Sen. Phil Baruth, D/P-Chittenden, is seeking to lead the Vermont Senate if reelected in November — and he has the support of apparently every other Democrat who was thought to be eyeing the post.
Baruth confirmed in an interview that he would run for Senate president pro tempore. But, he said, “I definitely think the voters need to speak first. You have to elect a new Senate before you reorganize it.”
In the Vermont Senate, the pro tem is generally charged with setting the body’s agenda, serving as its spokesperson and helping to assign committees and chairmanships. The current pro tem, Sen. Becca Balint, D-Windham, is vacating her position to run for Vermont’s sole U.S. House seat.
One of the Senate’s most liberal members, Baruth is perhaps best known for his advocacy for gun control. A novelist and professor of English at the University of Vermont, the Burlington resident was first elected in 2010 after rising to prominence as a popular political blogger.
A former majority leader and past chair of the Senate Education Committee, Baruth has previously considered running for pro tem. He would be the second person who caucuses with both the Democratic and Progressive parties to lead the chamber.
“Not much of a race!” Sen. Andrew Perchlik, D/P-Washington, remarked to VTDigger when asked who might succeed Balint. He confirmed that he had weighed a run several months ago but had ultimately decided against it after talking to Baruth and other members of the Democratic caucus.
“It became clear that I would support Phil and that he was the best choice for this time,” Perchlik said. He said he would instead seek to become the Democratic caucus’ whip, a position being vacated by Sen. Cheryl Hooker, D/P-Rutland, who is retiring from the Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Alison Clarkson, D-Windsor, who had also been considered a contender, said she was not planning on seeking the pro tem post. Instead, she said, she would ask Senate Democrats to reelect her to her current leadership post, if given another term.
“That’s all contingent on being reelected,” she said. “I really think we all have to be reminded that there are no done deals here.”
Clarkson added that she would “of course” support Baruth’s candidacy in the event they returned to the Senate. (Both are in safely blue districts.)
Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale, D-Chittenden, who was also widely considered a contender for pro tem after dropping out of the hotly contested U.S. House primary, said she isn’t running and supports Baruth’s bid.
Ram Hinsdale said she is seeking to become the next chair of the Senate Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs Committee, since the current chair, Sen. Michael Sirotkin, D-Chittenden, is retiring. In that role, she said, she would focus on the workforce crisis, climate change and, most of all, housing.
“It’s an area where I have gone as a legislator from a renter to a homeowner and have a really deep sense of how much Vermonters need affordable housing and homeownership,” Ram Hinsdale said. “You’re now hearing from colleagues that every other crisis is hinged on solving our housing problems.”
A formal vote for the president pro tem position is typically held in January, on the first day of the new biennium. But because Democrats are expected to hold on to their overwhelming majority in the Senate, whichever member they nominate to the post would almost certainly win it.
The Democratic caucus is planning to meet on Nov. 13 to nominate a candidate for pro tem and to elect its majority leader and whip.
