Gov. Phil Scott announced Monday that he appointed Peter Reed, an independent from Braintree, to fill the House seat that had been occupied by former state representative Ben Jickling.
The governor said that Reed, who had a 35-year career in finance, “understands the importance of economic development and growing our economy to address our state’s challenges, and those of the communities he’ll represent.”
“I believe his experience will bring an important perspective to the House and I look forward to working with him this session,” Scott said in a statement.
Reed’s seat opened up in August, after Jickling, of Brookfield, resigned to take a job at a health care software company in Wisconsin.
The Orange-Washington-Addison District encompasses the towns of Randolph, Brookfield, Braintree, Roxbury and Granville.
Between 2015 and 2019, Reed managed the Randolph and Bethel branches of Northfield Savings Bank. He also serves on the board of the Gifford Medical Center.
Reed said that he was “honored” to be serving in the House.
“The Randolph area is experiencing a renewal, fueled by the commitment of many creative and dedicated citizens. I am excited to support them and to bring their voices with me to Montpelier,” Reed said in a statement.
Jickling, who had hoped the governor would pick an independent to replace him, said he believes Reed will do a “great job” in the House.
“I worked with Peter on a number of different things in the community, he listens well, he’s obviously very intelligent and I think he’s going to represent the district quite strongly in the Legislature,” Jickling said.
Reed’s appointment to the Statehouse is one of a handful of legislative personnel changes in the House this year.
Rep. Kristi Morris, D-Springfield, who Scott appointed to fill an open House seat in June, will be serving his first legislative session this year. Morris replaces Bob Forguites, who died in April.
Morris and Reed’s committee assignments have yet to be announced.
Rep. Matt Trieber, D-Bellows Falls, has been moved from the House Appropriations Committee to the House Judiciary Committee.
Trieber, who sat on the committee for six years, said that he requested to leave Appropriations at the end of the last session.
Trieber, who works helping students with disabilities find jobs, said it had been hard to balance the demands of his position with the demands of the committee.
“Towards the end of the last session it was a bit difficult to balance work and the amount of time necessary to devote to the Appropriations Committee to handle the budgeting process accordingly,” he said.
There will be no committee changes in the Senate.
