Dunne was Director of Marketing for Logic Associates,a Vermont software company that during his tenure grew to over $18million in sales. He also co-founded Cabin Fever Productions,which managed the Briggs Opera House and facilitated concerts in downtown White River Junction. Following the 2006 election,Dunne was hired by Google to run community affairs for the company from White River Junction,Vermont.[3]
Politics
Career
At age 22,Dunne was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives representing Hartland and West Windsor in 1992. He served four terms in the Vermont House,during which he served as Vice-Chair of the Transportation Committee. In 1998 he became the youngest House majority whip in the country.[4] After serving in the legislature for 7 years,President Clinton asked Dunne to serve as Director of AmeriCorps VISTA,an organization that oversees over 6,000 full-time volunteers in the fight against poverty. As director,Dunne improved recruitment numbers and overhauled the organization's training programs. He served as director for two and a half years,under both President Clinton and President Bush.
After returning to Vermont in 2002,Dunne was elected to the Vermont State Senate,representing Windsor. He served on the Appropriations,Economic Development,and Administrative Rules Committees. During this time he served as Assistant Director of the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Public Policy at Dartmouth College,where he oversaw programs to prepare young people for careers in public service and non-profit management,including the Policy Research Shop. He also served as Chair of the Vermont delegation to the New England Board of Higher Education.
2006 campaign for lieutenant governor
In 2006,Dunne ran for Lieutenant Governor of Vermont. In the Democratic primary held September 14,2006,Dunne defeated State Rep. John Tracy of Burlington,winning 59% of the vote.[5]
Dunne faced off against incumbent RepublicanBrian Dubie. Dunne's campaign received attention for its service politics events,where campaign volunteers worked with Vermont communities on local service projects. Dunne lost to Dubie 45%–51%.[6]
On November 3,2009,Dunne announced that he would seek the Democratic nomination for Governor of Vermont in 2010. Dunne was one of five Democrats vying for the nomination.
During the final weeks of the campaign,Dunne's brother Josh suffered a life-threatening stroke that required surgery. Dunne missed three of the final debates,and removed himself from the campaign trail for nearly two weeks,finally returning on August 20.[7]
The primary was held on August 24,2010. Dunne finished fourth with 20.8% of vote. He finished ahead of Susan Bartlett (5.1%),but behind Peter Shumlin (24.8%),Doug Racine (24.6%),and Deborah Markowitz (23.9%). Only 4 percentage points separated the top four candidates,making it one of the closest primaries in Vermont history.[8] Shumlin went on to win the general election,and all his primary opponents but Dunne subsequently joined the Shumlin administration.[9]
Dunne announced his candidacy in September 2015.[10] In February 2016 Dunne left his position at Google,indicating to members of the media that he did so to focus on his campaign.[11]
Dunne received the endorsements of two major Vermont labor groups,the Vermont State Employees Association and the Vermont branch of the AFL-CIO,[12] and the progressive Vermont activist group Rights and Democracy.[13] In July,he received the endorsement of six dozen current and former Vermont legislators,including that of Senate Majority Leader Philip Baruth,who had said earlier he was not planning to endorse any candidate.[14] He was also endorsed by the Burlington Free Press,which praised his clearly articulated plans for Vermont's economy and government.[15]
Dunne finished second in the August 9 primaries,and endorsed the winner,Sue Minter.[1]
Positions
Dunne emphasized ethics,transparency,and campaign finance reform in his campaign,with a plan to require greater disclosure of campaign assets,close the revolving door between regulators and industry in Montpelier,improve Vermont's public campaign financing,and eliminate direct corporate contributions to campaigns.[16] His campaign voluntarily released more campaign finance reports than required by state law,and unsuccessfully called on Dunne's opponents to do the same.[17]
Climate activist Bill McKibben endorsed Dunne early in the race,but later switched his support to Dunne's rival Sue Minter after Dunne released a statement on wind power advocating more local control over projects,a position McKibben considered a dog whistle to opponents of wind expansion.[25] Environmental group Vermont Conservation Voters,which had been neutral in the race,endorsed Minter for the same reason.[26] Dunne's campaign manager responded that Minter had not clearly articulated her position on ridgeline wind,saying "Matt made a decision to be clear and is being attacked for it."[27][28]
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