Auditor phones in oath, from Iraq
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By DANIEL BARLOW Vermont Press Bureau - Published: January 9, 2009
MONTPELIER — In one of the more unusual swearing-in ceremonies the state has seen, Vermont State Auditor Thomas Salmon took the oath of office for his second term Thursday via speaker phone from a U.S. military base in Iraq.
Salmon's family, friends and colleagues gathered in Gov. James Douglas' Statehouse office late Thursday morning to speak with the 45-year-old Rockingham Democrat, who has been serving in Iraq since last summer.
Douglas, a Republican who was inaugurated into his fourth term later that afternoon, read the oath of office over the speaker phone as Salmon repeated the words. The governor said he hopes Salmon can return quickly to Vermont to assist with the financial crisis facing the state.
"Although my mission here is quite large and needs my focus … I can do this," Salmon said.
The son of former Vermont Gov. Thomas P. Salmon, the younger Salmon was deployed to Iraq in June 2008 as a builder with the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion No. 27, a Navy Seabees unit from Maine.
U.S. military regulations forbid officers from campaigning while serving — but Salmon easily won re-election in November despite that he was more than 5,000 miles away from his home state of Vermont.
Salmon thanked his father — who accompanied his son's wife and three children to the Statehouse ceremony — for taking care of his family while he was gone. He also expressed strong confidence in his staff, who are running the auditor's office in his absence.
He said it was not clear yet when he would return to the state — but he hoped that it would be "sooner rather than later." He joked that while he has enjoyed being in the desert, he would have rather only stayed 40 days as opposed to the six months he's been there.
"My love for Vermont has never been stronger," Salmon said.
In one humorous moment, Salmon asked if newly elected Sen. Randy Brock was in the room. Brock, a Franklin County Republican, was narrowly defeated by Salmon for the auditor's position in 2006. He began serving in the State Senate this week.
"Randy, how are you?" Salmon asked, before adding that Brock's financial background will be a valuable asset in the Vermont Senate.
"Very well, Tom," replied Brock, grinning in the back of the room.
Other statewide elected officials were sworn in the old-fashioned way Thursday: Face-to-face with Douglas and a large crowd watching.
Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie was sworn in for his newest term Thursday morning in the Vermont Senate. In a wide-ranging speech following the ceremony, Dubie, a Republican, seemed inspired by the election of President-elect Barack Obama, a Democrat.
His speech mentioned Obama by name four times and repeatedly invoked one of the campaign's famous slogans, "Yes, we can."
"President-elect Barack Obama inspired millions of Americans with these three words; his election to the presidency is truly historic," Dubie said. "As Americans, we should all reflect on the sheer hopefulness that his election has brought to Americans, and to people all around the world."
Douglas took his oath shortly after 2 p.m., with Chief Justice Paul Reiber administrating it. Douglas then issued the oath one-by-one in the House chambers to State Treasurer Jeb Spaulding, Secretary of State Deborah Markowitz and Attorney General William Sorrell.
Contact Daniel Barlow at
daniel.barlow@rutlandherald.com.