(Host) A weekly newspaper’s informal survey of 30 people around the Statehouse continues to play a controversial role in Vermont’s gubernatorial campaign.
In another advertisement out this week, Republican candidate Brian Dubie cites the survey to question the character of his Democratic opponent Peter Shumlin.
But as VPR’s John Dillon reports, some lawmakers who took the survey say they thought it was just a joke.
(Dillon) A key charge in the latest Dubie ad campaign against Shumlin comes from a unscientific survey conducted by Seven Days newspaper last spring.
Senator Dick Mazza took the survey. He’s a moderate Democrat from Chittenden and Grand Isle who’s clashed with Shumlin on a number of issues. And he says lawmakers and lobbyists answered the questions over lunch one day – as a joke.
(Mazza) "There was no seriousness to that at all. I believe that if the survey would have been of a serious nature, on serious issues, people would have filled it out. I’ve been very disappointed that’s been used in an ad. I’m very disappointed it’s been a matter of, a topic of conversation."
(Dillon) Four hundred surveys were distributed to lawmakers, lobbyists and journalists.
About 30 were returned, and 12 people gave Shumlin a dubious award for ethics.
The charge resurfaces in a new ad and website launched this week by the Dubie campaign.
But Dick Mazza says Shumlin led the Senate with integrity. And he faults the newspaper for publishing the survey and the Dubie campaign for distorting the results.
(Mazza) "And to have that label, a bunch of people getting together basically as a joke. It should not be used as an issue at all. Peter Shumlin is not one person to be labeled as unethical. We may disagree, we may not like his style, but unethical is not a word I would use."
(Dillon) The Dubie campaign says the newspaper survey was valid because Seven Days wouldn’t have published it if it wasn’t. Kate Duffy is a Dubie spokeswoman.
(Duffy) "We believe these are very important issues. The lieutenant governor believes that character counts and that Vermonters should be able to trust whoever is in the governor’s office."
(Dillon) The four Democrats who lost to Shumlin in the close primary also held a news conference to call on Dubie to focus on issues, not negative ads.
But with the election just 10 days away, viewers can expect the ad campaign to intensify.
For VPR News, I’m John Dillon in Montpelier.
(Host) Seven Days has stood by its survey, saying that it has the potential to be informative, illuminating and entertaining.