Five statewide executives — Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman, Attorney General Charity Clark, Auditor Doug Hoffer, Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas and Treasurer Mike Pieciak — took the oath of office Thursday and officially commenced their two-year terms.
As in past years of Gov. Phil Scott’s tenure, Scott remains the lone Republican elected to serve in statewide office. Zuckerman is a Progressive/Democrat, Hoffer is a Democrat/Progressive and the remaining officials are all Democrats.
The group includes two historic firsts: Pieciak is the first openly LGBTQ+ person to serve as treasurer, and Clark is the first woman elected as the state’s top prosecutor. (Susanne Young was the first woman to hold the job, after Scott appointed her last year following the resignation of former Attorney General TJ Donovan.)
Copeland Hanzas had previously served as a state representative from Bradford and chaired the House Committee on Government Operations. Pieciak previously served as commissioner of the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation, and Clark had previously served as assistant attorney general and as Donovan’s chief of staff.
Hoffer is the only executive in the group returning to the same role as last term; he has held the position of state auditor since 2013. The state has not seen so many executive offices turn over since 1968.
Scott, who was inaugurated for his fourth term on Thursday, administered the oath of office to Pieciak, Clark, Copeland Hanzas and Hoffer before a joint assembly of the Vermont Legislature on Thursday afternoon.
Zuckerman, who is returning to the role of lieutenant governor after a two-year hiatus, was sworn in Thursday morning in a separate ceremony in the Senate chamber.
Zuckerman surprised each senator with a jar of maple cream tucked in their desks, and used maple-themed metaphors throughout a speech to senators after taking the oath of office.
“The challenge for you is to not become stymied by what may look bleak, but instead tap into your wealth of hidden resources, your areas of expertise and your reserves, and boil your shared ideas down into solutions that will work for Vermonters,” Zuckerman told colleagues.
Sha’an Mouliert, an artist, educator and community organizer from St. Johnsbury, administered Zuckerman’s oath of office.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas’ town of residence.
