Rep. Mary Sullivan, D-Burlington, announced Tuesday she would not seek another term in the Legislature. Sullivan has served two stints in Montpelier — from 1991 to 2000, and from 2015 to the present.
She made the announcement in a posting on her Facebook page Tuesday morning.
“It was a difficult decision,” Sullivan said in a phone interview. “I love being a legislator, but I believe it’s important to go out on a high.”
Sullivan added that her decision had nothing to do with the coronavirus pandemic. “I started thinking about retirement in January, and finally I thought I needed to make a decision,” she said.
Sullivan has been a leader on climate issues in the House. She currently serves on the Transportation Committee, which has spent much of its time on climate action during this session. She is widely respected in Democratic Party circles, and her Facebook announcement prompted a host of congratulatory messages from friends and colleagues.
“Your clarity of vision and values is a lesson for us all,” wrote former House speaker Shap Smith. Rep. Selene Colburn, P-Burlington, called Sullivan “one of my heroes.” House Ways & Means Committee chair Janet Ancel, D-Calais, wrote that “your persistence and passion have served us well.”
Sullivan’s seatmate in the two-member Chittenden 6-5 district, Rep. Johannah Donovan, D-Burlington, wrote “It truly has been a privilege and an honor to serve with you.”
The district includes most of Burlington’s South End, which is overwhelmingly Democratic. It’s rare for a vacancy to crop up in such a safe district, and Sullivan indicated that she knows of at least one person who’s likely to enter the suddenly reshaped primary campaign.
There is already another Democrat in the field. Scott Pavek announced his bid last fall, emphasizing the need for more young Vermonters in the Statehouse — and openly discussing his battle with substance use disorder. Pavek has often testified before legislative committees on issues related to addiction.
“Mary has served her district very well,” Pavek said Tuesday. “She is accessible, available and authentic. That’s the kind of legislator I was hoping to serve with.”
Sullivan is one of the Vermont Democratic Party’s two elected members of the Democratic National Committee. Her four-year term expires later this year, and she plans to run for a second term.
Otherwise, she has a direction in mind for her post-lawmaking life, but no specific plans. “Of course it will be involvement somewhere at some level,” she wrote in her Facebook post.
