• FILE: KYM BALTHAZAR

Covering politics in Vermont can be challenging because nobody wants to make enemies in such a small state. No matter how harsh legislators, lobbyists and administration officials may be in off-the-record conversations over double IPAs, few are willing to put their names to candid, unvarnished observations.

Actually, just one: Montpelier lobbyist Kevin Ellis. Which is why we quote him so frequently.

So when I set about chronicling the unusual relationship between Gov. Phil Scott and his chief of staff, Jason Gibbs, I wasn't optimistic I could get anyone to squawk. I knew that a communications professional as skilled as Gibbs would do everything he could to shape the narrative.

Related Backseat Driver? In Gov. Phil Scott's Administration, Chief of Staff Jason Gibbs Takes the Wheel

Backseat Driver? In Gov. Phil Scott's Administration, Chief of Staff Jason Gibbs Takes the Wheel

By Paul Heintz

Politics

I decided to start from the outside and work my way in to those closest to Gibbs. That way, I figured, I could get at least some of my interviews done before the chief started circulating talking points.

It didn't take long before I heard from sources that Gibbs was on to me. In conversations with certain administration officials, I started noticing suspiciously similar observations about my subject: "The governor's staff work as a team," I was told, "and Jason is just the coach." Riiiight.

After a few weeks of reporting, I was running out of time and knew I needed to request an interview with the governor. Scott is highly accessible to reporters, and his spokesperson quickly made time for me to meet with him. I imagined that, when I showed up, the governor would be surrounded by staffers, and Gibbs would be looming over him with a cattle prod.

In fact, the gov's handlers took the opposite approach. When I arrived at the appointed location — an Agency of Transportation facility in Colchester — I found Scott sitting alone in an empty room. Whoever was staffing him that day had made himself or herself scarce.

The message was clear: Scott's running the show.

With that interview under my belt, there was only one person left on my list: Gibbs. From the VTrans parking lot, I emailed the chief: "Hi Jason, Any chance I could meet up with you for an interview on Monday? Thanks, Paul."

A few hours later, Gibbs responded.

"For sure. What's the topic?" he wrote. "Just kidding. What time works for you?"