Markowitz: Vermont, New Hampshire … What’s the Difference?

- Markowitz Uses Granite State Square Mileage to Describe Vermont -

Democratic candidate for Governor of Vermont Deb Markowitz performed an amazing geographic feat in an e-mailed fundraising solicitation this week, reducing the square mileage of the state and substituting a figure that exactly matches the size of neighboring New Hampshire.  Markowitz’s topographic wizardry reduced the size of Vermont by at least 258 square miles.

Markowitz wrote lovingly of the “people in Vermont’s 9,351 square miles,” while pledging to be a governor who will “protect the things that make Vermont unique.”

In reality, Vermont’s geographic footprint is 9,609 square miles, according to the Vermont Department of Tourism & Marketing’s website and St. Michael’s College.  Interestingly, Markowitz’s e-mail pitch differs in its description of Vermont’s size as compared to her own Secretary of State website’s Kids Pages, which claims the state to be 9,614 square miles. 

In a staggering coincidence, New Hampshire’s area is 9,351 square miles – the same figure Markowitz used to describe Vermont – according to the Granite State Ambassadors, a non-profit organization that provides certified volunteers to New Hampshire welcome and information centers.         

Regrettably, the appeal for campaign contributions leaves valuable donations on the table, as the e-mail asks specifically for “A dollar for every mile.  $9,351.”  By using Vermont’s own figures or the ones on her own website, Markowitz could have requested an additional $258 or $263, depending on which alternate figure she chose.

“Well, I’ll give her this: she is right when she describes her vision of Vermont as ‘unique’ – so unique it doesn’t really exist,” said Republican Governors Association spokesman Tim Murtaugh.  “But maybe she really is doing herself a favor.  She can save time and gasoline in her travels around the state, because her Vermont is missing hundreds of square miles.”