PRESS RELEASE FROM VT HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Editor’s note: as reported yesterday by VDC, Gov. Phil Scott appointed Kevin Scully, former Burlington police chief and employee of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington, to complete the term of Rep. Robert Hooper, the longtime New North End Democrat who resigned under pressure for alleged sexual harrassment of a fellow legislator. Below is a press release from House Democrats in response to Gov. Scott’s appointment.

The Vermont House Democrats are calling on Governor Phil Scott to explain his ongoing pattern of delaying the appointment of Democratic legislators and ignoring the good-faith recommendations by a local appointment committee.

The local committee tasked, by law, with recommending names to the Governor following House district Chittenden-18’s vacancy delivered three qualified, active members of the Chittenden-18 community:

• Amy Bielawski-Branch: Amy devoted her career as a mental health clinician with extensive experience providing trauma-informed, anti-racist, relationally and developmentally focused learning opportunities for birth, foster, and adoptive parents.
• Jim Holway: Jim is President and Board Chair of Vermont Kin as Parents (VKAP) and works directly with grandparents and relatives raising children when parents cannot be present. and 
• Elizabeth Krumholz: Elizabeth was involved with Friends of Education, is a former member of the Burlington Planning Commission, former School Commissioner, a board member for the Vermont Children’s Forum, and a gubernatorial appointee to the Legislative Council on Education Governance.

All three of these recommendations are qualified, values-aligned public servants who have devoted their lives to making their community a better place to live. Despite these individuals’ qualifications, Governor Scott did not bother to interview them and chose someone entirely outside of the list.

“The local district committee did their job, meeting and putting forward three qualified members of the community in a timely manner. The Governor chose to ignore them.” said Liam O’Sullivan, House Campaign Director for the Vermont House Democrats. “Governor Scott is sending a clear message to Vermont communities: your voices don’t matter.”

“At a time when House Republicans in Congress have refused to swear in rightfully elected members, it’s unacceptable for our Governor to ignore our local committees,” said May Hanlon, Executive Director of the Vermont Democratic Party. “Governor Scott is eroding the public’s trust in our democratic institutions at a critical moment.”

“The Governor is actively ignoring local voices,” said Ryan Addario, Chair of the Burlington Democrats. “We can no longer pretend he is some benevolent force in our state. I hope this episode serves as a call to action for Democrats to come home and enthusiastically support the fantastic candidates who are stepping up to challenge him this year.”

House Democrats are also calling out Governor Scott for delaying the appointment of Democratic legislators to fill vacancies—leaving Vermonters without representation for weeks and, in some cases, months.

The facts are clear:

• In Addison-4, following the resignation of Rep. Mari Cordes, the seat remained vacant for 93 days after local Democrats submitted recommendations.
• In Windsor-4, after Rep. Heather Surprenant’s resignation, the seat was left open for 36 days after local Democrats submitted recommendations.
• In Chittenden-18, following Rep. Bob Hooper’s resignation, the seat was left vacant for 31 days, including 23 days after recommendations were submitted.

Meanwhile, Republican-held seats have been filled with urgency:

• In Rutland-11, following the resignation of Rep. Jim Harrison, the seat was left vacant for 0 days.
• In Chittenden-Franklin, after Rep. Chris Taylor’s resignation, the vacancy was filled in 4 days.
• In Washington-Orange, following the resignation of Rep. Topper McFaun, the seat was filled in 5 days.
• In Franklin-8, after Rep. Casey Toof’s resignation, the vacancy was filled in 39 days.

“This is not a coincidence—it is a pattern. When Democratic lawmakers step down, communities are left waiting. When Republicans do, appointments come swiftly,” said Rep. Lori Houghton, House Majority Leader.