Sen. Ann Cummings (D-Washington), who said she was reluctantly voting no for Saunders, said she had never seen the kind of “intense, well-organized lobbying effort” as she had in response to Saunders’ nomination.

“That kind of intensity makes it very difficult to make an impartial decision,” she said, noting that some of the messages appeared to be form letters.

But Sen. Ruth Hardy (D-Addison) said she thought that what she heard from her constituents “was incredibly authentic and personal and not toxic at all. People were speaking from the heart. People were speaking out of the love of their public schools, out of the love of their communities.”

Hardy also noted that when she interviewed Saunders, the nominee was not able to explain the state’s school finance system. Saunders also did not present a strong vision for public education, Hardy said, other than the idea of forming partnerships with entities such as Middlebury College.

“I’m frankly proud of our constituents, proud of the people in Vermont who wrote to us and showed up today who want us to improve schools and do right by public education in Vermont,” Hardy said.

Several senators expressed concern with the reception Saunders had received from Vermonters.

“I am appalled by the way this woman has been treated,” Sen. Terry Williams (R-Rutland) said.

But Nader Hashim (D-Windham) said the last several weeks amounted to “a long and rather awkward” job interview. “Being found underqualified for a job is not a personal attack,” Hashim said.

Sen. Becca White (D-Windsor), who voted no, said she was “overwhelmed … by emails, phone calls, text messages, being stopped at the co-op … and they were all individuals who had trepidation and skepticism … not because of the state that the secretary nominee is from, but because of her résumé.”

“I hate sharing my feelings, but today I am genuinely sad,” Campion said. “This has been an incredibly contentious few weeks … and personally I have never witnessed, in my 14 years in the building, character attacks toward what I consider a very, very good person.”

Campion said he believed Saunders was an “exceptional candidate” with “vast experience, remarkable intellect and deep dedication for expanding opportunities.”

Despite the rejection, Saunders, for the time being, isn't going anywhere. She'll serve as interim secretary and can do so through February 2025, when all gubernatorial appointees are up for reappointment, Scott spokesperson Jason Maulucci said after the vote.

Interim appointees are not subject to legislative confirmation.

"We think she's the right person for the job," Maulucci told Seven Days.

Maulucci said the governor believes the process was flawed, pointing to what he called misinformation circulated by Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman. Over the weekend, a fundraising email sent from Zuckerman's campaign said that during Saunders' time working for Charter Schools USA, she "received an award from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis who has subjected Florida’s public schools to the right-wing movement to ban books and censor teachers’ ability to teach factual American history on race and sexuality."

In an interview on Monday, Zuckerman acknowledged that he erroneously stated it was DeSantis who gave the award and that Saunders was a "charter school executive" at the time.

Saunders' résumé states that she "spearheaded innovative education programs that earned the city of Fort Lauderdale recognition as a recipient of the Florida Department of Education’s Commissioner’s Business Recognition Award."

“There can be political missteps, and maybe I made one here,” Zuckerman said.
In an email reply to Zuckerman, Saunders pointed out that she had never met DeSantis. Nor, she said, is she complicit in book-banning controversies there; she said Zuckerman had falsely cast her work as being part of "the culture wars."

Because of that email, Gov. Scott had sent Senate leadership a letter on Monday urging a postponement of the vote on Saunders' confirmation.