Rep. Ann Pugh, D-South Burlington, said she will not seek reelection after serving three decades in the Vermont Legislature.
It just seemed like the right time to leave with her head held high, Pugh said.
โI want to leave when people still think Iโm doing a good job, and when I still like the job,โ Pugh said in an interview Friday.
As chair of the House Human Services Committee, Pugh has ushered through Vermontโs biggest reproductive rights legislation in recent years.
Alongside Rep. Maxine Grad, D-Moretown, Pugh was a lead sponsor on Act 47, a 2019 law that codified the right to abortion in the state. They advanced the bill amid prescient suspicions that the U.S. Supreme Court would overturn the right to abortion guaranteed by Roe v. Wade โ which appears likely following the leak of a draft opinion this week.
Pugh, a social worker, said she is most proud of her work on Proposal 5, which would amend the state constitution to guarantee a right to reproductive autonomy. Prop 5 went through Pughโs committee, passed both chambers and will appear on the ballot this November for votersโ final say. It is expected to pass, as 70% of Vermonters support abortion access, according to Pew Research Center.
Beyond Prop 5, Pugh said sheโs most proud of how her committee works together.
โPolitics is a team sport,โ she said. โI am very proud of the team the Human Services Committee is.โ
That feeling appeared to be mutual among her committee membership โ even for those with opposing political views.
โShe runs the committee like it’s a family,โ said Rep. Topper McFaun, R-Barre Town, whoโs worked with Pugh on the Human Services Committee for 14 years.
Pugh often called their committee โthe people committee,โ said Rep. Theresa Wood, D-Waterbury.
Two human services bills from this session have been signed into law by Gov. Phil Scott. S.74, which became Act 97 upon Scottโs signature, amended Vermontโs medical-aid-in-dying law to allow patients to request a life-ending prescription via telemedicine. H.628, now Act 88, made it easier for transgender and non-binary Vermonters to change their birth certificates to reflect their gender identities.
In a Thursday column announcing her legislative exit, Pugh gave a nod to a possible successor, Emilie Krasnow, who is now collecting signatures to appear on the ballot.
Reached by phone on Friday, Krasnow said sheโs known Pugh for decades. Krasnowโs father, Gerald Krasnow of Charlotte, worked alongside Pugh in the Legislature before his death in 1998.
โIโve admired Ann for her work in South Burlington and her dedication to our community,โ said Krasnow, 36. โAnd sheโs just such an inspiration, for especially women, and women in politics.โ
