Scott Milne, the Republican candidate for governor, parted ways with Brent Burns, his campaign manager, last Friday, just seven weeks before the General Election, and he has hired a former editor who fabricated stories published in the Times Argus to write press releases.
Milne said he didn’t want his campaign staff to be a subject of media scrutiny, but stories about both matters broke earlier this week.
Milne described Burns’ decision to resign from the campaign as a personal matter that is “irrelevant” compared with the larger story of his effort to unseat Gov. Peter Shumlin, a Democrat.
He does not plan to hire a new campaign manager.
“I remain friends with him (Burns) and I wish him well,” Milne said. It’s possible, he said, that Pure Campaigns may provide some contract support in future.
Milne paid Burns’ company Pure Campaigns about $28,000 for work related to the campaign.
Burns, a Texas native, says he wanted to spend more time with his wife, that he and Milne are still friends, and there was no disagreement over money or strategy.
“I just need to take some time off,” Burns said. “All the rest is between Scott and I. He has a great team. I need to spend some time with my wife I’ve been going and going and going.”
Burns worked for the Vermont GOP for about a year before he formed Pure Campaigns and joined Milne’s campaign in early July.
Milne has hired five people to run his campaign. Among them is Scott Fletcher, the former managing editor of the Times Argus who was fired for fabricating three articles in 2002. Fletcher now writes press releases for Milne.
Fletcher made up stories about a 16-year-old prostitute and heroin addict; another about a woman who left New York City after 9/11 to live in a cabin in Ferdinand; and a third based on the diary of a Charlotte woman who supposedly died in the Triangle Shirt factory fire. Fletcher was not able to provide Times Argus management with evidence that any of three women existed.
Vermont Public Radio reports that 12 years later Fletcher stands by the stories.
Milne said in an interview with VTDigger that he was not concerned about Fletcher’s checkered past. “Scott Fletcher came on a little later and he’s there to help out with his particular expertise in communications,” Milne said. “He has a good background in knowing Vermont.”
Ben Sarle, the communications director for the Vermont Democratic Party, issued a statement on Thursday attacking the Milne campaign.
“It’s breaking news that someone on the Milne campaign is actually writing policies, since Scott Milne has yet to propose an actual policy,” Sarle wrote. “But equally as curious – and even more troubling – is that the person guiding Milne’s campaign is a disgraced journalist who was fired from his job for fabricating news stories and reporting them as fact. Voters deserve to know that statements, positions and even personal stories from the candidates are based on fact and not fiction.”
The other staffers who have joined the Milne campaign include, his son, Keith Milne, Melvin Kendall who worked on Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie’s campaign in 2010, Tyler Ward and Karin White, both of whom are recent Vermont Law School graduates, and Mary-Jo Dubie Fife, Brian Dubie’s sister. All of the staffers are paid, with the exception of Keith Milne.
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