
On one side is Charlie Merriman. He’s a former assistant attorney general who’s spent a lot of time working on municipal issues.
Speaking on VPR’s Democratic secretary of state debate, Merriman said it’s wrong for this office to offer policy opinions because he’s concerned that the opinions could be driven more by partisan politics than thoughtful policy.
(Merriman) "The office is a service office. It has specific statutory functions that it needs to discharge. And when it comes to perhaps the most important statutory function, overseeing elections, it is axiomatic that the office has to be apolitical. And that apolitical characteristic of the office permeates all the other functions that are served by that office as well."
(Kinzel) Not so, says Jim Condos – the other Democrat running for secretary of state. Condos served in the Vermont Senate for eight years and chaired the Senate Government Operations committee.
He agrees that the secretary of state’s office deals with important professional regulatory issues. But.
(Condos) "It is also has to follow the policy and the secretary of state should be involved in the development of that policy, because they’re the ones that have to implement it. So if the secretary of state is going to implement changes to elections or office of professional regulation or corporations, they should be involved in those discussions with the Legislature as to what works, what doesn’t work, how much it’s going to cost, what various measures will be to the office."
(Kinzel) Merriman and Condos do agree on their top priority for the office. Both candidates say they want to launch efforts to encourage more young people to vote.
For VPR News, I’m Bob Kinzel in Montpelier