Chittenden County State's Attorney race kicks off more than year before primary

Chittenden County State's Attorney Sarah George has kicked off her campaign more than a year before the 2018 election primary to retain the position to which she was appointed by Gov. Phil Scott.

At least one other candidate is mulling a run, but has not made a determination as of Monday. Lawyer Ted Kenney, of Kenney and Fisher, PLLC in Colchester, said he'd make his final decision in the next two to four weeks. 

"I'm being encouraged to run," Kenney said last week. "I have a lot of factors involved, so I haven't made a final determination, but I'm leaning toward it." 

George is the first candidate for Chittenden County State's Attorney through the Democratic party, said Chittenden County Democrats chairman Darren Springer. Springer added that George is the first Democratic candidate for any seat in Chittenden County. Chittenden County Republican Party Chairwoman Deborah Billado said she was unaware of anyone running under the Republican banner as of Monday.

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The primary election is Aug. 14, 2018. The general election is on Nov. 6, 2018. 

George and Kenney had both sought appointment to the State's Attorney post as Democrats to finish the term of T.J. Donovan, who was elected in November to be Vermont's Attorney General. 

Gov. Phil Scott appointed George in January.

At her campaign kick-off last week at Halvorson's Upstreet Cafe in Burlington, George laid out her priorities if elected: the opiate epidemic, statutorily-appropriate record expungements and community collaboration. She said Monday she has raised about $15,000 since her January appointment.

“I truly believe that a prosecutor is the person in our system that can make the real difference," she said, according to a video recording of the event on her Facebook page. "I think we have to reinvent the role of the prosecutor to transform the system and to transform people’s lives.”

According to the Facebook video, George said she is willing to take risks to save people's lives from opiates.

 "If that means making some decisions that might seem rash for some, I will happily stir up those controversies in order to make it happen," George said. 

George said she also hopes to streamline the process toward expunging old charges from people's records when it is appropriate through state statute. She said keeping those charges on people's records could hold them back from getting certain jobs or educational or financial opportunities. 

"We all make mistakes … especially when we’re younger,” George said. 

Contact Elizabeth Murray at 651-4835 or emurray@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LizMurrayBFP.