Near the end of his first term, Sen. Joshua Terenzini, R-Rutland, has decided against running for reelection this year — setting up Rutland County for a competitive Senate race for a second election cycle in a row.
In a Monday phone interview, the senator said it was “heartbreaking” to make his decision. He said he hoped to return to the Statehouse someday. But with four children under 10 years old, the job became impossible to juggle.
“The way that we govern in Vermont is not what I would call family-friendly,” Terenzini said. “Because, you know, the $19,000 that legislators are paid between their salary and reimbursement, it’s certainly not enough to raise a family.”
Politics run in the Terenzini family. The senator’s father, Rep. Tom Terenzini, R-Rutland Town, serves down the hall from his son. The younger Terenzini said he’s dreamt of serving in the state Senate since he was 12 years old.
Prior to his election in 2020, Terenzini served on the Rutland Town Selectboard, including five years as chair.
“Municipal politics, state politics — I think it’s in my DNA and who I am,” he said Monday. “I think that I’ll certainly at some point be back at some level, but I am certainly not at this point looking to run for selectboard or school board or the Legislature or any anything of that nature.”
Terenzini had been elected in 2020 from a field of 10 candidates vying for the county’s three seats. In that race, incumbents Brian Collamore, a Republican, and Cheryl Hooker, a Democrat/Progressive, held onto their seats. While Democrats had hoped to pick up a seat, Terenzini’s win maintained the delegation’s Republican majority.
As for what’s next, Terenzini said he wants to coach Little League. His fourth-grade daughter is starting on the team, and his younger children play t-ball.
“I just want to be a great dad,” he said. “Do some volunteer work with the kids and drop them off to school and pick them up, go on some field trips and be that kind of dad right now.”
