A Randolph selectbard member has been appointed to the Vermont House to replace Rep. Larry Townsend, who died in June.
Gov. Peter Shumlin named Democrat Marjorie Ryerson to the Orange-Washington-Addison seat, which includes the towns of Braintree, Brookfield, Granville, Randolph and Roxbury.
According to a news release from the governor’s office, Ryerson’s appointment gives women the majority of seats in the Democratic caucus.
Ryerson, a 40-year resident of Randolph, is a poet, writer and editor, and has been a professor at two of Vermont’s state colleges, according to the release.
“It was a difficult choice because there were three exceptional candidates,” Shumlin said in the release. “I am excited to make this appointment and I look forward to working with Marjorie in the upcoming legislative session. I know she will do a great job representing the district and working for all Vermonters.”
House Speaker Shap Smith acknowledged the significance of the gender balance.
“Marjorie’s appointment marks a significant milestone for the Vermont House of Representatives. For the first time in the House’s history, women will represent a majority of members in a majority party caucus. It is both amazing and sobering that we should celebrate such a milestone only now in 2013, but it is a reflection of the tremendous strides that women have made in the last 30 years and is something that all Vermonters can and should celebrate.”
Ryerson has been a writer and editor at a number of Vermont publications, including Vermont Life, the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus and the Burlington Free Press. As a professor at Castleton State College, Ryerson won two awards — best new teacher, and the statewide faculty fellow award, the news release said.
Townsend served parts of three terms in the House before he succumbed to cancer soon after the session ended this year.
