Assistant Attorney General David Scherr and former Burlington City Councilor Adam Roof have joined the growing field of candidates seeking a state Senate seat from Chittenden County.
With Democrat Sens. Tim Ashe and Debbie Ingram both running for lieutenant governor, two of the six seats have opened up in Chittenden County. There are a total of 30 members in the Vermont Senate.
Scherr, who announced his campaign on Thursday, frequently represents the Vermont Attorney General’s Office in the Legislature. In that position, he has pushed for a variety of criminal justice reforms including the expansion of the state’s expungement laws and court diversion programs.
Before he joined the Attorney General’s Office, Scherr, 37, worked as a public defender. He lives in Burlington.
“All of those things, all that experience working with low income individuals trying to devise policy that actually helps people who need it most, I think is exactly the kind of experience that we need especially at this time,” Scherr said.
Scherr said that his priorities in the Senate would include expanding affordable housing, criminal justice reform and investing in Covid-19 recovery efforts.
Scherr, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for the Vermont Senate in 2016, previously served as the chair of the Chittenden County Democrats, and as a member of the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission.
Roof, who served on the Burlington City Council from 2015 until April of this year, announced he was running for the Senate on Monday.
He touted his background on the council and his work to balance city budgets, his efforts to bring bystander intervention training to Burlington restaurants and nightlife, and his push for a panel to oversee diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
“I’ve also got a track record of getting things done, reaching across whatever aisle needs to be reached across to solve a problem,” Roof said.
“And I think those are the important things that we’re going to need elected representatives in the Statehouse thinking about and talking about and doing in what might be one of the most important legislative biennium in the state’s history,” he said.
Roof said that in the Senate he would be focused on Covid-19 recovery, and helping the state become “the national leader in the green economy” by investing in technology and broadband to attract businesses.
With Scherr and Roof entering the race, there are now 11 candidates — all Democrats — running for six Chittenden County Senate seats, including four incumbents seeking reelection.
Sens. Ginny Lyons, Michael Sirotkin, Philip Baruth and Christopher Pearson, all Democrats, announced they were seeking reelection last week.
Rep. Dylan Giambatista, D-Essex, and former Rep. Kesha Ram of Burlington both announced they were running for Senate in January.
South Burlington City Councilor Thomas Chittenden, physician Louis Meyers, and Richmond social worker Steve May are also vying for the Chittenden County seats.
No Republicans have announced so far.
