T.J. Donovan

Thomas J. "T. J." Donovan Jr. (born January 15, 1974 ) is an American lawyer and politician who served as Vermont Attorney General from 2017 to 2022. He was first elected in 2016 with over 66 percent of the vote. He previously served for ten years as State's Attorney of Chittenden County, the most populous county in Vermont.

Donovan is known for starting the Rapid Intervention Community Court (RICC) in Chittenden County, a criminal justice program made available to non-violent offenders whose crimes have been driven by addiction or mental illness.

During his first month in office, Attorney General Donovan joined sixteen other states in an amicus brief in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The brief opposes President Trump's executive order banning on immigrants from certain Muslim countries. Donovan also joined Republican Governor Phil Scott in proposing legislation to require the governor's approval before state and local police could conduct federal immigration enforcement work.

A member of the Democratic Party, Donovan challenged incumbent Vermont attorney general William Sorrell for the Democratic nomination to become the Vermont Attorney General in the elections of 2012. His campaign that year was centered on the prescription drug abuse epidemic throughout Vermont, and resulted in a very narrow primary defeat. In 2014, he ran for re-election as state's attorney of Chittenden County, choosing not to challenge Sorrell a second time.

Early life and family Donovan was born in Burlington, Vermont in 1974. Donovan is married to Jessica McCloud. The couple has two children.

During his 2012 campaign for Vermont Attorney General, Donovan acknowledged his arrest for assault as a teenager. In a plea bargain, the charge was reduced to a misdemeanor, and Donovan received a deferred sentence. His record was expunged after he completed the terms of his plea agreement. Donovan pointed to this experience as a critical moment in his personal development, when began to act more maturely and think about his future. He also detailed the advantages he had in dealing with the criminal justice system as the son of an attorney, which might not have been available to a similarly situated teenager living in poverty with fewer personal, professional, and political connections. He described this incident as instructive, stating that it guided him to a sense of empathy and obligation to help others navigate the criminal justice system and receive a second chance when circumstances warrant.

Early career Donovan began his legal career in the District Attorney's Office of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as a criminal prosecutor. Donovan returned to Vermont in 2002, working as a Deputy State's Attorney in Chittenden County. He is co-chair of former Vermont governor Peter Shumlin's Criminal Justice and Substance Abuse Cabinet.

Political career

In 2012, Donovan challenged incumbent Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell in the Democratic Party primary. Donovan campaigned, among other things, for access under the Access to Public Records Act to police investigations and the decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana. One of his focuses in the campaign was to highlight the opioid epidemic afflicting Vermont communities. Donovan lost the hotly contested primary by 714 votes, with Sorrell receiving 21,124 votes to Donovan's 20,410. During the last weeks of the primary, a super PAC with unknown donors ran advertisements for the incumbent narrated by former Governor Howard Dean.

Several of the principal issues that Donovan advocated in the 2012 campaign were enacted into law in the next Legislative session, including access to records of police investigations, a Good Samaritan law to help prevent fatal opiate overdoses and decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana. In March 2014, Donovan was reelected as Chittenden County State's Attorney, running unopposed. While his office prosecuted many violent felonies, he also worked to reduce recidivism and, where appropriate, utilized a collaborative approach to addressing criminality. In February 2015, Donovan announced a traffic-ticket amnesty program to allow persons with suspended licenses to pay each unpaid traffic ticket for $20 in a one-day trial. On March 20, 2015, more than a thousand people lined up outside the Edward Costello Courthouse in Burlington to recover their driver's licenses. A similar program was offered in other counties and, in 2016, the legislature passed a law to allow such programs statewide.

On October 15, 2015, Donovan announced his candidacy for Vermont Attorney General in the 2016 election. He won the November 2016 general election by defeating Republican nominee Deborah Bucknam.

On July 23, 2019, he officially endorsed Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign.

Donovan announced on May 5, 2022 that he would not seek reelection as Attorney General. The following month, he announced that he would resign as Attorney General effective June 20 to become Director of Public Policy and U.S. State Strategies at Roblox Corporation.

Political positions While Donovan has focused on prosecuting serious crime, and particularly violent crime, he has attempted an innovative approach to persons struggling with addiction and poverty who end up in the criminal justice system. Donovan has focused on ultimate outcomes not only for the victims of crime but for the perpetrators in order to reduce recidivism and rehabilitate offenders. Donovan often summarized his approach by stating he believes that "the best form of public safety is a good job." As of that time, approximately 271 male incarcerated persons from Vermont were housed in a private prison in Baldwin, Michigan, operated by GEO, Inc. A month later, the Vermont Commissioner of Corrections Lisa Menard said that she wanted to "substantially reduce, hopefully eliminate, usage of out-of-state beds. That keeps Vermont inmates and Vermont dollars in Vermont." and that housing is a major problem. His efforts include advocating for medical treatment on demand for drug addiction, alternatives to incarceration and vigorous enforcement coupled with meaningful intervention and effective prevention strategies.

Donovan has also sought to enhance communication among law enforcement and the mental health community. He advocated for passage of "ban the box" legislation to prevent employers from inquiring about criminal history on initial job applications. After passing the legislature with overwhelming support, Vermont governor Peter Shumlin signed the bill into law on May 3, 2016.

Electoral history

Chittenden County State's Attorney Democratic Primary, 2014 PartyCandidateVotes%DemocraticTJ Donovan3,913100.0

Chittenden County State's Attorney General Election, 2014 PartyCandidateVotes%DemocraticTJ Donovan39,078100.0