With two key hires, U.S. Rep.-elect Becca Balint’s transition to Congress has begun.
On Monday, the Vermont Democrat’s transition team announced the hiring of two top staffers who will lead her offices in Washington, D.C., and in the state she represents.
In Washington, Megan Garcia, who has nearly 10 years of experience working in the U.S. House, will serve as Balint’s chief of staff — a key role in directing the first-term representative’s legislative priorities, managing staffers and forging relationships in the Capitol. Garcia currently serves as deputy chief of staff and legislative director for Rhode Island’s U.S. Rep. David Cicilline, a senior Democrat who chairs the House’s Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee and who was a manager of the second impeachment of former President Donald Trump.
In Vermont, David Scherr will serve as Balint’s state director, leading her outreach and constituent services. Scherr, who grew up in Norwich, currently serves as general counsel for the state Cannabis Control Board and previously worked in the Vermont Attorney General’s Office as an assistant attorney general and as chief of the Community Justice Division. Scherr has also worked as a contract public defender and in private practice. He previously chaired the Chittenden County Democratic Party and twice ran for state Senate.
“Megan and David both have exemplary backgrounds as public servants,” Balint said in a written statement Monday. “They are committed to creating an office in which people are valued, respected, and can do the best work possible for Vermonters. I’m confident they will get my office up and running as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
Balint’s campaign manager, Natalie Silver — who Balint dubbed “the great and powerful Oz behind the curtain” at a July campaign rally in Montpelier — will continue to oversee Balint’s transition. Thereafter, Silver plans to stay on team Balint as campaign manager.
Silver told VTDigger on Monday that Balint’s state congressional office will be located in Burlington, while a “satellite” location is likely, but unconfirmed, to be located in Balint’s southern Vermont hometown of Brattleboro.
Balint recently concluded her new member orientation in Washington, D.C. When she is sworn in come January, she will become the first woman and the first openly gay person to represent Vermont in Congress.