Pollina ‘absolutely not’ running for Lt. Governor

Anthony Pollina will "absolutely not" be running for lieutenant governor under any circumstances, his campaign manager Meg Brooks told PolitickerVT.com. Though, she noted that "everything was considered to a certain degree."

The Progressive Party gubernatorial candidate held a press conference today to announce that he was definitely still in the race despite Democrat Gaye Symington getting into the race on May 12.

Brooks told PolitickerVT.com that a press release issued yesterday stating that Pollina would respond to the "dynamics" of former state House Speaker Gaye Symington's (D-Jericho) entry into the race was to address the fact that "some Democrats have been talking about it" and the "press has been hounding us."

In his speech today, Pollina said: "There has been a lot of speculation - and a lot of political spin - about whether I might leave the race or run for another office. I heard the rumors just as you have. It began to sound to me like insider politics, so I thought it best to come together, here in the sunlight, to end the political spin, bury the myths that cause the speculation and outline a winning the race for Governor."

Pollina added that he had personally "made a special effort to reach out to friends in the Democratic Party believing grassroots Democrats shared our goal of electing a governor more in touch with the needs of Vermonters. Many were very supportive. But, the Democratic State Committee refused to meet and talk about a combined effort."