Gaye Symington

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gaye Symington has been on the attack this week, assailing on Thursday incumbent Gov. Jim Douglas (R-Middlebury) for his policies related to the Vermont Yankee nuclear power facility, while proposing some of her own.

At a press conference Thursday afternoon, Symington, the state House speaker, hammered the governor for what she claimed was a failure to provide adequate oversight of  Vermont Yankee. She then outlined her own set of initiatives for dealing with the aging power plant should she be elected governor in November.

Symington claimed that Douglas' oversight was "weak" and that "Vermonters are not being well served."

Gov. Jim Douglas' re-election campaign fired back Tuesday against Democratic challenger Gaye Symington's recently released television ad, claiming that a headline used in the clip is from a letter to the editor and is used in a way that suggests the headline is from a news report.  

Four seconds into Symington's ad is a shot of a newspaper clipping with a headline that reads "Douglas Hinders Yankee Review," and the date beneath it. The headline is taken from a July 24 letter to the editor written by Mary Field Belenky to the Rutland Herald. 

The Douglas camp claims that Belenky is a supporter of Symington and noted the letter is very similar to the "sample letter" found on Vermont Yankee Decommissioning Alliance's web site.  

"The Symington campaign is so desperate for traction that they will say anything," said Dennise Casey, campaign manager for Douglas. "This citation is blatantly misleading and misrepresents Rutland Herald reporters and editorial page writers. Gaye Symington should be embarrassed by this."

Michael Carrese, communications director for the Symington campaign, countered that the message conveyed in the video clip is true and completely accurate, citing several newspaper articles that enforced his claim.

Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas: Politicker PhotoLess than 50 days are left until the general election, and a WCAX poll from Tuesday offers a glimpse of how Vermonters are feeling about the gubernatorial candidates.

Republican incumbent Gov. Jim Douglas is in the lead with 48 percent of the vote. He's trailed by Democratic challenger Gaye Symington, the state House speaker who garnered 33 percent of the vote, and Independent candidate Anthony Pollina, who was the choice of 7 percent of voters. Twelve percent of Vermonters remain undecided.

Though Douglas holds a 13-point lead over Symington, he is still three points shy of commanding the majority of votes he needs to win.

U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton: Getty Images PhotoState House Speaker Gaye Symington had some weighty support thrown behind her campaign Monday as U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) endorsed the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.

Clinton flouted the speaker's recently unveiled initiatives on issues such as energy and education, as well as Symington's leadership skills as reason for the junior senator's support.

"Gaye Symington is the only candidate in the race who has laid out comprehensive plans to grow Vermont's economy by developing renewable energy sources, creating good green jobs, and building a skilled workforce through quality, affordable education," Clinton said in a statement.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gaye Symington will attend the Democratic National Convention in Denver next week, her campaign said Friday.

Symington (D-Jericho) will use the convention to fortify her connections to the national party and other sympathetic interest groups present in Denver.

At the convention, the state House speaker will attend events sponsored by Emily's List - an independent political group committed to getting Democratic women elected - the Democratic Governor's Association and the Women's Campaign Forum. 

Symington will be at the convention from Monday through Wednesday where she plans to talk to press and write about her reactions to the convention on her campaign website, the campaign said.

Symington is not a Vermont delegate; she plans to be back in the Green Mountain State when U.S. Sen. Barack Obama is expected to accept the presidential nomination on Thursday.

Democrat Gaye Symington's gubernatorial campaign is calling a number of attack ads released by her Republican opponent "false" and "inaccurate."

Symington's (D-Jericho) campaign released a statement Wednesday saying Gov. Jim Douglas (R-Middlebury) has misconstued news reports and made attacks with no factual basis in his radio ads and public statements.

The Democratic House speaker called on the Douglas to stop running the ads and take a more positive approach to his campaign.

The statement accompanied an announcement that Symington is lauching a "fact check" section on her campaign website to refute Douglas' claims.

Independent gubernatorial candidate Anthony Pollina may have to borrow money from supporters to pay back approximately $29,000 in unlawful contributions his campaign has received, The Times Argus is reporting.

Pollina was alerted earlier this month that his decision to opt out of the Progressive nomination and run as an Independent made a number of previous contributions illegal.

State law says that candidates running under a party banner can collect $2,000 from contributors because they have to make it through the primary. Independents can only accept $1,000 from individual donors.

Pollina campaign manager Meg Brook told the Times Argus that the campaign was trying to contact the donors who gave too much, and hopes to find a way to keep the funds.

"As we're telling people, they are shocked and really see this as unfair," Brook told the paper.

The Burlington Free Press  is featuring video interviews with all three major candidates for governor on its website.

In one-on-one interviews with Gov. Jim Douglas (R), House Speaker Gaye Symington (D) and Independent candidate Anthony Pollina, the paper seeks to identify the issues that separate the candidates.

The three answer questions on energy, sex offender law, health care, job creation and party affiliation in a series of two-minute videos. Check out the results here.

Gov. Jim Douglas (R-Middlebury), Speaker Gaye Symington (D-Jericho) and Anthony Pollina (I-Middlesex) all made this week's Winners & Losers list. | CLICK HERE

Independent gubernatorial candidate Anthony Pollina Wednesday called for more funding for law enforcement and prevention efforts to decrease sexual abuse and domestic assaults.

In a statement released Wednesday, Pollina blasted Gov. Jim Douglas (R) for his administration's law enforcement policies and said Vermont needs to get ahead of sex crimes before they occur.

"We should be doing more than talking about what we do after the crime is committed. We should be talking about how we will prevent the next crime from happening. It is not just about transferring state police from one job to another; it is about fully funding state police, States attorneys, the defender general, and other agencies involved," Pollina said. "Unfortunately, the Governor just wants to save money. I want to save our kids. We need to find a balance, but some things are too important to scrimp on."