On April 8, 2024 Vermont Lieutenant Governor candidate Gregory Thayer issued a public statement on the Windsor County GOP Facebook page in which he asserted, "Richard Ley did an unauthorized write-in campaign in my name...I did not want him to do this...He took it upon himself after I had closed my campaign."
Thayer's statements are false.
Richard Ley was an advisor to Gregory Thayer on Thayer's 2022 campaign for Lieutenant Governor. Phone records show Thayer frequently called and texted Ley to solicit Ley's advice and assistance.
Thayer called Ley on Tuesday August 16th, 2022 a week after losing Republican primary on August 9th, and told Ley he wanted run as a write-in candidate. Thayer named several supporters who would back his effort.
Around half an hour after the August 16th phone call Gregory Thayer followed up with a text to Richard Ley saying "Richard, nice chatting," and providing contact information for one of the people he'd named in the phone call. Thayer stated he "had 8/10 people around the state that will probably help out," and requested that articles announcing his write-in campaign be published in True North Reports and Vermont Daily Chronicle.
When Ley responded, "I'll get working on it," Thayer replied that he would "help behind scenes," which was a reference to statements Thayer had made to Ley in prior phone calls. Thayer had confided that he was deeply resentful of Rutland County GOP Chair "f*cking c*nt Terry Burke" for supporting "f*cking cocks*cker Joe Benning" instead of him in the primary despite the fact that Thayer volunteered in the Rutland GOP office every day, and he did not want Burke to know he was actively involved in coordinating his own write-in campaign.
Phone records show Gregory Thayer called Richard Ley several times between August 16-25 to strategize the write-in campaign and inform Ley he'd asked Jim Sexton to write an article announcing his candidacy.
On Thursday August 25th Richard Ley texted Gregory Thayer, "We need some answers from you." Thayer replied that he was out to dinner and told Ley, "Call Sexton. He has answers." Ley replied, "Whenever you get in give me a call we got some things we need to talk about so we can get a web page going for you and get it out there."
Gregory Thayer called Richard Ley back the next morning on Friday August 26th, gave his approval for a website, and Richard Ley purchased domain that day.
On Saturday August 27th Richard Ley texted Gregory Thayer to tell him "the ball is already rolling with you being a write-in" and to "act surprised" if he heard anything.
Richard Ley recruited a friend who had experience taking profile photos for another organization to take pictures of Gregory Thayer for the website and they scheduled the photo shoot for August 29th at the Rutland County GOP office.
On August 29th Richard Ley texted Gregory Thayer to confirm photo shoot and told Thayer to "bring a white shirt" to wear for his website profile picture.
When Ley arrived, Thayer said his only white shirt was dirty and he had to wear a pink polo shirt instead.
Numerous photos were taken of Thayer, both inside the Rutland County GOP office and in front of the brick wall next door.
As they were sorting through the photos, Rutland County GOP Chair Terry Burke returned to the office. Ley helped Burke stuff plastic door knob hangers while Thayer approved a photo taken of him standing in front of a door at the back of the Rutland County GOP office to be his write-in campaign website profile picture.
The next day on Tuesday August 30th Richard Ley's friend texted him regarding Gregory Thayer's secretive behavior trying to conceal what he was doing from Terry Burke, and noted that Burke was going to "put 2 and 2 together" since Thayer's website photos were taken in the Rutland County GOP office.
On September 3, 2022 Jim Sexton published the announcement for Gregory Thayer's write-in campaign that Thayer had requested.
https://vermontdailychronicle.com/campaign-22-colchester-gop-to-host-bbq-candidate-night-in-whitingham-lg-write-in-campaign/
By September 11, however, Thayer had lost his nerve. He wrote a letter to Jim Sexton and Richard Ley telling them, "two of my children, my brother, Tammy, and some staunch conservative supporters want me to ask the write-in organizers to stop the effort."
When Richard Ley texted Gregory Thayer in response to Thayer's letter and said he wanted to discuss the issue, Thayer invited Le to the Rutland County GOP office. Thayer was still concealing his actions from Terry Burke and told Ley she was "out of state."
On November 3, 2022 just before the election Gregory Thayer published an article in True North Reports backing Joe Benning and lying that he "did not set up" his write-in campaign "nor did he have anything to do with it."
http://www.truenorthreports.com/gregory-thayer-joe-benning-is-better-choice-than-far-leftist-david-zuckerman
Jim Sexton commented that Gregory Thayer had, in fact, met with supporters to organize write-in campaign and had asked Sexton to write a media release announcing it.
When the issue of Gregory Thayer's unresolved lies re-emerged with his April 8, 2024 Windsor County GOP Facebook Page statement, Shirley Sexton commented on Thayer's article announcing his candidacy and wrote, "Richard Ley speaks truth! Gregory did lie. I was on his team. I have no respect for lying! And I definitely would not trust a liar. Greg is weak and couldn’t go the mile! He lost Jim’s support so he folded and started lying."
https://vermontdailychronicle.com/thayer-why-im-running-for-lt-governor/
To summarize, Gregory Thayer stated in his April 8th 2024 Windsor County GOP Facebook Page post that "his campaign is about transparency and personal responsibility."
He has demonstrated neither.
Thayer told Ley he hated "f*cking cocks*cker Joe Benning" and resented "f*cking c*unt Terry Burke" for supporting Benning in the primary, and therefore did not want Burke to know he had decided to continue running as a write-in after his loss.
Thayer recruited a number of supporters, put them in touch with one another, requested articles be written, approved a write-in website, and posed for photos in the Rutland County GOP office.
However, as soon as Jim Sexton published the article Thayer had asked him to write, Thayer and his family - who he'd indicated were aware and supportive of his write-in campaign - lost their nerve when "staunch conservatives" pressured Thayer to back down and support Benning.
But instead of being "transparent" and taking "personal responsibility" for his choice to continue running as a write-in after losing the primary, Thayer lied to cover it up and called formerly loyal supporters "liars."
In reality, Gregory Thayer is the one who is lying.
