John Campbell has announced he plans to retire from his position as head of the state department that supports state’s attorneys and sheriffs in Vermont, a post he has held for the past eight years.
Campbell, 70, has served as the executive director of the Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs since May 2016 after serving for 16 years in the Vermont Senate, the last 6 as the chamber’s leader. His retirement from the department is set to take effect Jan. 11, according to a Monday press release.
Executive committees of both the state’s attorneys and sheriffs have selected Tim Lueders-Dumont to replace Campbell, the release added. Lueders-Dumont has worked for the department since May 2021, most recently as its legislative attorney.
Campbell, in an interview Tuesday, said he believed the time was right to retire and that he was leaving the department in good hands with Lueders-Dumont.
“I had goals going into it and that was to professionalize the department and to shed light on the incredible lack of resources that had been devoted to all the offices and I think that I achieved those goals,” Campbell said.
Campbell added that he thought now was the time for “new blood” to lead the department.
Among the tasks the department provides are budgeting assistance, management help and policy work to state’s attorneys and sheriffs who are independently elected from the 14 counties in Vermont. As executive director, Campbell frequently testified on various criminal justice matters before the Legislature.
In Tuesday’s interview, he highlighted his work bolstering human resources support provided by the department, including payroll and benefit functions as well as labor relations services.
Campbell’s tenure coincided with a series of scandals in recent years involving both state’s attorneys and sheriffs. That thrust the department into the awkward position of at one point publicly demanding the resignation of one of its members — then-Franklin County State’s Attorney John Lavoie who stepped down amid misconduct allegations. It also resulted, at times, in some state’s attorneys prosecuting a sheriff.
Grand Isle State’s Attorney Doug Disabito, for example, recently decided to drop a misdemeanor simple assault charge against Franklin County Sheriff John Grismore after two mistrials in which juries were unable to reach a verdict.
Earlier this year, Addison County State’s Attorney Eva Vekos was arrested for allegedly driving under the influence to a crime scene investigation.
And in 2022, then-Addison County Sheriff Peter Newton was arrested on charges accusing him of sexually assaulting, physically assaulting and unlawfully restraining a woman. Newton and Vekos have denied the charges and both cases remain pending.
“It is frustrating when you see the actions of one or two people and how they can mar an entire group of people,” Campbell said, speaking generally about the scandals.
“The state’s attorneys that we have and the sheriffs that we have, they’re extremely hard working, they’re professional,” Campbell said. “Then along comes some people that do things that you just have to scratch your head and say, ‘What were you thinking?’”
He expressed frustration at the limitations on his department’s ability to intervene. “In some of these cases where I think people should have been taken out of their jobs right away unfortunately because they are elected officials we can’t do that, we don’t have that power.”
As the Legislature considered creating oversight measures for county officials in response to some of the scandals, Campbell at times found his members on opposing sides of the issue. A proposed amendment to the state constitution to create qualifications for those officials won support from the state’s attorneys but faltered after a lobbying push by sheriffs.
From his tenure as the Democratic state senator for Windsor County and Senate president pro tempore, Campbell was no stranger to political battles under the Golden Dome.
Gov. Phil Scott, in a statement praising Campbell’s service with the department, noted that the two of them were both elected to the state Senate in 2000. “I was a Republican and John was a Democrat,” the governor added, “and while we didn’t agree on every issue, we both believed in doing what was best for Vermont, regardless of party.”
Vermont Defender General Matthew Valerio said Tuesday that he had a “complicated” relationship with Campbell, going back to Campbell’s days as a lawmaker. More recently, he would find himself testifying on different sides of issues before the Senate Judiciary Committee, with Valerio representing the defense position and Campbell representing the prosecution side.
Valerio said Campbell brought a “balanced” approach to help meet competing demands within the criminal justice system. “I’m going to miss him,” he said.
The defender general added that he understood Campbell was often in a difficult position in testifying before lawmakers because he was representing the views of the independently elected sheriffs and state’s attorneys from across Vermont’s 14 counties.
“That’s not an easy thing to do,” Valerio said.
Windsor County Sheriff Ryan Palmer recalled Wednesday reaching out to Campbell when he first ran for the office in 2022. “He’s a Windsor County guy and I’ve known him for a while,” Palmer said. “He spoke about the job and what it entails. That was kind of him and he didn’t have to do that.”
Also, Palmer said, Campbell and other people in the department have helped keep an eye on the legislation under consideration in the Statehouse.
“They really help us in navigating the legislative landscape,” Palmer said.
Bennington County State’s Attorney Erica Marthage, in a statement, described Campbell as a “positive influence” on the department.
“As a person,” Marthage added, “John is known for being a kind and caring person which has resulted in much greater camaraderie within the department.”
Campbell said he does have some plans lined up for his retirement.
“I’m actually going to be devoting a large amount of my time to painting — artistic painting,” he said.
“I took it up doing Covid — self taught — and I’m doing pretty well, I think,” Campbell added. “It’s one of those things that clears your head. It’s very peaceful.”
Read the story on VTDigger here: John Campbell to retire from post as head of Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs.