After a public flirtation with a bid for higher office, former Wall Street executive Bruce Lisman announced in a press release Wednesday morning that he will not be running for governor.
Since relocating to Vermont in 2008, the Burlington native has spent more than $1 million of his own money on an advocacy organization that he used to propel himself into policy debates over education financing reform, state fiscal management and energy policy.
Many political observers viewed the investments as a lead-in to a gubernatorial run, a theory fueled last month when Lisman said he’s giving “serious” thought to challenging Gov. Peter Shumlin. But Lisman said in a statement that he can “best contribute to improving Vermont’s future by publicly and vigorously advocating for a focused, core set of moderate, nonpartisan and common sense government reforms.”
Lisman’s decision winnows to two the number of name-brand prospects still publicly weighing a bid against the two-term Democratic incumbent. Scott Milne, owner of a travel company, and former state auditor Randy Brock, the GOP candidate in 2012, are considering candidacies.
Milne told Seven Days this week that he might wait as long as the June 12 filing deadline to make up his mind. Brock, who has not returned repeated calls over the past two weeks, had said he planned to make a decision in early May.
This post was edited on 5/22/14 at 10:11 a.m.
