Zuckerman for VT 2020 Campaign Recap
PRESS RELEASE: November 2, 2020
Zuckerman for VT 2020 Campaign Recap
On January 13, 2020 Lt. Governor Zuckerman held a press conference at the Capitol Plaza in Montpelier and announced his bid for Governor. Well aware of the challenges of defeating an incumbent, he cited the lack of progress on making Vermont more affordable and the urgency of the issues facing us - particularly the climate crisis and the economic struggles of many Vermonters - as motivation for entering the race.
Below is a glimpse of the activities the candidate, staff, and volunteers have accomplished over the past 10 months.
VIRTUAL CAMPAIGNING
On March 12th, the Zuckerman campaign was the first campaign in Vermont to announce (via Facebook Live) that all in-person group campaign events would be canceled to help mitigate the potential spread of the coronavirus. In-person activities were only resumed when allowed by the state government and with extreme caution, including new protocols to ensure the safety of all involved.
Drive-In Rally
The Zuckerman for VT campaign was the first campaign in the country to host a drive-in rally for supporters. Our event was held on June 27th at the Isham Family Farm in Williston.
Volunteers parked nearly 100 cars, spaced apart to accommodate covid safe social distancing. People came together for an afternoon of music, good food, and to hear directly from the Lieutenant Governor.
Telephone Town Halls
The Zuckerman for VT campaign hosted eight Telephone Town Halls, inviting almost 10,000 Vermonters with landline numbers to join in a political conversation on the phone with the Lieutenant Governor and other guests. Vermonters without access to broadband were able to engage with the campaign that, due to covid, was predominantly online. Over 1,300 people across all 14 Vermont counties participated.
In addition to the town halls listed in the graphic above, telephone town halls were held on Food Systems and Security During COVID-19 (4/8/20) and COVID-19 Symptoms and the Vermont Healthcare System (3/25/20).
Roundtables and Interviews
Lt. Governor Zuckerman has focused his time in public service on learning from and listening to his constituents. The Zuckerman for VT campaign continued this process through virtual meetings.
The campaign hosted over 30 virtual roundtable discussions and interviews on a variety of topics. Experts came together with David to speak about some of the most important issues facing Vermonters.
On average, these roundtable discussions and interviews each garnered over 1,000 views on Facebook. Topics included the economy, the climate crisis and renewable energy opportunities, education (from childcare to higher education), women’s rights, LGBTQIA rights, and indigenous rights.
Lt. Governor Zuckerman also participated in roundtables hosted by other organizations and candidates including a roundtable discussion with Senator Sanders that received over 96.6K views on Facebook.
Music For VT
To help Vermonters through physical isolation, the Zuckerman for VT campaign hosted 14 virtual live concerts titled “Music4VT” to raise money for the musicians and the campaign. These included both Thursday night concerts and midday events with children’s music. These concerts reached over 27,000 people, and engaged almost 6,000 through social media views on Facebook and YouTube
Artists included: Members of the John Daly Trio, Bob Stannard, Thomas Gunn, Pitz Quattrone, DJ cRAIG, Rik Palieri, Dave Clark, Linda Bassick, Julie Winn, and Jon Gailmor.
VOLUNTEERS AND VISIBILITY
Lt. Governor Zukerman’s campaigns have consistently been grassroots, people-powered campaigns. Even in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic, Zuckerman for VT volunteers contributed hundreds of hours of time to help David get elected.
The campaign had over 250 individual volunteers primarily from Vermont, but also from as far away as California and Germany! In lieu of time in the office, these volunteers spent countless hours on Zoom connecting with our campaign staff and David, himself. Volunteers dedicated innumerable hours to our campaign, doing everything from phone banking, to writing op-eds, from filming endorsement videos, to speaking on behalf of the campaign. Sixty-five volunteers around the state set up satellite campaign hubs at their homes, serving as lawn sign captains and literature drop leaders.
The Zuckerman for VT campaign also organized over 125 Honk and Waves in all 14 counties of the state.
The Zuckerman for VT campaign sold and distributed the following:
1,000Zuckerman for VT masks and t-shirts
Over 1,300 bumper stickers,
Over 3,000 lawn signs on supporters’ properties
Over 1,000 lawns signs in green spaces and polling locations
15 ten-foot banners in supporters’ yards around the state
60,000 pieces of literature
ADVERTISEMENTS
The Zuckerman for VT campaign released six campaign advertisements that told a story of David and the campaign.
The first ad, One Day At A Time, introduced David to Vermonters through his hard work, his farming and his care for all.
Building For The Future, showed David as a people’s legislator. A public servant who has supported, listened to, and worked for Vermonters throughout his entire career in office.
The Rally Speech was taken from Lt. Governor Zuckerman’s speech at the Bernie 2020 Super Tuesday rally. It demonstrated the excitement and momentum behind David’s ideas for the future of Vermont and his candidacy for Governor.
Big Differences outlined key policy differences between Lt. Governor Zuckerman and Phil Scott on the minimum wage, climate change, and education.
Vision Not Vetoes demonstrated Vermonters’ choice between two different political paths forward: a future where Governor Scott continues to veto key legislation, or a future in which David works with the Legislature to move Vermont forward.
Finally, Voting Democrat Matters demonstrated how aligned David’s vision is with the Democratic leadership that Vermonters have chosen in the past. A vision that cares about people and brings hope for a better future.
The campaign also created and ran seven radio advertisements across the state, purchased ten public bus banner advertisements running in five counties, and purchased numerous print ads and social media ad buys.
ENDORSEMENTS
Lt. Governor David Zuckerman has been endorsed by all of the Democrats, Independents and Progressives serving top offices in Vermont: Senator Patrick Leahy, Senator Bernie Sanders, Representative Peter Welch, Attorney General TJ Donovan, Treasurer Beth Pearce, Auditor Doug Hoffer, Senate Pro Tempore Tim Ashe, Speaker of the House Mitzi Johnson. Additionally, he was endorsed by Former Governor Madeleine Kunin, Former Governor Howard Dean, Former Governor Peter Shumlin, Former Lt. Governor Doug Racine, and over 100 current and former Vermont legislators.
Other key endorsements include all four of the Bernie 2020 Co-Chairs: Representative Ro Khanna, Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz, State Senator Nina Turner, and Ben Cohen. This is in addition to Jerry Greenfield, Bill McKibben, Former Massachusetts Governor and Democratic Presidential nominee Michael Dukakis, Former U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich and Former Burlington Mayor Peter Clavelle.
He was also endorsed by 23 unions and organizations:
Unions
AFSCME Council 93
CWA Local 1400
VT AFL- CIO
VT AFT
Vermont NEA
VSEA
Organizations
Champlain Valley DSA
Citizens Regeneration Lobby
Friends of the Earth Action
Moms Demand Action
Our Revolution
People for the American Way
People’s Action
Rights & Democracy
r/Sanders for President
Sunrise Burlington
Sunrise Middlebury
The Center for Popular Democracy
The National Solidarity Movement
The Working Families Party
350 Action
Vermont Conservation Voters
Vermont Sierra Club
VPIRG Votes
PRESS
The Zuckerman for VT campaign held a total of ten press conferences highlighting David’s leadership goals, vision and policy proposals. These were held outside and followed COVID guidelines to ensure the health and safety of participants and the press. These conferences covered:
The Climate Economy and Renewable Energy (8/25/20)
Differences Between Lt. Governor Zuckerman and Governor Scott on Support of Public Schools (9/1/20)
Lt. Governor Zuckerman Holds Press Conference on Vulnerable Vermonters (9/16/20)
A Zuckerman Administration’s Economic Policy Initiatives (9/23/20)
A Press Conference With Vermont Labor Leaders on the Importance of Supporting Labor in Vermont (9/28/20)
Contrasting Lt. Governor Zuckerman’s Vision for the Future With Governor Scott’s Vetoes (10/15/20)
Access, Affordability, and Accountability in Healthcare (10/20/20)
The Cost of Climate Inaction (10/30/20)
The Zuckerman for VT campaign also held a zoom press conference on The Proposed Closures of State Colleges (4/19/20). A planned press conference covering the differences between Lt. Governor Zuckerman’s FY22 State Budget Priorities (10/27/20) and Governor Scott’s budget directives was shifted into a press release due to necessary COVID protocols.
FUNDRAISING
On October 30th, the Zuckerman for VT campaign filed their final campaign finance report before the November 3rd election. To that date, the campaign raised a total of $681,738.
The Zuckerman for VT campaign fundraising was characterized by small dollar, grassroots donations. The Zuckerman campaign received contributions from 6,411 individual donors. This is more than six times the number of donors to Governor Scott’s campaign.
Despite substantial hurdles due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the months following March, the Zuckerman campaign was able to substantially ramp up fundraising in the months leading up to the general election. Ultimately, the Zuckerman for VT campaign raised more than any Vermont campaign this 2020 cycle with a total of $668,413.
The campaign was very successful at galvanizing its supporters through creative and fun fundraising campaigns:
ZUCKERMANIA! (8/31)
The Zuckerman campaign recruited the help of Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, to create a special flavor for Lt. Governor Zuckerman: ZUCKERMANIA!. The flavor: Mapled Vermont strawberry chunks, gently folded into vanilla ice cream with a Vermont blueberry ripple.
The ZUCKERMANIA! fundraising campaign brought in a total of $9,785 to the campaign.
Pony-Up Ponytail Competition (10/9)
The Zuckerman campaign created a competition between those who supported David keeping his signature ponytail and those who preferred he cut the ponytail. David was willing to let his supporters decide the fate of his well-known ponytail. “Team Keep It” and “Team Cut It” competed to see which could raise the most money. Ultimately, Team Keep It came out ahead and David kept his ponytail!
The Pony-Up Ponytail Competition raised $7,424 for the campaign in total.
These fundraisers were two of the most successful for the campaign.
In addition, David Zuckerman has never accepted corporate contributions and continues to decline them. In contrast, Governor Scott welcomes corporate donations, including many pharmaceutical interests, and has received a substantial portion of his fundraising total from corporate donors.
The Zuckerman for VT campaign has also prioritized expressing gratitude for donors throughout the campaign. The campaign sent thank you notes and emails to each Zuckerman for VT campaign donor, and instituted a “ribbon” donor campaign where donors were thanked for various levels of giving. One expression of gratitude for a few lucky donors was a special personal tour by David of his farm the weekend before the election. He was able to tell them about his farm, give them a tour, and personally thank them .
Website
The Zuckerman for VT website is being catalogued by the Library of Congress this election cycle. It has received over 48k unique visitors from all 50 states and over 94k page views.
Unionization
The Zuckerman for VT staff unionized on 6/14/2020 under the Campaign Workers Guild. The Zuckerman for VT staff was the only campaign staff in Vermont to unionize during the 2020 campaign.
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FULL LIST OF TELEPHONE TOWN HALLS
Addison/Rutland/Bennington Telephone Town Hall (9/24/20)
Chittenden Telephone Town Hall (9/23/20)
Orleans/Essex/Caledonia Telephone Town Hall (9/17/20)
Grand Isle/Franklin Telephone Town Hall (9/16/20)
Lamoille/Washington/Orange Telephone Town Hall (9/10/20)
Windham/Windsor Telephone Town Hall (9/9/20)
Food Systems and Security During COVID-19 (4/8/20)
COVID-19 Symptoms and the Vermont Healthcare System (3/25/20)
FULL LIST OF ROUNDTABLES
Tourism During Covid: Keeping Vermonters and our economy healthy; with Lt. Governor Zuckerman, Rep. Diane Lanpher, Jo Sabel Courtney for a conversation on tourism during COVID (10/22)
Virtual Conversation on Leadership and the Economy; with Lt. Governor Zuckerman, Rep. Emilie Kornheiser and senator Becca Balint for a conversation on what a change in governor would mean for Vermont's economy, employers and employees. (10/20)
Saving Our Small Schools: Join Lt. Governor Zuckerman for a virtual reflection on Act 46; Lt. Governor Zuckerman was joined by over forty guests for a conversation about the intent of Act 46, improvements to the merger process, opportunities to strengthen community schools, and how the next governor could support community schools. (9/30)
Powering OUr Future: A (Virtual) Brown Bag Lunch; with Lt. Governor David Zucekrman for a conversation about the climate crisis, renewable energy projects, and the Global Warming Solutions Act. (9/16)
Economic Recovery in Rutland County; with Lt. Governor David Zuckerman, Senator Cheryl Hooker, Josh Eckler, co-owner of the Trailside Inn, Caprice Hover, the Executive Director of the United Way of Rutland County, Judy Robinson, a Professor of Economics at Castleton University, and Kimberly Rupe, President of the Rutland Young Professionals (8/7)
Legislative Recap: Indigenous Affairs; with Lt. Governor Zuckerman, Representative Brian Cina, Carol McGranaghan the Chair of the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs, and Beverly Little Thunder the Commissioner of the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs (8/6)
Perseverance, Protests, Political Power: Women in Politics; with Lt. Governor David Zuckerman, and candidates for the Vermont House: Jubilee McGill, Kiah Morris, and Emma Mulvaney-Stanak. (8/3)
Legislative Recap: Transportation; with Lt. Governor David Zuckerman, Representative Curt McCormack, Senator Andrew Perchlik, and Jenn Wood, climate activist. (7/31)
Legislative Recap: Ag, Forestry & Our Working Lands Economy; with Lt. Governor David Zuckerman, Representative Carolyn Partridge, Senator Anthony Polina, Graham Unangst-Rufenacht. (7/28)
A Roundtable Conversation on Schools Reopening; with Lt. Governor David Zuckerman, Senator Philip Baruth, Noel Green, Principal of Burlington High School, Chris Guros, Main Street Middle School, Montpelier, Jessica Harris, Derby Elementary, and Kate McCann, U-32 High School in Montpelier. (7/24)
Legislative Recap: The Environment; with Lt. Governor David Zuckerman, Representative Sarha Copeland-Hanzas, Lauren Hierl of Vermont Conservation Voters, and Senator Chris Pearson. (7/10)
Legislative Recap: Healthcare; with Lt. Governor David Zuckerman Senator Ginny Lyons, Representative Bill Lippert, and Representative Ann Pugh. (7/23)
Pride Round Table: Working together or an inclusive Vermont; with Lt. Governor David Zuckerman, Lisa Carton, Queer Connect, HB Lozito, Out in the Open, Brenda Churchill, LGBTQIA Alliance, and Ezra Totten, BHS Student. (6/18)
Vermont Higher Ed in a Turbulent World; with Lt. Governor David Zuckerman, Julie Roberts, UVM, Michael Bosia, St. Michael’s College, Michael Kelly, Champlain College, and Cindy Hill, CCV. (6/24)
Voices From the Farm: Expanding Local Food Production; With Lt Governor David Zuckerman, Full Moon Farm, Dave Chapman, Long Wind Farm, Heather Surprenant, Moonlighting Farm, and George van Vlaanderen, Does’ Leap Farm. (6/10)
The Future of VT AgricultureL Where we have been and what lies ahead; With Lt. Governor David Zuckerman, Roger Albee, Former Secretary of Agriculture, Clark Hinsdale, Former Vermont Farm Bureau President, and Orly Munzing, Founder of Strolling of the Heifers. (6/3)
Reopening Child Care: Investing in our future; with Lt. Governor David Zuckerman, Donna Bailey, the Executive Director of Addison County Parent/Child Center, and Deb Gass, the Executive Director of Early Education Services, Brattleboro. (5/28)
Preparing for Economic Recovery in the Northeast Kingdom; with Lt. Governor David Zuckerman, Senator Bobby Starr, Emily Maclure, Co-owner of the Craftsbury General Store, Dick Lawrence, Chair of Caledonia Field Days, Abigail Long, Executive Director of Kingdom Trails, and Timothy Egan, Business, Visual Ars & Communications at NVU Lyndon. (5/13)
Quality Education in Vermont: Investing in our future; with Lt. Governor David Zuckerman, Joel Cook, retired Executive Director of the Vermont NEA, Kim Gleason, Vice Chair of the Essex-Westford School Board, Nora Skolnick, Teacher at Randolph Elementary, and Bob Thibault, Principal at Leland & Gray Union Middle & High School. (5/22)
Herd Immunity and A COVID-19 Vaccine: A conversation between Lt. Governor David Zuckerman and Dr. Rebecca Bell (5/1/20)
An Abenaki Perspective on COVID-19 and Earth Day: A conversation between Lt. Governor David Zuckerman and Chief Donald Stevens. (4/20/20)
50th EarthDay Anniversary Roundtable: Building a resilient economy, community and Earth with Bill McKibben, co-founder and senior advisor at 350.org, author, environmentalist and activist; Simon Dennis, Director of the Center for Transformational Practice, and Vice Chair of the of Hartford selectboard; Zoraya Hightower, Burlington City Council, environmental and international development consultant; Marlene and Philip Allen, co-founders of Same Sun of Vermont in Rutland; and Richard Watts, the director of the Center for Research on Vermont at the University of Vermont and co-founder of Sustainable Transportation Vermont. (4/22/20)
Youth Climate Activists: A conversation between Lt. Governor David Zuckerman and three Vermont student activists. (4/24/20)
Small Business Resources During COVID-19: Advice from a VT Business Owner. A conversation between Lt. Governor David Zuckerman and Andrew Allen, Owner of iMarket Solutions. (4/15/20)
Federal Stimulus Check Information: Advice from a Tax Professional. A conversation between Lt. Governor David Zuckerman and Martha Abbott co-owner of Independent Tax Service Inc. (4/11/20)
Religious Practice During COVID-19 in Vermont: Advice from an Interfaith Action Leader. A conversation between Lt. Governor David Zuckerman and Reverend Joan Javier-Duval. (4/30/20)
Mental Health in Rural Vermont During COVID-19: Advice from a Mental Health Counselor. A conversation between Lt. Governor David Zuckerman and Kristi Zola, LCMHC. (4/10/20)
Mental Health During COVID-19 in Vermont: Advice from a Mental Health Counselor. A conversation between Lt. Governor David Zuckerman and Joy O’Neil, LCMHC. (4/2/20)
Kids’ Mental Health and COVID-19 in Vermont: Advice from a School Therapist. A conversation between Lt. Governor David Zuckerman and Tanya Vyhovsky. (4/2/20)
Educating During COVID-19 in Vermont: Advice from A Teacher of the Year. A conversation between Lt. Governor Daivd Zuckerman and 2017 Teacher of the Year, Kate McCann. (3/30/20)
Resources for New Americans in VErmont: Advice from a New American Community Leader. A conversation between Lt. Governor David Zuckerman and Mohammed Jafar. (4/9/20)
COVID-19 in Vermont: Medical Advice from a Primary Care Physician. A conversation between Lt. Governor David Zuckerman and Dr. Paul Reiss, MD. (3/30/20)