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Yesterday, I sat down with John Brabant, Vermonters for a Clean Environment, Regulatory Affairs Director. I will say, this is by far the longest interview we have done thus far, but it is well worth a listen.
John explains in detail his experience working as a contractor for the state cleaning up hazardous material sites, his time working for the Agency of Natural Resources, his fallout there, and just how unethical and corrupt Vermont State Government has become.
John has decades of experience working in Vermont Government going back to the 1980s, working under a number of Governor’s Administrations including, Madeleine Kunin, Governor Snelling, Howard Dean, Jim Douglas, Peter Shumlin, and Phil Scott. He shares stories of all of them, including a heartfelt one about the current Governor.
Over the years John has been a whistle-blower on multiple bombshells in Vermont Government, most notably the trash incinerator in Rutland, and the unethical actions he was asked to take by management.
Because of Brabant’s willingness to stand for what he believes is right, as opposed to what is popular, or even financially beneficial, he has found himself as the target of numerous political attacks including even one former Governor (Shumlin), who went after for Brabant’s job at the Agency of Natural Resources. Why? According to Brabant, because Governor Shumlin knew the potential threat of Brabant whistleblowing on his administration, as Brabant had in previous administrations.
If you want to begin to understand just how bad the corruption in Vermont is, this is an excellent starting point. This might be a long one, but this is the point of a podcast- to take the time to allow someone to explain their story in detail. It was a great opportunity to hear straight from the “horse’s mouth” just how ridiculous things have become in Montpelier- and perhaps how they always have been.
Here is the full link!
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Categories: Energy, Environment, State Government, Vermonters Making A Difference, Video
I just finished watching this incredible interview. John Brabant’s first person account and methodical dissection of “the rise and fall” of Vermont’s once esteemed environmental groups from protectors of air and water quality and “the public interest” to fully in bed with industrial wind and solar developers is frankly astonishing. Thank you Paul for this interview and thanks to John for being the stand up, old school type of Democrat who has sadly become the enemy of the super majority overlords now in place. Sending these incumbents back to the legislature in the fall will only empower them and guarantee that their disregard for the taxpayer will continue. We need to send a clear message, “It’s time to clean the house”.
If John Brabant truly cared about a clean environment for Vermont, he wouldn’t have intentionally & completely sidestepped his obligations while he worked in the field for the Department of Environmental Conservation decades ago. Whilst there, John was personally escorted to a MASSIVE illegally owned & operated automobile junkyard in Pownal (so large that aerial views are easily discernable) – still extant there & owned and operated by the Strohmaier Family wherein family members of successive generations brazenly serve on the town’s select board and through their affiliated political “influences” within the state – manage to escape & avoid having to adhere to federal or state environment law, rules, & regulations —- and John was an integral part of seeing that that continued —- despite having the full knowledge of the egregious & dangerous violations the illegal facility posed to both the public & to the environs.
John was also brought to additional nearby sites in Pownal where houses had no septic systems whatsoever and raw sewage was being deposited right onto the properties in question as they polluted adjacent well waters with their untreated human waste as well as directly polluting popular South Stream itself, which traversed/abutted one of the houses. If VDC readers aren’t familiar with South Stream in Bennington County, it is managed by VT Fish & Wildlife & is open & utilized for all manner of fishing & wildfowl hunting not merely just for sport, but for eventual human consumption as well. Yum!
Like the vast majority of public servants or government bureaucrats nationwide who are well known to shirk responsibilities and openly violate the public trust & public safety in exchange for political patronage and various employment gain, those in the employ of the State of Vermont are no different. And between all this governmental corruption, favor, patronage, grift, & nepotism, there remains WE THE PEOPLE who often wait forever in false hope for those who are obligated to serve yet never do – and it leaves WE THE PEOPLE whose very lives are sometimes devastated, if not destroyed, during the process.
And by the by, in the event anyone asks – written records remain.
Indeed, it is time to clean house – not merely of the special interest groups & lobbyists who rub elbows with our government officials, but of the government officials themselves.
Lengthy, insightful, and appreciated. John has principles, courage, and shows the power of one.
Thank you
A ‘whistleblower’ strikes again. At about 3:30 into the interview, specifically with regard to the story of Gary Kessler and Peter Shumlin, Mr. Brabant cuts to the quick in describing Vermont’s pervasive corruption. “That’s the way government works’.
Watch your six, Mr. Brabant. Godspeed. But watch your six.
Mr.Brabant mentioned that Governor Phil Scott seems to be firmly entrenched in his position as no Democrat wants to run against him ! That’s laughable as Mr . Scott was not
elected by Republicans , but by Democrats who know he has very few convictions of his own . He will bend to Democrat will as he calls himself a “ compromiser “ !
When Mr . Scott finally vetoed some major legislation , as he should have done , that will start his political demise . This State is currently run by Democrats, who will make sure that Mr . Scott is permanently silenced .
Amazing interview and history John. It is an absolute honor to work with you in the statehouse. Thank you for your high level integrity and unbreakable commitment to Vermonters and the environment.
Might anyone come up with some timestamps on the topics this interview covers. It’s a hefty time commitment to take it all in, but with some notations on the topics and where to find them might make some segments doable. Paul, might you be able to break it down some?