Communication Plan

Bringing Transparency to Light: A Modern Plan for Accountability

Vermont’s State Auditor is the public’s eyes and ears inside state government. But a report is only as powerful as the number of people who actually read it. For too long, vital information about how your tax dollars are spent has been buried in dense, 30-40-page PDFs on a hard-to-navigate website.

My mission is simple: To bring the Auditor’s office into the 21st century and ensure every Vermonter knows exactly where our government is succeeding, and where it is falling short.

As your State Auditor, I will transform this office from a quiet archive into a beacon of public awareness. We will implement a comprehensive, modern media strategy to meet Vermonters where they are and ensure every taxpayer understands exactly how their hard-earned dollars are being managed.

To bridge the gap between state government and our communities, I will implement a modern, Three-Pillar Communication Strategy designed to meet Vermonters wherever they are.


The Three Pillars of a Transparent Auditor’s Office

Pillar 1: Re-Engaging Legacy Media

Deep investigative journalism is the bedrock of local accountability. Local newspapers, radio stations, and TV networks remain vital sources of truth for communities across Vermont. We will revitalize the office's relationship with the press by:

  • Ditching the Jargon: Issuing press releases written in plain, accessible language with clear "bottom-line" takeaways.

  • Active Press Engagement: Conducting regular, open-door briefings and interviews with local journalists to walk through complex findings.

  • Hyper-Local Focus: Ensuring regional outlets get tailored insights on how state-level audits directly impact their specific towns and counties.

Pillar 2: Meeting Vermonters in the Digital Commons (New Media)

Accountability shouldn’t require you to seek us out; we should come to you. Vermonters talk to each other in decentralized digital spaces. The Auditor’s office needs a seat at those tables to listen to your concerns and share our findings directly. We will actively engage with:

  • Front Porch Forum & Facebook Groups: Utilizing localized community networks to share relevant audit findings that impact specific towns.

  • Reddit (e.g., r/Vermont): Hosting open "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) sessions after major report releases to answer your questions in real-time.

  • Substack & Independent Media: Partnering with and providing long-form, easily digestible context to Vermont's growing network of independent writers and policy analysts.

Pillar 3: Building Our Owned Assets

Creating direct, unfiltered lines of communication between the Auditor and the taxpayer. We will build a modern media infrastructure owned entirely by the public, ensuring you never have to rely on algorithms or intermediaries to get the facts. This includes:

  • "The Auditor’s Brief" Weekly Newsletter: A concise, engaging weekly email breaking down recent investigations, upcoming audits, and government spending trends.

  • Active Social Media Infrastructure: Launching and maintaining highly visual, educational content across all major platforms to explain why specific audits matter to your wallet.

  • The "TL;DR" (Too Long; Didn't Read) Initiative: Every single audit published under my watch will be accompanied by a 1-page summary, an infographic, and a short video breaking down the essential facts.

Delivering Results at Zero Additional Cost to Taxpayers

A modern communication strategy requires dedicated, professional execution. However, building a transparent government shouldn't mean growing the size of government.

To bring this vision to life without asking for a single dime of new taxpayer funding, I will restructure the office's existing personnel budget.

  • Reworking Existing Roles: We will reallocate and modernize an existing exempt employee position within the Auditor's office to create a dedicated Communications Director role.

  • Zero-Budget Increase: By modernizing an existing slot rather than creating a new one, this vital position will be fully funded within the confines of our current budget.

  • A Full-Time Champion for Transparency: This individual will be tasked entirely with executing the three pillars above—translating complex audits into plain English, managing our digital assets, and ensuring the press and the public get timely, accurate answers.

Moving Vermont Forward

A government that operates in the dark can never truly be held accountable. By modernizing how the Auditor's office communicates, we aren't just changing how we post updates, we are fundamentally shifting the balance of power back to the taxpayers.

Government transparency isn't just about making data available. It's about making it understandable, accessible, and actionable for every single Vermonter.

We are going to make the Auditor’s office more efficient, more communicative, and more accountable, all while leading by example and proving that government can do more with the resources it already has.

Let’s build a more transparent, accountable Vermont, together.