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Harlan Sylvester
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| Harlan Sylvester | |
| Basic facts | |
| Organization: | Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, South Burlington |
| Role: | Financial advisor |
| Location: | Colchester, Vt. |
| Affiliation: | Democratic |
| Education: | •University of Vermont (economics, political science, 1959) |
Harlan Sylvester is a financial advisor at the South Burlington branch of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, an investment bank. He has been active in Vermont politics since 1972 and has advised both Democratic and Republican governors on economic issues.
Career
Harlan Sylvester studied economics and political science at the University of Vermont and graduated in 1959. After college, Sylvester served in the Vermont National Guard for six months and in the reserves for years after that. His first interaction with politics occurred when he served as a legislative page at the age of 12 while his father, Harold Sylvester, was a Republican state legislator.[1][2]
He began working for F.I. du Pont, a New York, N.Y., investment bank, in 1966 where he managed personal investments for clients from his office in Vermont. After many mergers and acquisitions, Sylvester was working for Salomon Smith Barney in 2003. By 2009, he was working for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, where he is a financial advisor in Colchester, Vt.[1][2]
Political role in Vermont
In Vermont politics, Harlan Sylvester has been influential up to the governor's office since former Governor Thomas P. Salmon (D) was elected in 1972. Sylvester was appointed to the Vermont Racing Commission, which regulates gambling on horse races in the state, by Gov. Salmon and has been chair of the commission since former Governor Howard Dean (D) was in office in the early 2000s. He has been chair of the Vermont Governor's Council of Economic Advisors since former Governor Madeleine M. Kunin (D) held office in 1985.[1][2][3][4]
Peter Freyne quoted a lobbyist in a Seven Days article in 2000 saying,"Anyone thinking of running for statewide office and raising the money to do so goes to see [Sylvester]." A 2010 Seven Days article said of Sylvester, "The most powerful man in Vermont politics has never held elected office" but has "had the ear of every one of the state's chief executives" since former Gov. Salmon. The same article notes Sylvester's preference to avoid media attention and said, "Search Google for images of Sylvester, and three gravestones pop up — with other guys’ names on them. Sylvester even managed to stay out of his UVM college yearbook."[1][2]
In 2013, Campaigns & Elections named Sylvester a top Democratic Party influencer in Vermont.[5]
Top influencers by state
Influencers in American politics are power players who help get candidates elected, put through policy proposals, cause ideological changes, and affect popular perceptions. They can take on many forms: politicians, lobbyists, advisors, donors, corporations, industry groups, labor unions, single-issue organizations, nonprofits, to name a few.
In 2015, Ballotpedia identified Harlan Sylvester as a top influencer by state. We identified top influencers across the country through several means, including the following:
- Local knowledge of our professional staff
- Surveys of activists, thought leaders and journalists from across the country and political spectrum
- Outreach to political journalists in each state who helped refine our lists
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Harlan Sylvester Vermont. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
- Morgan Stanley South Burlington
- Governor of Vermont's Council of Economic Advisors
- Vermont Racing Commission
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Seven Days, "The Man Behind the Throne," October 27, 2010
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Seven Days, "Meet Vermont's 'Godfather'," August 2, 2000
- ↑ Office of the Governor of Vermont, "Council of Economic Advisors," accessed December 1, 2015
- ↑ Office of the Governor of Vermont, "Vermont Racing Commission," accessed December 1, 2015
- ↑ Cloud Contact Center, "The Influencers 500," January 22, 2013
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