[R]ep. David Deen, D-Putney, announced on Monday that he will retire at the end of his current term — his 15th in the Vermont Legislature.
An advocate for the environment and for civil rights, and the second longest-serving member of the House, Deen’s name has been linked to landmark legislation, from the 1999 bill granting civil unions to same-sex couples, which he co-sponsored, to the suite of environmental laws known as the state’s Clean Water Act, which he sponsored in 2015.
A former fishing guide, Deen said in announcing his retirement from politics, that he intends to spend more time practicing his favorite sport.
“The bottom line is that I want to go and enjoy some of the clean water I helped protect,” Deen said. “It’s fishin’ time!”
Environmentalists, however, responded with dismay. Deen, who is chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources, Fish, and Wildlife, is widely regarded as an effective advocate for the environment, especially water quality.
“I can’t say enough about what a huge impact David Deen has had on Vermont environmental law,” said Chris Kilian, vice president of Strategic Litigation and former Vermont president of the Conservation Law Foundation. “He’ll be sorely missed, although I’m sure he’ll stay involved.”
About matters of water quality, natural resources committee vice chair, Rep. Mary Sullivan, D-Burlington, said, “he knows more about the issues, probably, than anybody else in the Legislature.
“He’s been a gift to Vermont,” Sullivan said.
Sen. Jeannette White, D-Windham, said Deen stayed with her and her husband when all of them moved to Vermont in 1970. White said she helped persuade Deen to make the move to the state.
“I figure if I don’t do anything else for Vermont, I brought him here,” White said.
“He has been a tireless advocate for people without voices … and he’s always worked for the ones who are most vulnerable,” she said.
“I’ve always considered him one of God’s people,” White said. “He’s a very good person. His intentions are always good, he’s kind, he’s really a very good person.”
Nevertheless, White said, “he certainly has his core values … and he can get impatient with people who seem to be dawdlers or obstructionist.”
Deen is best known for his work to preserve the quality of Vermont’s public waters, but he also has been an advocate for everyday citizens in a Statehouse often bedazzled by other interests, said House Speaker Rep. Mitzi Johnson, D-South Hero.
“He’s been such a foundation here, both in terms of not just all the policy work he does so incredibly well but also for his tremendous loyalty to the Legislature — the people’s house — really being the constant defender of the people’s branch of government,” Johnson said.
Deen is known as a person who would take the time to learn things; the depth of his understanding of parliamentary procedure, Johnson said, kept the Legislature running smoothly and ensured that its members followed rules of order and of deliberation.
Deen also knows more than almost anyone about the topics he cares most about, said Robb Kidd, representative of the Vermont chapter of the Sierra Club.
“As an environmental advocate, it was reassuring knowing Chairman David Deen not only understood the issues, but that he knew [them] better than most of us, and that he was driven to do all he could reasonably do to protect Vermont’s natural resources,” Kidd said.
Deen’s tenure was marked not just by his advocacy, but by his effectiveness as a politician as well, said Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman.
“He is certainly a legislator who I looked up to tremendously, when I first got elected 20 years ago, as someone who is policy- and process-oriented, and that combination’s not easily found or replicated,” Zuckerman said.
Steeped in the relatively esoteric “Mason’s rules” that govern Vermont lawmakers’ deliberations, Deen sometimes rankled colleagues with the depth of his knowledge of parliamentary procedure, said fellow Putney politician, Democratic Rep. Mike Mrowicki.
“He’s mastered them in a way I don’t think anybody else has,” Mrowicki said, comparing Deen to a “lighthouse,” guiding lawmakers through the perils of procedural arcana.
“Some Republicans might get frustrated with all his points of order, but I think we all respect his sense of integrity and fairness,” Mrowicki said. Mrowicki said he considers Deen “a mentor to me.”
Beyond his service to the Legislature, Deen has ably served his constituents and the state, Mrowicki said.
Deen was among the original sponsors of legislation granting civil unions to same-sex couples “at a time when it was not very popular — it was a contentious issue,” Mrowicki said.
The issue was contentious enough to cost Democrats a majority in the Statehouse for four years, but outside of his work to protect Vermont’s environment, this is the work he’s most proud of, Deen said.
“It was a matter of civil rights,” he said.
Deen said his colleagues will get along just fine without him.
“I will miss this place, and there are lots of things that need done, but the Vermont Legislature is perfectly capable of doing them without me,” he said. “They are perfectly capable of dealing with these issues — just keep your eye on the prize: fishable, drinkable, swimmable water, and everything else will sort itself out.”
