Vermont’s Democratic state treasurer, Mike Pieciak, announced Tuesday he was hiring a top staffer from U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., to serve as the treasurer’s office’s No. 2. It’s the third hire with ties to Balint that Pieciak has made since the start of the last election cycle — and comes as he is widely rumored to be mulling a run for governor.
David Scherr, who has served as Balint’s state director, will take a new job as deputy state treasurer on Nov. 3, according to a press release from Pieciak’s office. Gavin Boyles, the previous deputy treasurer, has already stepped down from the role.
Scherr has served as Balint’s state director since Balint first won office in 2022. In the role, he leads the congressional office’s outreach and constituent services. Before that, he served as general counsel for the state Cannabis Control Board and worked in the Vermont Attorney General’s Office. He also ran twice, unsuccessfully, for state Senate.
The other former Balint staffers have been with Pieciak since at least last year.
Peter Trombley, who worked on Balint’s 2022 campaign and in her office in 2023, later ran Pieciak’s 2024 campaign and is now a “special advisor” to the treasurer.
Meanwhile, Pieciak has been working with Natalie Silver — one of the state’s best known Democratic strategists and Balint’s 2022 campaign manager — since 2023, he said in an interview Tuesday. Silver took on a more formal role as Pieciak’s political adviser, overseeing his campaign work, following his 2024 win, the treasurer said.
Pieciak said Scherr’s hiring was not related to his future plans for office. He declined to say Tuesday whether he would seek the treasurer’s job, or a different office, in 2026.
“He’s just a really strong leader, really strong strategic advisor. I think he is the person that can best serve our office,” the treasurer said, adding that by hiring Scherr, he is “just focused on, how do we build a good team and serve Vermonters the best?”
“Right now, that’s my focus — on the treasurer’s office and the work that we’re doing as an elected leader to stand up against this administration,” Pieciak said, referring to President Donald Trump.
Republican Gov. Phil Scott has not said publicly, either, whether he will seek another term in office in 2026. Scott has made a habit in years past of not announcing his reelection plans until the state Legislature adjourns for the summer — typically in May — during an election year, so any such announcement is likely months away.
At the same time, Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark said in August that she plans to run in next year’s election, though has “not officially decided what office I’m running for.” She declined to say at the time which offices she was considering.
Vermont’s other statewide Democratic leaders — Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas and Auditor Doug Hoffer — have said they aren’t seeking higher office next year, as has Republican Lt. Gov. John Rodgers, who plans to run for his post again.
Both Pieciak and Clark are sitting on substantial campaign cash, according to their latest filings with the state, which detail fundraising and spending through the end of June. Pieciak had about $184,000 on hand, the filings show, while Clark had about $98,000. Copeland Hanzas, by comparison, had about $12,000 on hand as of late June.
As attorney general, Clark has filed more than two dozen lawsuits, together with other states, against the Trump administration since the start of his second term. She has perhaps a more natural avenue, in the courts, to push back against many of Trump’s actions — but Pieciak, for his part, has made public pushes against Trump, too. The president remains deeply unpopular in Vermont, with 72% of respondents to a University of New Hampshire poll in August saying they disapprove of his handling of the job.
Earlier this month, Pieciak joined his counterparts in five other states challenging the inclusion of Trump’s media company in a major stock index. He also pointed Tuesday to how, earlier this year, he helped start a legal defense fund — outside of his official capacity — for noncitizen Vermonters targeted for removal proceedings by federal immigration authorities.
Meanwhile, the treasurer has also taken aim at Trump in recent campaign fundraising emails, branded with “Mike Pieciak” and “Treasurer” at the top. Last month, for instance, he used one message to decry the pressure the Trump administration put on ABC to temporarily kick the late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel off the airwaves.
Since January, Gov. Scott has, broadly, urged state leaders to be less confrontational in what he’s said is an effort to protect Vermont’s existing federal funding and benefits. While Scott has rejected two requests from the White House to deploy Vermont’s national guard, he also faced sharp criticism — including from Pieciak — over a decision to share sensitive data with the Trump administration on thousands of people who receive federal nutritional benefits.
Pieciak seemed to take aim at the idea of a cautious approach in a campaign email last week, comparing leaders who have “given in” to pressure from Trump to those who haven’t.
“People like Minnesota Governor Tim Walz — and even Vermont’s own, Senator Bernie Sanders — have modeled the kind of resistance we need in this moment. And what has happened to them? Nothing,” Pieciak wrote. “It’s clear: The only response right now to this administration is to fight back tooth and nail at every opportunity. There’s no other choice.”
“That’s the exact kind of leadership we need in Vermont right now,” he added. “If you’re with me, will you pitch in any amount to fuel my work?”
