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List of lieutenant governors of Vermont

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Lieutenant Governor of Vermont
Coat of arms of Vermont
since January 5, 2023
Term lengthTwo years, no term limit
Inaugural holderJonathan Hunt
Formation1791; Constitution of Vermont
SuccessionEvery two years, unless re-elected.
Salary$78,145[1]

The lieutenant governor of Vermont is elected for a two-year term and chosen separately from the governor. The Vermont lieutenant governor's main responsibilities include acting as governor when the governor is out of state or incapacitated, presiding over the Vermont Senate, casting tie-breaking votes in the Senate when required, and acceding to the governorship in case of a vacancy.[2][3][4] As a member of the state senate's Committee on Committees, the lieutenant governor plays a role in determining committee assignments for individual senators, as well as selecting committee chairs, vice chairs, and clerks.[5][6][7]

Mountain rule

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From the founding of the Republican Party in the 1850s until the 1960s only Republicans won general elections for Vermont's statewide offices. One method that made this possible was imposition of the "Mountain Rule." Under the provisions of the Mountain Rule, one U.S. Senator was a resident of the east side of the Green Mountains and one resided on the west side, and the governorship and lieutenant governorship alternated between residents of the east and west side. Nominees for governor and lieutenant governor were allowed two one-year terms, and later one two-year term. For nearly 100 years likely Republican candidates for office in Vermont agreed to abide by the Mountain Rule in the interests of party unity. Several factors led to the eventual weakening of the Mountain Rule, including: the longtime political dispute between the Proctor (conservative) and Aiken-Gibson (liberal) wings of the party; primaries rather than conventions to select nominees; the direct election of U.S. Senators; and several active third parties, including the Progressives, the Prohibition Party, and the Local Option movement. In the 1960s the rise of the Vermont Democratic Party and the construction of Interstate 89 also contributed to the end of the Mountain Rule. Though I-89 is a north–south route, it traverses Vermont from east to west and changed the way Vermonters view how the state is divided.[8][9]

Vacancies

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Vermont has no provision for filling the lieutenant governor's office in the event of a vacancy,[10] and it has been vacant five times.[11] Thomas Chittenden died in August 1797 while serving as governor, and Lieutenant Governor Paul Brigham served until the end of Chittenden's term in October.[11] Brigham, the winner of that year's September election for lieutenant governor, began his new term in October and was succeeded as governor by Isaac Tichenor.[11] In February 1870, Governor Peter T. Washburn died and George Whitman Hendee became governor.[11] The lieutenant governor's office remained vacant until George N. Dale, the winner of that September's election, took office in October.[11] In November 1927, Lieutenant Governor Hollister Jackson died in the Great Vermont Flood of 1927, and the position remained vacant until Stanley C. Wilson took office in January 1929.[12][13] In January 1950, Governor Ernest W. Gibson Jr. resigned and Harold J. Arthur became governor.[11] The lieutenant governor's office was vacant until Joseph B. Johnson, the winner of the 1950 election, took office in January 1951.[11] In August 1991, Governor Richard A. Snelling died and Howard Dean succeeded him.[10] The lieutenant governorship remained vacant until Snelling's widow Barbara, the winner of the 1992 election, took office in January 1993.[14]

List of lieutenant governors

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This is a list of lieutenant governors of Vermont in chronological order:[15][16]

Vermont Republic

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# Image Name Party Term Governor(s) served under
1 Joseph Marsh — 1778–1779 Thomas Chittenden
2 Benjamin Carpenter — 1779–1781 Thomas Chittenden
3 Elisha Payne — 1781–1782 Thomas Chittenden
4 Paul Spooner — 1782–1787 Thomas Chittenden
5 Joseph Marsh — 1787–1790 Moses Robinson
6 Peter Olcott — 1790–1791 Thomas Chittenden

State of Vermont

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# Image Name Party Term Governor(s) served under
1 Peter Olcott — 1791–1794 Thomas Chittenden
2 Jonathan Hunt — 1794–1796
3 Paul Brigham Democratic-Republican 1796–1813
himself
Isaac Tichenor (F)
Israel Smith (D-R)
Isaac Tichenor (F)
Jonas Galusha (D-R)
4 William Chamberlain Federalist 1813–1815 Martin Chittenden (F)
5 Paul Brigham Democratic-Republican 1815–1820 Jonas Galusha (D-R)
6 William Cahoon Democratic-Republican 1820–1822 Richard Skinner (D-R)
7 Aaron Leland Democratic-Republican 1822–1827
Cornelius P. Van Ness (D-R)
Ezra Butler (NR)
8 Henry Olin Democratic-Republican 1827–1830
9 Mark Richards National Republican 1830–1831 Samuel C. Crafts (NR)
10 Lebbeus Egerton Anti-Masonic 1831–1835 William A. Palmer (A-M)
11 Silas H. Jennison Whig / Anti-Masonic 1835–1836 Silas H. Jennison (W)
12 David M. Camp Whig 1836–1841
13 Waitstill R. Ranney Whig 1841–1843 Charles Paine (W)
14 Horace Eaton Whig 1843–1846 John Mattocks (W)
William Slade (W)
15 Leonard Sargeant Whig 1846–1848 Horace Eaton (W)
16 Robert Pierpoint Whig 1848–1850 Carlos Coolidge (W)
17 Julius Converse Whig 1850–1852 Charles K. Williams (W)
18 William C. Kittredge Whig 1852–1853 Erastus Fairbanks (W)
19 Jefferson P. Kidder Democratic 1853–1854 John S. Robinson (D)
20 Ryland Fletcher Republican 1854–1856 Stephen Royce (R)
21 James M. Slade Republican 1856–1858 Ryland Fletcher (R)
22 Burnham Martin Republican 1858–1860 Hiland Hall (R)
23 Levi Underwood Republican 1860–1862 Hiland Hall (R)
Erastus Fairbanks (R)
24 Paul Dillingham Republican / National Union 1862–1865 Frederick Holbrook (R)
J. Gregory Smith (R)
25 Abraham B. Gardner Republican 1865–1867 Paul Dillingham (R)
26 Stephen Thomas Republican 1867–1869 John B. Page (R)
27 George W. Hendee Republican 1869–1870 Peter T. Washburn (R)
28 George N. Dale Republican 1870–1872 George W. Hendee (R)
John W. Stewart (R)
29 Russell S. Taft Republican 1872–1874 Julius Converse (R)
30 Lyman G. Hinckley Republican 1874–1876 Asahel Peck (R)
31 Redfield Proctor Republican 1876–1878 Horace Fairbanks (R)
32 Eben Pomeroy Colton Republican 1878–1880 Redfield Proctor (R)
33 John L. Barstow Republican 1880–1882 Roswell Farnham (R)
34 Samuel E. Pingree Republican 1882–1884 John L. Barstow (R)
35 Ebenezer J. Ormsbee Republican 1884–1886 Samuel E. Pingree (R)
36 Levi K. Fuller Republican 1886–1888 Ebenezer J. Ormsbee (R)
37 Urban A. Woodbury Republican 1888–1890 William P. Dillingham (R)
38 Henry A. Fletcher Republican 1890–1892 Carroll S. Page (R)
39 Farrand Stewart Stranahan Republican 1892–1894 Levi K. Fuller (R)
40 Zophar M. Mansur Republican 1894–1896 Urban A. Woodbury (R)
41 Nelson W. Fisk Republican 1896–1898 Josiah Grout (R)
42 Henry C. Bates Republican 1898–1900 Edward C. Smith (R)
43 Martin F. Allen Republican 1900–1902 William W. Stickney (R)
44 Zed S. Stanton Republican 1902–1904 John G. McCullough (R)
45 Charles H. Stearns Republican 1904–1906 Charles J. Bell (R)
46 George H. Prouty Republican 1906–1908 Fletcher D. Proctor (R)
47 John A. Mead Republican 1908–1910 George H. Prouty (R)
48 Leighton P. Slack Republican 1910–1912 John A. Mead (R)
49 Frank E. Howe Republican 1912–1915 Allen M. Fletcher (R)
50 Hale K. Darling Republican 1915–1917 Charles W. Gates (R)
51 Roger W. Hulburd Republican 1917–1919 Horace F. Graham (R)
52 Mason S. Stone Republican 1919–1921 Percival W. Clement (R)
53 Abram W. Foote Republican 1921–1923 James Hartness (R)
54 Franklin S. Billings Republican 1923–1925 Redfield Proctor Jr. (R)
55 Walter K. Farnsworth Republican 1925–1927 Franklin S. Billings (R)
56 Hollister Jackson Republican 1927–1927 John E. Weeks (R)
57 Stanley C. Wilson Republican 1929–1931
58 Benjamin Williams Republican 1931–1933 Stanley C. Wilson (R)
59 Charles M. Smith Republican 1933–1935
60 George D. Aiken Republican 1935–1937 Charles Manley Smith (R)
61 William H. Wills Republican 1937–1941 George D. Aiken (R)
62 Mortimer R. Proctor Republican 1941–1945 William H. Wills (R)
63 Lee E. Emerson Republican 1945–1949 Mortimer R. Proctor (R)
Ernest W. Gibson Jr. (R)
64 Harold J. Arthur Republican 1949–1950
65 Joseph B. Johnson Republican 1951–1955 Lee E. Emerson (R)
66 Consuelo N. Bailey Republican 1955–1957 Joseph B. Johnson (R)
67 Robert T. Stafford Republican 1957–1959
68 Robert S. Babcock Republican 1959–1961 Robert T. Stafford (R)
69 Ralph A. Foote Republican 1961–1965 F. Ray Keyser Jr. (R)
Philip H. Hoff (D)
70 John J. Daley Democratic 1965–1969
71 Thomas L. Hayes Republican 1969–1971 Deane C. Davis (R)
72 John S. Burgess Republican 1971–1975 Deane C. Davis (R)
Thomas P. Salmon (D)
73 Brian D. Burns Democratic 1975–1977
74 T. Garry Buckley Republican 1977–1979 Richard Snelling (R)
75 Madeleine Kunin Democratic 1979–1983
76 Peter P. Smith Republican 1983–1987 Richard Snelling (R)
Madeleine Kunin (D)
77 Howard Dean Democratic 1987–1991 Madeleine Kunin (D)
Richard Snelling (R)
78 Barbara Snelling Republican 1993–1997 Howard Dean (D)
79 Doug Racine Democratic 1997–2003
80 Brian Dubie Republican 2003–2011 Jim Douglas (R)
81 Phil Scott Republican 2011–2017 Peter Shumlin (D)
82 David Zuckerman Progressive–Democratic 2017–2021 Phil Scott (R)
83 Molly Gray Democratic 2021–2023
84 David Zuckerman Progressive–Democratic 2023–present

References

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  1. ^ "State of Vermont Employee Salaries - Open Data". State of Vermont. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  2. ^ "Constitution of the State of Vermont". Vermont General Assembly. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  3. ^ "3 V.S.A. § 1 — Vacancy, absence from State". Vermont General Assembly. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  4. ^ "20 V.S.A. § 183 — Additional successor to office of governor". Vermont General Assembly. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  5. ^ Newspaper article, Vermont Senate Committee Assignments Finally Out Archived 2012-07-13 at archive.today, by Nancy Remsen, Burlington Free Press, January 7, 2011
  6. ^ Permanent Rules of the Vermont Senate, published by Vermont State Senate, 2009 edition, page 4
  7. ^ Vermont Constitution, Chapter 2, Article 19, U.S. Constitution Online web site, accessed January 2, 2011
  8. ^ Newspaper article, The Mountain Rule in Vermont, New York Times, February 12, 1895
  9. ^ Magazine article, Mountain Rule Revisited, by Samuel B. Hand, Vermont History Magazine, published by Vermont Historical Society, Summer/Fall 2003, pages 139 to 151
  10. ^ a b Allen, Susan (February 6, 1992). "Wright Says Dean Offered Him The Lieutenant Governor's Post". Rutland Herald. Rutland, VT. Vermont Press Bureau. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g Douglas, Jim (August 15, 1991). "Guest Perspective: A Leader Who Made Things Happen". Bennington Banner. Bennington, VT. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Samuel Hollister Jackson: Sketch of Vermont's Lieutenant-Governor Who Died in Flood". The Barre Daily Times. Barre, Vermont. November 9, 1927. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Legislature Opens Wednesday A.M." The Burlington Free Press. Burlington, Vermont. January 7, 1929. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Once Every 40 Years In Vermont". Burlington Free Press. Burlington, VT. January 3, 1993. p. 6E – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Terms of Service, Vermont Lieutenant Governors, Vermont Secretary of State Vermont State Archives and Records Administration, 2011
  16. ^ General Election Results, Vermont Lieutenant Governor, 1818 to 2011, Vermont Secretary of State, State Archives and Records Administration, 2011
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