Openly Gay Former State Auditor Announces State Treasurer Bid

by Paul Olsen

   Montpelier, Vt. — With Gov. Howard Dean’s recent announcement that he will not seek re-election, Vermont’s game of political musical chairs has begun. In the first round of the game, openly gay former Vermont State Auditor Ed Flanagan unofficially announced his plan to run for State Treasurer in 2002.
      Flanagan, an attorney, Democratic National Committeeman, and former board member of the state’s largest AIDS service organization, Vermont CARES, was first elected State Auditor in 1992. In 1995, he publicly came out as a gay man. He made national history when, in 1996, he became the first and only openly gay statewide elected official in the United States.
      Flanagan, 50, left the State Auditor’s post in 2000 to run for the United States Senate making him the first openly gay U.S. Senate candidate in the nation’s history. Last November he lost to incumbent Republican Sen. James Jeffords, 26% to 66%. Jeffords later made history by abandoning the Republican Party and handing control of the Senate to the Democratic Party.
      In spite of his loss to Jeffords, Flanagan was proud of the support he received from Vermonters. “I’m a candidate who has been elected four times as a statewide elected official as a proud and openly gay man,” he said last November. “I think that speaks volumes about the core of Vermont and its deep respect and commitment to individual liberties.”
      Since losing to Jeffords, Flanagan has been practicing law in Vermont.
      Republican Jim Douglas currently holds the State Treasurer’s office. Douglas is leaving the post to run for Governor and is expected to face a primary challenge from former Agency of Human Services Secretary Cornelius Hogan. Lt. Gov. Doug Racine will seek the Democratic nomination. Independent Congressman Bernie Sanders and former Progressive Party gubernatorial nominee Anthony Pollina are also considering a run for Governor.
      In addition to Flanagan, former state Sen. Jeb Spaulding (D-Washington County) announced his intention to run for State Treasurer as a Democrat. Spaulding served in the state Senate for 16 years and currently works at the Vermont Department of Education. Spaulding has already received the endorsement of Gov. Dean. On the Republican side, former Rutland Mayor Jeff Wennberg may also run for State Treasurer.
      In making his intentions known, Flanagan said he had the support of many members of the Vermont Legislature. “I’ve been talking for a number of months about it and was encouraged by well over 50 Democratic supporters in the Legislature,” he told the Rutland Herald.
      “I served for eight years in the office that critically reviewed the financial operations of state government,” he added. “… We worked more closely with the state treasurer’s office than any other.”
      According to Flanagan, his early announcement was triggered by Gov. Dean’s plan to retire. “The schedule has been quickened by Governor Dean’s early decision,” he told the Associated Press. “I believe it is important to make one’s intentions clear, so I did.”
      Election Day is 14 months away.

Paul Olsen is the Vermont correspondent for in newsweekly.