Gov. Phil Scott this week appointed Republican Larry Labor of Morgan to a vacant Vermont House seat representing a stretch of the Northeast Kingdom.
But with less than three weeks remaining before the Legislature reconvenes, two House seats remain unfilled. A third is slated to open up late next year.
Scott, a Republican, has the power to appoint a replacement if a legislator is unable to complete his or her two-year term. Though he is not required to, Scott has followed a Vermont tradition of appointing a successor from the same party as the departing member — typically chosen from a list of candidates provided by the local party. According to Scott’s spokesperson, Jason Maulucci, the governor is sticking with that tradition while filling the current vacancies.
Labor’s appointment on Wednesday followed the October resignation of former Rep. Lynn Batchelor (R-Derby), who represented the Orleans-1 district for more than a decade. According to Scott’s office, Labor is a former pharmacy director and vice president of professional services at Newport’s North Country Hospital. He has served on the Morgan Selectboard since 2009.
In addition to Batchelor, two other House members have resigned in recent months: former Rep. Brian Savage, R-Swanton, in November and former Rep. Marybeth Redmond, D-Essex, in December. All three were reelected last year and were expected to serve through 2022.
Maulucci said the governor hopes to fill those seats as soon as possible. But as of Friday, he said, the Swanton and Sheldon Republican committees had yet to provide a list of preferred candidates to replace Savage — though Scott’s office expects to receive the nominations soon.
As for Redmond’s replacement, Maulucci said the Essex Democratic Committee sent the governor’s office just two names on Thursday, rather than the customary three.
“(A)s the appointment is the governor’s, not the local committee’s, to make, we may briefly allow any other Essex Democrat who might be interested to apply directly to our office for consideration,” Maulucci said. “We have done this in the past when local committees send us fewer than three names. If we do, we would consider any additional Democratic applicants, if there are any, alongside the two names forwarded to us by the committee.”
Though Redmond’s legislative seat has not yet been filled, a leadership position she held has been. Members of the House Democratic Caucus on Tuesday elected Rep. Kathleen James, D-Manchester, to succeed Redmond as assistant majority leader for communications.
Yet another House member plans to resign before his term is over — though not before the conclusion of the upcoming legislative session.
Rep. Hal Colston, D-Winooski, announced this week he expects to step down from the Legislature next fall and does not plan to run for re-election to the Winooski City Council on Town Meeting Day.
Colston, 69, says he’ll spend one final Vermont summer in the Green Mountain State before he heads to Aruba in October to retire.
Lana Cohen contributed to this report.
