Posted on 11/07/2004 2:43:27 AM PST by fieldmarshaldj
Brock ousts Ready
November 3, 2004
By John Zicconi Vermont Press Bureau
BURLINGTON — Republican Randy Brock made history Tuesday, unseating two-term incumbent Auditor Elizabeth Ready to become the first African-American to win a Vermont statewide election.
Along the way, he won by a comfortable 10-point margin, garnering 52 percent of the vote to Ready's 42 percent with more than 92 percent of the vote counted.
"I am looking forward to changing the tone at the top," Brock said Tuesday night. "We're going to focus not on finger-pointing, but on keeping people out of trouble."
Ready declined to make a concession speech before the hundreds of Democrats gathered at the Wyndham Hotel along Lake Champlain in Burlington. Instead, she made the rounds in the hotel's crowded ballroom talking to members of the press individually.
"I'm a little sad," Ready said. "But it is his night. That is where people's focus should be: getting to know him… He will do a good job.
I'll do everything I can to help him."
Ready's defeat capped an improbable campaign run for a political newcomer who in his more than 30 years as a Vermont resident had never been involved in politics at any level.
Brock's campaign, however, gained substantial momentum this summer when the 61-year-old professional auditor pointed out that Ready had inflated her education credentials in several published resumes, including her official state biography published by the Secretary of State.
Brock also sharply criticized Ready for billing taxpayers some $2,500 in personal cell phone calls during her first 18 months in office.
Ready in 2002 paid taxpayers back, but Brock throughout the election used the incident to call her integrity into question.
"A question was raised about her character," Brock said. "One of the things Liz Ready said is to look at her record. And that was her record. It was discovered and reported. That's called auditing."
A 16-year Vermont political veteran, Ready has been a fixture in Vermont politics since she became a state senator from Addison County in 1989. The Lincoln resident entered the race a heavy favorite.
"I've had a great 16 years of service, and that has meant a lot to me," Ready said. "I have a little pause in life right now, and a chance to do other things."
Brock's race never became an issue on the campaign trail, with few media outlets even acknowledging the historic nature of his election bid.
Vermont has one of the smallest minority populations in the country; about 97 percent of the state's residents are white. It was one of 20 states — until tonight — that had never elected an African-American to statewide office, according to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a Washington D.C.-based think tank.
Four states — South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and Hawaii — have never elected an African-American to any public office at all, including positions like school board and city council, said David Bositis, a senior political analyst at the Joint Center.
The majority of black statewide office holders are judges, Bositis said.
Despite Brock's position as the first African-American statewide officeholder in Vermont, the state was the first to elect a black person to the Legislature when Alexander Twilight joined the House in 1836.
*ping*
Good times just keep on coming! BTTTT
Wooo hooo! In a liberal state carried by Kerry and by 10 percentage points. There's some hope for the folks of the Green Mountain State!
Black GOPer Wins Statewide in VT !)
Don't that sound good!! I loved Blackwell, the sec. of state from Ohio. What a gentlemen he was. Republicans are reaching out. We need to send these good people into office. We desperately need a leader. I wish Bill Cosby would take the lead. He could fairly advance the agenda.
I remember a black congressmen from Conn. Sadly, I forgot his name. He was a huge talent. The Black Caucus wouldn't admit him into their meetings because he was a Republican. How they got away with this, I will never understand.
This is good news but a terribly written article. I read it twice and I still wasn't sure what office Brock won until I read your comment!
I can't believe Vermont voted out a candidate who is a Democrat even if she is a liar. And their Lt. Gov is every bit as conservative as Bush- and Brian Dubie won easily.
Me too. Amazing. Well we all knew that the Journalism Schools aren't what they once were. But you would have thought that any editor worth his salt would have caught such a major boo boo.
LOL. My son is in Journalism School and I'm hoping he's getting something for all the money I'm spending. I'll send him this article and see if he can catch the mistake.
In my state, I wouldn't mind seeing Judge Bob Young get a call from Bush for SCOTUS, although we'd hate to lose him on the State Supreme Court.
Gary Franks was the congressman from Connecticutt. Unfortunatly he lost to a democrat at some point.
This is TERIFFIC news! Is there a biography of Brock out there? I'm sure a lot of Freepers would like to know more about this rising star.
Ready said. "But it is his night. That is where people's focus should be: getting to know him… He will do a good job. I'll do everything I can to help him."
Elizabet Ready deserves credit on this count: she showed dignity and class in her defeat. So unlike so many of her fellow 'Rats.
How many statewide elected black Republicans do we have now? I guess Young and other non-partisan don't necessarily count?
CA Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown
VT Auditor Randy Brock
OH Lt. Gov. Jeanette Bradley
OH Sec State J Kenneth Blackwell
MD Lt. Gov. Michael Steele
TX Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams
TX Sepreme Court Justice Dale Wainwright
TX Supreme Court Justice Wallace Jefferson
Republican Randy Brock made history Tuesday, unseating two-term incumbent Auditor Elizabeth Ready to become the first African-American to win a Vermont statewide election.
They have black people in Vermont? :P
What is an "auditor"? Where I come from we have no such elected office that I am aware of. Very unusual.
Ok, that's understandable, but I am familiar with the Office. In many state's the position is called Comptroller.
The "Auditor" keeps state agencies honest in how the money is spent. (or is supposed to)
LOL. I know. I must be dyslexic today. Maybe I should have read it a third time.
Ping for your list.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.