Richard Tarrant (politician)
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Richard Edward Tarrant (born August 6, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He was the Republican nominee for
U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...
from Vermont in
2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
, which he lost to U.S. Representative
Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...
. Tarrant and his wife, Deborah, reside in Colchester, Vermont, where he works for his charitable foundation.


Early life

Tarrant was born in Newark, New Jersey and raised in West Orange, New Jersey. Tarrant initially went to
Saint Bonaventure University St. Bonaventure University is a private university, private Franciscan university in St. Bonaventure, New York. It has 2,381 undergraduate and graduate students. The Order of Friars Minor, Franciscan Brothers established the university in 1858. ...
and was a
walk-on Walk On may refer to: Music * ''Walk On'', a 1994 album by Boston, and its title song Albums * ''Walk On'' (Boston album), 1994 * ''Walk On'' (John Hiatt album), 1995 * ''Walk On'' (Randy Johnston album), 1992 *''Walk On'', a 2007 album by ...
with the basketball team. He requested a scholarship but was denied. Tarrant then transferred to Saint Michael's College on a basketball scholarship and was a first-team All-American in his senior year. He led the Purple Knights to the Final Four of the
1965 NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Tournament Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...
, where they were defeated 93–70 by the University of Evansville, who had Jerry Sloan and Larry Humes, both All-Americans. In the consolation game of the same tournament, Tarrant played against Phil Jackson of North Dakota, who went on to fame as a player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association. He was a fourth-round draft pick of the world champion
Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...
, but was cut before the first game of the season. Tarrant graduated from Saint Michael's in 1965 with a bachelor's degree in mathematics. He then went to work for IBM in
Burlington, Vermont Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...
, selling computer equipment in the northern part of the state.


Business career

In 1969, Tarrant and his business partners
Robert Hoehl Robert "Bob" Hoehl (December 13, 1941 – November 7, 2010) was a co-founder of the software company IDX Systems and a Vermont philanthropist. Born in Brooklyn, NY, Hoehl earned a basketball scholarship to Saint Michael's College in Colchester, Ver ...
and, later, Paul Egerman founded Burlington Data Processing (BDP) with a Small Business Administration loan. The company changed its name to Interpretive Data System (IDS) and later to IDX Systems Corporation. BDP initially provided payroll and claims processing for physicians. By 2005, IDX had contracted with thousands of doctors' offices across the country, and provided computer technology for many of the United Kingdom's medical centers. Between 1995 and 2005, Tarrant was chairman of IDX's board. In 2006, General Electric bought IDX for $1.2 billion. Tarrant now lives in Colchester, Vermont, where he works for his charitable foundation. Tarrant served as a member of the University of Vermont's Board of Trustees for several years and on the Saint Michael's College Board of Trustees. He donated funds to Saint Michael's for a new athletic center that was named in his parents' honor.


Philanthropy

Tarrant and his wife have created the Richard E. and Deborah L. Tarrant Foundation, which makes grants intended to enrich the quality of life in communities throughout Vermont. Its "primary areas of focus are basic human services, education and community-based grantmaking." In 2005, the Grantsmanship Center listed the foundation as one of the top 40 Vermont foundations in charitable giving. The foundation is prohibited from making any donations to pro-choice groups. Most recently, Tarrant's foundation invested in the Milton public school system, providing monetary support for a pilot program ("Home School at School") that gave students an opportunity to learn at different paces. In 2007, Tarrant's foundation gave $1 million toward the creation of a $1.8 million community center in Winooski, Vermont. On December 18, 2018, the University of Vermont announced that Tarrant and his family had given $15 million for its new multi-purpose center, which will house the men's basketball team and be called the Tarrant Event Center. It is the second athletic-related facility that bears the Tarrant name in Vermont. In 1994, Tarrant donated $5 million toward the construction of St. Michael's College's student recreation center, which is named in honor of his parents.


2006 campaign for U.S. Senate

In 2005, Tarrant announced his candidacy for the US Senate seat vacated by the retirement of Independent Senator
Jim Jeffords James Merrill Jeffords (May 11, 1934 – August 18, 2014) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. senator from Vermont. Sworn into the Senate in 1989, he served as a Republican until 2001, when he left the party to become ...
. On September 12, 2006, he won the Republican nomination, defeating US Air Force Lt. Col. Greg Parke and marijuana legalization activist
Cris Ericson Cris Ericson (born May 16, 1952) is an American marijuana legalization activist and perennial candidate for public office in Vermont. She has unsuccessfully run for the governorship of Vermont nine times and for a seat in the United States ...
. Tarrant faced Independent Representative
Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...
in the November general election. Sanders, who won the
Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...
nomination but ran as an Independent, defeated Tarrant by 33 percentage points. The race proved to be the most expensive race in Vermont history with both candidates together spending close to $13 million. Tarrant spent roughly $7 million of his own money in the race and Sanders raised roughly $6.5 million and spent most of it. Tarrant's campaign was remarkable for its saturation of radio and television with a serial biography of the candidate and attack ads of Sanders.


References


External links


OnTheIssues


by Saint Michael's College
Television debate, August 24, 2006, between candidates Rich Tarrant and Cris Ericson on CCTV (podcast)
hosted by Marc Johnson {{DEFAULTSORT:Tarrant, Richard 1942 births Living people IBM employees Candidates in the 2006 United States elections People from West Orange, New Jersey Politicians from Newark, New Jersey Politicians from Burlington, Vermont Saint Michael's Purple Knights men's basketball players Boston Celtics draft picks Vermont Republicans Businesspeople from Newark, New Jersey