Man Who Controls Debates at VermontPublic.org Refuses To Allow Ericson To Debate

MAN who controls debates at VermontPublic.org REFUSES TO ALLOW A WOMAN U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE, Ms. Cris Ericson, to DEBATE with ALL MEN CANDIDATES, U.S. Congressman Peter Welch and Republican Gerald Malloy. No wonder NO woman has ever been elected to the U.S. Senate from Vermont before!

Time to whip out those old fashioned phrases from the 1960s like “male chauvinist pigs?”
When will Vermont be inclusive?

Keep in mind that VermontPublic.org used to be Vermont PBS and VermontPublic.org is now supported by PBS and your federal tax dollars.

Isn’t that cute, sexual discrimination against three women candidates for U.S. Senator by an entity which receives federal funding. Tsk, tsk, tsk.

I should paint a cartoon of me, Ms. Cris Ericson, and Natasha Diamondstone-Kohout and Dawn Marie Ellis, the three excluded women, all dancing around a fire and chanting witch chants and brewing potions.

From: Matthew Smith
To: Cris Ericson
Wed, Sep 28 at 3:52 PM
Dear Cris Ericson and the Ericson campaign –

Thank you for inquiring about our 2022 general election debates, and
for your request to include Cris Ericson in our debate coverage as an
independent candidate for Vermont’s U.S. Senate seat.

As the executive producer of the debates, and on behalf of the Vermont Public team working on our 2022 election coverage, I want to begin by saying we recognize Ericson’s campaign and appreciate her contribution to the political discussions in our electoral process.

After reviewing both the letter and spirit of our debate guidelines,
we’ve decided that Ericson does not meet our criteria to be included
in our debate with the other U.S. Senate candidates.

Our general election criteria states we will consider “independent or
minor party candidates who received 5% or more of the vote in the
previous statewide general election for state or federal office.” Our
editorial staff understands this to mean a candidate who received 5%
or more of the vote as an independent or minor party candidate.

Ericson has sought office multiple times over the last decade as an
independent or minor-party candidate, and as an independent or
minor-party candidate, she has never gotten more than 5% of the vote.

Because Ericson is running as an independent for U.S. Senate,
we must evaluate her potential inclusion in our debate by looking to her
past performance as an independent candidate. Given that she has failed
to clear our 5% threshold as an independent or minor-party candidate,
we have decided to not include her in our October debate.

I want to note here Ericson’s performance in the 2020 general election,
where she received some 15% of the vote as a Progressive candidate
in the race for Auditor of Accounts. However, given that accomplishment
was as a Progressive candidate,
it does not enter into our consideration of her inclusion
as an independent candidate in this year’s debate.

I want to close by reiterating that our debates are just one part of
Vermont Public’s election coverage. In the weeks ahead, we plan
to cover many independent and third-party candidates seeking
office this year, and other important issues critical to informing our
audience ahead of the Nov. 8 election.

Respectfully,
Matthew F. Smith
Managing Editor and Senior Producer, Vermont Edition
Executive Producer, Vermont Public 2022 debates
Matthew Smith
Managing Editor & Senior Producer for Vermont Edition
Vermont Public
(802) 497-7131
msmith@vermontpublic.org | @MatthewSmithVT